#ICSELearning #AFaceintheDark #RuskinBond #ICSETreasureTrove
The story “A Face in the Dark” by Ruskin Bond is set in Simla, a town in Himachal Pradesh, India where an Anglo-Indian teacher Mr. Oliver teaches in a reputed English public school which is regarded as the “Eton of the East”. He is a bachelor and goes to the market some three miles away in the evening and returns back to school at night on a daily basis. He takes the short cut way through the pine forest.
On the day of the story when he is returning late at night, the strong wind is making an eerie sound through the pine trees and the batteries of his torch is running down. Suddenly, he comes across a boy who is crying silently with his head hung down, sitting on a rock. Following a number of questions from the teacher, when the boy finally looks up, Mr. Oliver sees that the boy has no eyes, ears, nose or mouth on his face. “It was just a round smooth head - with a school cap on top of it!”
Panicked by the horrific scene, Mr. Oliver runs down the path calling for help. He finally stops when he sees the watchman swinging a lantern on his way. Oliver tells the watchman what he has seen. But soon after, he finds out in the light of the lantern that the watchman too has no eyes, ears, nose or mouth. Then the wind blows the lamp out.
• A Face in the Dark || ...
• A Face in the Dark || ...