June 12, 2010
It's past 12 now or so I guess. We've been sitting within the confines of the labour camp for a half hour now. A canine circles me with interest. I ignore him for I'm too exhausted to retaliate. What do we do now? Shall we walk forwards? The workmen advise against it for they fear we might encounter snow leopards that have been spotted in the vicinity from time to time. Their warnings only compound our anxiety for what we risk, RomeoMike and Vishal risk too. The workmen try to pacify us stating that perhaps the duo turned back. It would be only a few hours to sunrise, we could go looking for them in the morning, they suggested.
Out of options and taking heed from the more experienced workmen, we decided to head back to our settlement. The walk back is slow for we are muddled in our decision. Motorbreath was right. Our trek served no purpose but to fuck us up even more - mentally and physically.
We make many stops. One lasts longer than necessary for Motorbreath, Spiderweb and I sing to the tunes of Hotel California with eyes transfixed on the starlit sky. Motorbreath conjectures our fate should we encounter a snow leopard. Trust him to take a fucked up situation and imagine it getting worse.
As we lazily stroll into the camp, we see it buzzing with activity. A truck prepares for take off while bade saab points and pokes people into action. The headlights catch our silhouettes blinding us. From the beams emerges Drifter. I ask him as to what's going on. He informs us that we had been gone for more than a couple of hours. Bade saab worried as to our fate and had organized a search party for us. We felt guilty as shit, not realizing that we had caused so many so much concern. We apologize for our tardiness, assure him of our well being. We ask if he could send out the truck to fetch our comrades - but he resists saying the vehicle was ill equipped to travel beyond the labour camp at this ungodly hour. He assures us he will send out a search party at the crack of dawn - a few hours from now. We assure him that we would ride ahead on our own and find them. He nods, asks us to wash our feet, get some rest and prepare for dinner. We thank him and head to our tent.
Bade saab will insist we wash our feet before we have dinner. He will insist a dozen or so times, each time more assertively. We will assure him each time that no sooner can we move a limb we will wash our feet. Finally we will force ourselves to move limb and bone and wash our feet before Bade saab decides to throw us out of camp for insubordination.
We are brought dinner - piping hot rotis, daal and vegetables. Its in moments like these my heart reaches out to the Universe out of gratitude for its been a while since we ate something other than maggie and to be fed like kings in an isolated patch of mother earth by denizens who gain nothing from you is indeed a moment to be thankful for. My thoughts reach out to RomeoMike and Vishal once more. Here we are, in the comfort of a warm tent, with a stove that warms our feet, being fed till we can eat no more. I wonder where they are. I can only hope they are safe. I can only hope they aren't starving.
We agree to hit the sack early. Spiderweb and I agree to ride back on a single steed the next day to locate the duo. We must start 4 hours from now. As we get deeper into the night, the temperature drops many degrees. I find myself shivering and shaking. Our sheets serve little respite as icy cold winds make their way through the crevices. I will sink in and out of sleep for what seems like eternity.
As dawn breaks, I find Drifter waking me up and commanding me to leave for the hunt. I'm awake but muddled. Spiderweb is not doing any better for he has tossed and turned through the night as well, at one point playing with a torch light, shinning it on all our faces to see if anyone was awake for company. I had pretended to sleep for I was in no mood for mid-night conversations. But as the sun brought in some much needed heat, Spiderweb slipped into slumber - one that he refused to get out of. After several failed attempts at waking him up, Drifter and I are faced with a quandary. For we do not know how far the lost duo are. We do not know if they returned. I know for a fact that should I leave now with Drifter, Spiderweb will not await my return. Drifter is concerned about his mates as well and justifiably so. We decide that its best that he heads back on his own while I stay on with my herd. Drifter will not be in any immediate danger for trucks will make multiple trips from our settlement to the workman's camp so he could get help if and when he needed any.
I bid him adieu even as my conscience accuses me of treachery. I will regret this decision for many days to come. As Drifter leaves my sight, I slip into an uneasy slumber.
I'm awakened by a gentle voice - Alankar... Alankar...
My head explodes - "F UCK I'D RECOGNIZED THAT VOICE ANYWHERE! IT'S ROMEOMIKE. THEY F UCKING MADE IT! THEY F UCKING MADE IT!!"
"Where the fuck were you guys?", I scream.
"We slept in a road roller", RomeoMike says.
"But the workman's camp was a 100 meters away! Just round the bend!", I yell.
"I know that now", RomeoMike says with a wry smile.
It so transpired that RomeoMike and Vishal had made it to the Road Roller a fraction before sunset. RomeoMike, an avid trekker, decided that it would be best if they took shelter in the machine for it would protect them from snakes and any nocturnal beings that might come their way. And so, the duo squeezed into a one seater bulldozer, drank water acquired from the stream, ate a candy bar for dinner and fell asleep only to realize the morning after, how close they were to a camp and a warm bed. RomeoMike mentioned that they had received our message from a sleeping workman, who, on hearing their voices jolted out of sleep screaming "Aapke dost aage gaye! Aapke dost aage gaye!" ("You're friends went ahead! Your friends went ahead!"). We related our side of the story. RomeoMike expressed disappointment over the fact that none of us came looking for them and even though we did make an attempt to reach out to them, I'm convinced we did not do enough...
With stories exchanged, the duo grab spots on the bed and slip into slumber. I, relieved, sink into oblivion while seated on a wooden chair.
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