Journey

My home lay at the foothills of a beautiful mountain. When I was a kid and people used to point to the top of the mountain and say, "Look there!!, the summit lies above those clouds and there you will find heaven", I did not care or actually even understand what the fuss was all about. For me, heaven was where I lived. So many things to discover everyday.

When I grew up, I sat by the river and looked up to the top. I wondered what those clouds
concealed and what it is that attracts all people to the summit. I could not see the summit
and hence used my imagination. I painted pictures of glory and recognition. As I sat there
everyday and wondered, I also noticed that everyday many people would make a journey to the river-bank, just to gaze at the elusive mountain-top. I soon realized that all that lived in the village would come to the river and look for atleast an hour or two a day. This
strengthened my resolve to find out. So, with all the curious people, I set out to on a
trek. "Winter approaches in 5 months", they said. We need to reach there before the snow
falls.

..and thus my journey started. We were a party of 438 people and all started climbing. When we reached the first fork in the path, our party split. Some of them took the swampy path to the right because they had heard of the trees and fruits that grew there. I, along with a few of my friends went to the left because I liked waterfall and wildlife and ancient ruins.

Soon there were many more splits and finally I ended up with 91 of them who made the same decisions as me. The journey was painful because many a time we found ourselves in front of huge vertical rocks and had to retrace long kilometres. So many people I knew since childhood died of snake-bites or fell prey to wild animals. We had already made a lot of ground and no one desired to look back. 3 months had passed since I started my journey and it was already getting cold. The mountain was already covered with snow at the higher altitudes. All this did not bother me.

Sometimes, when there were lesser barricades to vision, I would look down at the river at the foothill and see burning fires and people celebrating. I could turn back any moment but did not want to because I felt the mountain-top enticing me towards it. Still, If I found a waterfall, I would bathe in it or pluck strange fruits from trees just to see how they
tasted. Though I wanted to reach the top, I was in no great hurry in-spite of the telltale
signs of harsh winter looming large. People around me would hurry but I took my time. I was not that slow because I knew quite a lot of people whom I had left behind. Some of us seemed to be in great hurry and would not stop, come what may. They left us behind. Seeing this, some of them hurried but not me, because I wanted to taste water from every cascade and eat every fruit and see every wild animal. Sometime, I would be tensed and move faster ignoring some personal favourites. But then, when the tension settled, I would be slow again.

After 4 months, me and 3 of my friends reached a tunnel and here I was slow again. As I went deeper, it became darker. I thought that this was because sunlight couldn't reach here but some of them knew that it was because of the fast-approaching winter and they kept this to themselves. I knew something was wrong, so I quickened up a bit. Then, finally I caught sight of the end of the tunnel - a bright white dot of light. Knowing that the end was near I slowed down again but my friends were quicker having learnt from previous mistakes. They left me behind.

As I walked alone, I realized that the bright light which was the exit got duller than
brighter as I walked towards it. I quickened up but it grew smaller and smaller now and when I reached it, the light was the same size as it was when I saw it....( I dont remember how many days ago it was that I saw it). The falling snow and the avalanches must have shut the exit. Right now, I am writing from inside this tunnel. Its pitch dark here and I cannot make out anything. I don't even know where the tunnel walls are because when I spread my arms, I can't touch it. It maybe just 5 feet to my left or a kilometre away.

I can see spots of light for 10 hrs everyday. Are they just small holes in a wall close by or are they large exits far away? I walk towards many of them today, but all were small, holes in the tunnel wall, through which the sun infiltrated into the darkness of the tunnel. I saw another light yesterday. This one was slightly brighter than the rest. So, as I am walking towards it, and my hopes are slightly high.

Will this be the end of the journey?
..Or is this another trick of the darkness in the cave where depth perception is almost negligible?
How far is this point?
Will I get out alive?
If I do get out, will I survive the winter cold?
Will I reach the summit and experience heaven for myself?
Is it really true that there is heaven at the summit or was it just some kind of an
unverified rumour?

It is really lonely in here. :(