Foul play

The wild vast path that was equal parts dangerous and beautiful laid before us. My comrades and I exchanged uncertain looks. We had just had a not so fulfilling meal of bits and pieces. Which got us all thinking was the long trod from our base really worth it? Would it have made a difference? We could have starved like always, the scraps we found wouldn’t have satisfied our hunger anyways.

Nevertheless, we put our best foot forward and let ourselves into the dark. We saw the moon temporarily, and the dim lights that lit the only path back to safety. It as usual started with caution, we took our time.  At around twilight, when the haunting was deserted, the pathway could have been appreciated. But time was not in our favour, nothing much ever was. The way was crowded with beings that couldn’t have – in my opinion, moved any slower.

So we decided that maybe today was a good day, we could ponder about trivial matters and not worry. We overtook the herd of the ones that seemed happy, the ones that had probably never been affected by the darkness of the path before. The ones that were foolish and ought to know better, but karma never got them. I say karma, but how much did fate have a say in this? They stayed unharmed by nature unlike some of us despite their carefree manners. Once we were as naive, but shit happens.

The panic eventually kicked in, our sight clouded by twigs falling. The loud noises that we were highly aware of, that demanded to be heard. We tried to pick out the patterns on the floor under the canopy to determine what might be the safest route. In a frenzy, we neglect our calculative process, and just tried to navigate through the innocent crowd.

And there it was – our final destination. We picked up our pace, some might think that we were being irrational.  Just when we could say we made it, oh crap. I mean literally because the stain on my shirt beckoned me to a night spent making myself feel cleaner than necessary. Damn you crow. Well played. But bring it on tomorrow, I win more times than not.

– Harshini Ramanujam