Not to us, not at this time please…
I was waiting for him. He took so long to turn up. But when
he did, I could notice the sternness on his face. He was in his finest and
intricately woven black gho. A glance at him had let my heart escape a beat. I
could sense the depth of whirlpool of turmoil that he was plunged into and the
current state of hopeless despair.
Though it was unusual for him, he failed to
hold the secretions from his tear gland this time.
I was rather confused but no more when my olfactory senses
detected the intense and encircling smoke and the blazing fire a few distance
away from us. We were amidst an area stretched with dry pasture and a way out
of our final destination seemed impossible.
“But are we simply going to give up? Leave only the memory
and story of a couple engulfed by fire? Let this natural catastrophe put an end
to all our hopes and dreams? Please not to us god, not at this time”.
My innate behavior directed me to drag him along and run at
the fastest velocity. And so did I
without even uttering a word. Had I raced with the same pace while in school, I
would have made a good athlete.
My first mission was accomplished when I found a stream. On
account of the stream being small, there were possibilities that the fire may spread
easily on the other side. There was the need for a quick decision and an
immediate alternative as we could feel the intense heat keeping in pace with
us. The rapidity with which the fire was spreading was such that it seemed as
if a biodiesel fuel has been sprinkled over.
Then we rented a momentary shelter under a fishery pond
nearby. With its wooden structures above, it could not serve us the purpose
either.
The next option was to run to a river. My empty stomach
reminded the brain of its existence. Even my dehydrated body demanded for its
immediate replenishment. My legs were not willing to move any further. But more than anything else, we felt the
necessity to find a safer zone. Somehow, we made it to the river and managed to
cross it even.
Gulping several handful of water from the river could
provide a momentary relaxation to our totally exhausted body. It fulfilled the
requirements of our body to a certain extent though.
An old man accompanied us as we started to move to a little
higher elevation. He led us to an abandoned house. We entered the house full of
dusts and cobwebs that were woven so intimately and exquisitely over the years.
No sooner did my soul mate saunter out the house than the
old cunning man played his witty trick. He came with a hammer and fixed the
wooden door firmly with iron nails. After several attempts, I managed to pull
the window. I took my right leg out only to be pulled back inside and I landed
back with a THUD!
Elated and relieved was I when I was knocked out of my
subconscious mind. It was just a nightmare. I was lying on my bed with beads of
perspiration on my forehead and my heart bouncing with its fastest beats ever.
