I
lifted my head up and looked around tentatively. It was deceptively calm and a
gentle breeze played with the strands of loose hair around my face. That was
good news. The breeze meant that it was my second awakening and I am not too
far from the great hills where the breeze is constant. The quiet also meant
that the forces were away. My heart leapt - this could be the day. As my vision
cleared, I looked ahead and saw the gentle hills rise up in the horizon and my
lips broke into a smile. Seeing the great hills tends to do that to me. They
looked taller than usual today but that did nothing to diminish the happiness
that surged in my heart. The sheer cliffs and slippery slopes don’t deter me
but egg me on to try my new-found strength. They are a challenge, a calling
that cannot be ignored. After all, it is at the foot of the great hills that I
discovered my life’s purpose. The cave came much later, eerie in the quiet
darkness that is its core, beckoning to me to venture into its depths and
unravel its secrets. But the cave is an adventure for another day for that is
what I am. I am an adventurer.
Not
for me the life of quietude in the plains, spending the day eating, sleeping,
playing and being content with what the plains have to offer. Not that what the
plains offer are not wondrous. The plains have been kind to me. Long ago, when
I lay helpless, weak with limited vision, unable to fathom the land I was in,
they had nurtured me. Those days, I could not see the hills and did not wonder
at what lay beyond. But even then, the embers of the fire within me pushed me
to exercise, to work on my skills, to improve my strength, and of course to test
the forces. Slowly but steadily my range of movement increased. Then, one day, I
had ventured farther up the plains and found myself at the foot of the great
hills. They stood like sentinels guarding the beyond. The hills gave my life
new meaning. Since that day, I have made it my life’s purpose to conquer the
hills. Every morning, after my first awakening, I consume as much nutrition as
I can and take some much needed rest. It’s the second awakening that brings me
close to my destiny. When I say destiny, I do not mean the beyond. I do not
know what lies there. It could be a wondrous land or a dark abyss that would
consume me. My destiny is the adventure itself - to pull myself atop the great
hills and behold the beyond.
I
lifted my head up and looked around tentatively. The quiet seemed complete. I
could not sense the forces around. I ventured forward slowly but steadily
towards the hills, my senses tuned to detect the slightest movement, the
slightest sound, anything that would indicate the presence of a force, for the
presence of a force would doom my mission. I have often wondered whether the
forces are good or evil. I have come to realise that they are not malevolent.
Just as I have a purpose, they have one too. They are the keepers of the
beyond. I learnt a long time ago that I cannot fight the forces. The forces
have power and speed beyond measure. But there is one great secret that makes
my adventure possible. I have been studying the forces for long and found that
they are not constant. They can only be in one land at one time and there are
other lands they need to be. Around the plains and the great hills, they are
strongest at night and weakest at my second awakening. So that is when I
strike. Stealth is the key. As I made my
way up the hills, I realised that they are indeed taller today than usual. But
that is to be expected. The hills tend to be taller when the forces are weak. I
pushed forward doggedly, pulling myself up with the new-found strength in my
arms and pressing my tummy against the sheer sides for support. As I stretched
my hand up to find my next hold, my fingers came upon a flat surface. Finally,
I was almost there. I gripped the surface and pulled myself up with all my
strength. In an instant, I was sprawled on top of the hill I had chosen to
climb this morning, my arms still gripping the surface and my tummy just ahead
of the incline that I had just climbed. My legs still dangled down pointing
towards the plains far below.
I
was startled by the suddenness of the change around me as I heard a rumbling
like a thunder cloud drawing near. Oh, no. While I had been busy savouring my
success, I had let my guard down and the forces had drawn near. I looked ahead
and could see the beyond stretching ahead of me. I knew it was too late but
being the adventurer that I am, I lunged forward in one last desperate attempt
as the forces swirled around me and enveloped me. As the forces took over and
carried me far away from my beloved hills my disappointment and frustration
poured forth in a heart-rending cry that was drowned out by a rumble that
sounded like, “Anu, stay off the pillows or you will fall off the bed”.
I often wonder what is going
through the head of my seven month old daughter when I pull her away from atop
the pillows kept around the bed to keep her from falling to the floor. If you
could understand her language, I imagine, this would be
her story.
