Chapter 3: chapter 3

Jamuni joined her new company and she was appreciated by all her team members.She never took leave and was always ready to work overtime so that she could finish her work before deadline.One day, her Boss Mr.Sumit asked her to come to his cabin for some new assignment.Jamuni entered his cabin and wished him.Submit said to her, "Are you interested in an overseas assignment?"Jamuni could not believe her ears, she said to Sumit, "Yes, Sir. I would love to be a part of an overseas assignment."Sumit asked her, "Would you like to discuss it with your family?"Jamuni became sad as she knew that after her blunder, everyone severed all their ties with her.Today, She remembered her parents who would have been proud of her achievements!Her childhood friends Jhilmil and Jogesh would have celebrated her success with a grand celebration.Her childhood friend Jogya would have danced like a crazy person.She was unfortunate that she could not share her happiness with anyone in this world.She told her Boss with heavy heart, "Sir, I don't have anyone in my family as I had lost them long time back. I would submit my acceptance letter today for this new assignment if you would allow me to do so. I am also truly grateful for this amazing opportunity which would give me a valuable learning experience and would help in the growth of my career."Sumit said to her, "Great! I will ask my Secretary to make arrangements for your overseas assignment in USA and she will also apply for your passport and visa so that you could join our foreign office ASAP!"Jamuni was on cloud nine and she wanted to share this amazing news with someone. She knew that her office friends will feel jealous of her and she did not want to disclose this news to them.As she was sitting in her cabin, she remembered the scariest moment of her life when her parents decided to leave their village forever.One day, when she was an eighteen year old beautiful girl, she told her mother that she was going to meet her friends.Her mother asked her to go to their farm and help others in the farming work like bringing fresh grass for their cows, keeping an eye on their livestock like goats and sheep, plucking the fresh fruits from the trees and bringing fresh vegetables from the fields.Jamuni went to her farm and saw one of their goats was stuck on the other side of the river.No one used to go there as tigers used to roam freely in that region.Everyday people told her about such incidents when tigers attacked goats, sheeps and sometimes even human beings.Many more animals like wild boar, black bear, tigers, elephants in the low lying plains around mountains, comodo dragons and monkeys would often enter the villages and would destroy all the vegetation and crops. It was a common occurrence due to human encroachment and deforestation. The wild animals were forced to enter the villages and had to eat fruits or food grains from the fields.Jamuni remembered an incident when a woman was trying to save her goat on the other side.She was a poor woman who used to survive by selling wood in their village. Her relatives never gave her anything. So, when she went to the other side of the river, she saw a mighty tiger who was eying his prey with hungry eyes.As the old woman tried to pull back her goat and swim across the river, she was attacked by the ferocious tiger.After her death, her relatives claimed a lot of money as compensation but they were not even a little bit remorseful of their greedy actions and inhumane treatment of their old and poor relative who lost her life due to her attempt at saving her goat which used to give milk to her.Jamuni swam across the river, and she looked at the thick foliage and dense trees. She was walking carefully as she did not want to make any noise.She looked for any sign of a tiger but there was an eerie silence in that region.Jamuni saw Daya cutting grass from the farm. Jogya was helping her in her work.They did not see her and she went quietly in search of her missing goat.As she was straining her ears to listen the sound of her goat, she could not trace her location amidst green shrubs which were poisonous and full of thorns.As she tiptoed into the heart of the forest, she was awestruck with the natural beauty around her.Her heart was racing like a wild horse as she was entering the domain of the king of the jungle.She heard the rustling of leaves and she looked in that direction but the mighty king camouflaged himself like a chameleon.The monkeys started making crazy sounds and the birds started chirping like excited children.All the signs were there but Jamuni still proceeded on her path like a girl on a mission.She was now standing in front of a beautiful waterfall.She quenched her thirst with the sweet water of the river.Suddenly, she saw a cave from which a sound was coming as if her goat was calling for help.She was scared in her heart as she knew that tiger cubs might be there inside the cave and if she will enter their den then tigress will pounce on her in order to ensure the safety of her cubs.Jamuni was well aware of this fact that animals love their children and they might injure or even kill someone who knowingly or unknowingly come too close to their little ones.With these troublesome thoughts in her mind, she decided to take the risk of saving her favourite goat from the clutches of the tiger.She stepped on some dry leaves and entered the dark cave.She found her goat inside the cave and she picked it up in her arms.She silently retraced her path from the cave.She heaved a sigh of relief.She almost reached the bank of the river when she heard a loud cry of a woman....She turned her head towards the sound and froze in her tracks as she came directly face to face with a huge Tiger, which was ready to pounce upon her any given minute...