Hi friends, here is the 1st Chapter of my forthcoming release...
He lay dying among the dead.
The vast open skies above him were azure with feathery specks of clouds
floating by. Around him there was only barren rocky surface of colossal
Himalayan peaks. He was resting against a huge boulder looking around on the
landscape which stretched along for miles where so many of his fellow soldiers
had lost their souls. His combat uniform was caked in blood some his own and
some of the others he had killed or watched being killed. He felt the life
force slowly ebbing out. Tears sprang in his eyes, he didn’t want to die, not
now when life back home was about to begin. Flashes of simpler, happier times
rushed past in his brain. He saw the faces of the people who were waiting for
his return. They were the ones who would be worried for him, eagerly awaiting
any news of him. He had fought enough, he had fought the aggressors and then
his injuries. He had survived till now, managed to hold on for over a day and a
half. Now was not the time to give up. He had to stay alive, he had to keep
himself safe for Kash, for his son. He fought back the numbness and willed
himself to draw energy from the love of people back home.
Slowly he came down on his
stomach as he couldn’t stand upright due to a fractured leg, he was sure it was
a fracture because it hurt like hell, and then there was the enemy perched like
vultures on the silent peaks preying on the valiant soldiers scaling the
mountain. The war was still on. Lying face down, he crawled down the mountain
towards the safety of of his own country. It was painful to move even an inch.
His entire body screamed out in pain and revolt. Shrapnel embedded in his flesh
bore deeper and caused excruciating pain. When he could take it no further he
stopped near a small Himalayan stream which was gurgling its way down to the
river. Its water was fresh and sparkling with life. Its purity touched him and
he stretched an arm to feel it. He cupped some of its water in his bleeding
hand and drank greedily. He had not eaten anything for so long, ever since he
led his team on the mission. His rucksack in which he carried some dry fruits
and chocolates had disappeared when he had fallen off the cliff. The coolness
of the water brought some degree of satiety. Suddenly he heard stones rolling
down from the heights and lay still next to the stream on the sparse greens. He
did not move, playing dead. The enemy was on the heights and could observe any
movement, especially during the day. He stayed that way resting on the cold
earth waiting for any other sound but nothing happened.
Soon he fell into a deep
sleep brought on by fatigue. He had managed to crawl a few feet and had used up
all his energy. Some of his wounds had opened up and were oozing blood but he
felt nothing. He had already crossed the threshold of pain which was humanly
possible to bear. So that now his mind was oblivious to any more discomfort.
Only his will to survive and live to fight another day kept him going.
“Sid! Wake up! Time for
school!” he heard his mother calling out to him and opened his eyes with a
start only to find himself engulfed by the star spangled night. There was no
other sound except the water of the stream he lay by. His stomach growled with
hunger but there was nothing except water. He grabbed a fistful of grass and
chewed on it to quieten the rumbling of a hungry body, drank some more water
and began his downward decent under the cover of darkness. Now he was less
cautious, the night gave him the security he needed. The war was raging around
him. He could hear the guns firing and shells exploding on distant peaks. He
didn’t know how many more peaks they had to liberate. He had been on a mission
that had been successfully completed with the help of his men but he himself
had been seriously injured in the exchange. He was happy to be alive despite
the fierce battle which he and his boys had fought. He was sure the tricolour
was aflutter on the conquered peak but there were some more to wrench out of
the enemy’s control. Had his body permitted he would have gone for another
conquest but at the moment it was of prime importance that he kept himself
alive.
He had managed to cover some
distance, crawling with the help of his elbows which were badly scraped. He
needed some rest now. So he turned on his back and lay supine looking at the
night sky again. The twinkling sky brought the old nursery rhyme to his mind
and he started reciting it. It kept him occupied and kept his mind off the
pain. The sky was absolutely clear. In fact one could attempt to count the
stars although an impossible feat. The moon shone brightly in the glory of the
sun’s borrowed light. The peaks were sufficiently illuminated and he knew this
would be his chance to reach the safety of an army camp. He may not be able to
survive another day in the open. The night temperatures were pretty low. His
weak body would not be able to hold on for long. He had to get through, he had
made a promise. And he always kept his promises, atleast conscientiously tried
to keep them.
The moon was slowly making
its way across the sky. Siddharth mustered up enough strength to take the
arduous journey down the hill. He again started crawling slowly, carefully,
aware of his surroundings. A few feet away he felt a backpack in his way. He
grabbed it and rummaged through it. It belonged to some soldier, which one was
hard to tell in the darkness. There were the standard issued items in it and a
pack of chocolate. Siddarth thanked the stars, not just his but the heavenly
ones as well. He took cover behind a rock, there was no dearth of them on the
barren mountain sides, and sucked on the gooey sweetness of the cocoa. It was
Cadbury’s so the backpack must be of an Indian soldier. Having something after
so long made him forget all his worries and he sank into the pleasure of the
moment.
In
the happy state of mind his mother’s voice rang in his ears. He remembered the
day when his mother waved a letter in his face. He was deep in sleep. He
grabbed the letter with half open eyes and looked at it. It was an interview
call.
