It was around 4.00 PM, and the sun was slowly setting. It gets darker in the forest even in the evening. Dhanush was worried, while Sambhu was supporting the sobbing Lochan. The had gone little farther from the valley, inside the forest. It was an old footway made up of dirt and fallen grasses. It was probably used by wild animals or occasional adults as they pass through it. It goes up towards a particular mountain, more like a hill made up of old volcanic deposits and rocks.
The mountain was famous for having an ancient cave, with a resident deity. It was said that she was the protector of the forest and mountains, a form of goddess Shakti. Not much of a relief but even her presence had a calming effect in the heart of the village. Still, the scary thoughts from the running imagination of the boys brought fear in the hart of those young boys. Lata had vanished without a trace, no matter of shouting or intent listening, gave them any idea of her whereabouts.
They were getting tired from walking on the steep hill, but resting was not an option. Now that the summit was within their sight with the clearing of the trees and shrubs, the separate pathway also came into their vision going towards the cave. It was a narrow path, filled with rubbles, broken branches, wild plants growing on the edges.
" Should we move towards the summit or take the path to the caves?'' Sambhu asked to Dhanush as he was the more experienced one.
" Wait, let me check' Dhanush replied, ' There might be some sign of recent movements on the earth."
Dhanush went to see for any signs. Luckily there was trace of some movements on the soils of path toward the caves. He hurriedly signals his friends to follow him.
The caves were not far from that disjunction, with only few hundred meters. They cautiously moved towards the cave while negotiating the gaps or clefts, any protrusions of rocks or branches. Even when there attention were occupied by these hurdles, Dhanush was carefully searching for any signs of breaks in the edge to make sure Lata had not fallen. Since there was no sign of trouble, they finally reached the cave.
The cave had a narrow entrance while they knew how larger and deeper the cave went. All of them had come once or twice inside that cave as the part of their training and also as pilgrimage with family. It was evening and sun was setting down.
"Let's search Lata first before it gets dark and spend the night here" Dhanush said while surveying the inner space near the entrance.
Both Sambhu and Lochan nodded in unison to support that decision. A thin ray of light of setting sun was falling inside the cave from the entrance. There are also multiple small rays falling from the crevices of the roof. After first closing their eyes and praying the resident deity, they started their search with shouting Lata's name.
----- continued-----
The mountain was famous for having an ancient cave, with a resident deity. It was said that she was the protector of the forest and mountains, a form of goddess Shakti. Not much of a relief but even her presence had a calming effect in the heart of the village. Still, the scary thoughts from the running imagination of the boys brought fear in the hart of those young boys. Lata had vanished without a trace, no matter of shouting or intent listening, gave them any idea of her whereabouts.
They were getting tired from walking on the steep hill, but resting was not an option. Now that the summit was within their sight with the clearing of the trees and shrubs, the separate pathway also came into their vision going towards the cave. It was a narrow path, filled with rubbles, broken branches, wild plants growing on the edges.
" Should we move towards the summit or take the path to the caves?'' Sambhu asked to Dhanush as he was the more experienced one.
" Wait, let me check' Dhanush replied, ' There might be some sign of recent movements on the earth."
Dhanush went to see for any signs. Luckily there was trace of some movements on the soils of path toward the caves. He hurriedly signals his friends to follow him.
The caves were not far from that disjunction, with only few hundred meters. They cautiously moved towards the cave while negotiating the gaps or clefts, any protrusions of rocks or branches. Even when there attention were occupied by these hurdles, Dhanush was carefully searching for any signs of breaks in the edge to make sure Lata had not fallen. Since there was no sign of trouble, they finally reached the cave.
The cave had a narrow entrance while they knew how larger and deeper the cave went. All of them had come once or twice inside that cave as the part of their training and also as pilgrimage with family. It was evening and sun was setting down.
"Let's search Lata first before it gets dark and spend the night here" Dhanush said while surveying the inner space near the entrance.
Both Sambhu and Lochan nodded in unison to support that decision. A thin ray of light of setting sun was falling inside the cave from the entrance. There are also multiple small rays falling from the crevices of the roof. After first closing their eyes and praying the resident deity, they started their search with shouting Lata's name.
----- continued-----
No comments:
Post a Comment