AN ENCOUNTER

In the bleak winter evening on 11^th November 1903, I was in deep thoughts on sordid details of my past mounting on the stem of the cruise “THE PRESTIGE” feeling the cool breeze gliding over me. I was 2 days away from my destination then where I have no plans about my career, which made me formidable about my existence in near future. These thoughts and bleakness have thrown me into melancholy. After having a dinner I was back on deck and was just having a walk and was having a small chat with ship crew and came to know that cruise will come to a halt at an island for this night due to some technical lag in cruise. I was curious because of my disposition is to be adventurous from childhood. After 4 hours of anxiety the cruise is ashore. The captain of cruise gave strict orders for passengers not to wander in the woods but they can just have a walk on shore. I was off the cruise and went for a walk it seemed dark just the lights of cruise. But I could feel some unknown charm dragging me into the abyss. I could not resist since I have no reason to stop it.

In exuberance of my joy I went on exploring the woods in the luminance of cruise and moon but the light faded as I moved further from cruise and from my life. I thought to return to the ship but my queer nature made me reluctant to go back to the same life where I have no iota of hope of joy but even on this style I have to struggle for subsistence more than in society. My ideas became erratic as the darkness deepened and I dozed for a while. A dawn broke over the woods and the sunlight sprinkled over me and I gained consciousness and ran towards the prestige but I missed the cruise I can just see it disappearing in to the seas. At that time I just accepted my destiny and believed in nature. I went back in to the woods and ecstatic by the artistry of nature. I felt blissful for the first time in my life as I surrendered myself to the nature. I was basking in the dawn under the woods and after a while I was feeling voracious appetite and began my search for food.

As I wandered around the woods I found some animals grazing in a pasture that made me think of habitat living around here and an idea of cannibalism came in my mind, which transformed my ecstasy into despair. I ran away from that place in fear and my ignorance of the way has led me right at their den. I cursed me for my ignorance and the tribes encircled me and I could see a glow and daze on their face. But I was astonished when they welcomed me with a smile and took them to their huts and I felt pride when everyone was treating me with great reverence. After 3 hours when I saw some casserole resembling dishes over their place and I felt hungry again. They recognized my appetite and took me to their dining arena. I was awe-struck with their arrangements and the way they presented on the table made me feel living in a paradise. They served me appetizers, which are seasoned very precisely, and soup, which tasted like elixir. Then they served me barbecue and multi cuisine dishes were at the place. The viand of the meal is venison, which is embellished and assimilated with various spices, which made me feel like manna. They gave me pabulum having medicinal values that tasted like ambrosia and had end my meal with confectionary. This sumptuous meal is one I haven’t dreamt off in my life.

After a short nap in the cottage I went out for a walk and was dazzled by flamboyant architectural landscape of water falling from cliff to azure lakes. I was effervescent with bliss and life by admiring that cliff and waterfalls. I had spent whole night by resting in the lap of nature. I was awake by noises near the dining arena. I went out to find out and from their conversations I found that their culture is to sacrifice any guest to divine spirits by treating him as a messenger of god. I wanted to persuade them that sacrificing a fellow human for god is foolishness but reminisced that human tendency is to believe in magic than logic which happened throughout the history of mankind, where nobles like Socrates, Jesus, Gandhi, Lincoln were killed by the people whom they served the whole life.

So I started to run for my life again which I had been doing since my birth. Deep gloom covered my bliss as cold breeze and drizzle showered at dusk. I ran to the cliff and I was totally exhausted and desolated. I felt like sharing my feelings with anyone but I found none. So today 14^th November 1903 I pen down my feelings to share with myself. Drizzles keep rising, and the cloud churns into a thunderstorm. Today is the most blissful day in my life because it is the only day in my life I am harmonized with nature that I always loved. I stood up and looked on either side of cliff on one-side tribes trying to hunt me down and on other the blue sea striving to embrace me with its mighty waves. I will always choose nature……………………

 Ch. Raghu vinay,

 Ece, iii year.