《This Blood Of Mine》 1. Welcome Back And then,... when I opened my eyes. My heart told me, that the world before me was again... beautiful. Once again I trudged slowly through the narrow gravel path, which led to my house. ¡°It¡¯s been a while¡±, I muttered. No, ¡°it has been a long, long time¡±, I corrected myself in a whisper. Everything¡¯s the same huh, a tiny goblet of serenity, frozen amidst the blind torrent of time. The big paned windows with patterned glass, on which shone the crimson rays of the receding afternoon. The lonely path, beside the house, which snaked to an abandoned orchard. A place still guarding treasures, in form of precious childhood memories. Slowly walking, I turned my gaze towards the empty veranda with white railings,... a place where I used to play with my friends, as I watched her as she would tend to the plants in the garden, with a blissful smile on her lovely face. I stopped walking, as suddenly a sorrow which seem to stem from my soul itself, slowly seeped within my chest, causing a stuffy feeling. When was the last time that I felt this way? Perhaps, it was when I realized that she was no longer with me. But it was already too late. Or was it? Is it? I don¡¯t know. That smile, you know... I could do anything to see it again. Anything. She had always been by my side, and had always supported my foolish decisions. I still remember how her gentle eyes would search anxiously to see my returning visage, while standing quietly at a corner of the veranda.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. But how... just how did I become so foolish, that I forgot the most important person who was always there for me? How did I become so selfish, that I stopped caring about her? Was it because she was always there for me? A deep sigh escaped my lips, as I looked at the empty dark corner of the veranda... What!!?... who¡¯s standing there? Is that a mirage? That face, I could never forget that face! It¡¯s her... I slowly moved towards the house, the world before me is now only a dusky blur. All that I see before me now are those pair of eyes, that seem to be shining like a beacon to a desperate sinking ship. One step... two step, I felt the soft quiver of my hands causing a ripple in the frozen air, and each of my step seem to cast aside the haze, which separated her from me. ¡°I¡¯m back¡±, I muttered. She... smiled, and at that moment, all my sorrows, all my pent up worries seemed to have vanished. But just a single teardrop slowly slid down my cheeks. A very unsightly sight for a man, but I couldn¡¯t care less now. ¡°Welcome back, young master¡±. She said gently. But that world seemed to echo through the entire frozen world, like a desolate gust of wind. ------------------------ Huh? I raised my head in an instant, and was greeted with a throbbing pain from my temples. My vision which still had not adjusted to my surroundings, gave me the vision of blurred world before me. Suddenly I heard her voice again coming from some distance, which seemed to instantly quieten my restless heart, ¡°Young master,... young master!¡±, ¡°Where... where are you!?¡±, I said in a hurry. Caw..... caw..... caw..... a deep raven cry echoed from somewhere far above me. I sat up in a daze, negligent of my surroundings. So it was all a dream, after all. And as I realized that, a sudden emptiness assailed me, as if a part of my soul was chipped away. I subconsciously raised my hand, and saw that it had a very nasty bruise on it. I¡¯m hurt, but... how? And then I slowly took notice of my surroundings. Where am I? It was at this moment that I took a proper look at my surroundings, and the first thing which I noticed were the figures that were sprawled around me in a very unbecoming manner. One, two,... four were females, and the other four were males. As I further looked around the place, I realized that it seemed to be some kind of a clearing within a forest. I can see the circular clear sky overhead, and all around it is a canopy of trees. Huge trees, heavens! Just how tall are these trees? 2. The Forest (Part-I) The giant sequoia is the largest tree species that I know of, and although I don¡¯t remember the proportions of the trees, but I know that any person standing at its feet will look like an ant; however, the trees that I see around me now, gives me the feel of small hills! Their canopy which seems to pierce the sky, is covered in a mist, as such only the outline is visible. Then I look down at their girth, and it looks like it would take about thirty sturdy men, to grab their arms around it. ¡°Uhhh...¡±, I hear a groan which brings me out of my contemplation, as I reflexively turn my head towards the person who made the noise. He is lying side-faced on the ground, and one of his arms is bent unnaturally behind him. Perhaps it is fractured. I stand up, and my mind is still somewhat gloomy from the previous dream. Suddenly I feel my vision darken as a sudden dizziness assails me, forcing me to again sit down. Why do I suddenly feel this way? I¡¯m not hungry, so did I take a hit to my head? I wait till the dizziness subsides. Then with these thoughts coursing through my mind, I again stand back up, slowly this time, and go near the person who groaned just now. Caw¡­. caw... caw¡­ as I crouch beside him, I again hear the raven calling overhead. I think I don¡¯t like ravens anymore. Not that I had any good impression of them before, but it¡¯s just that the call again reminded me of the dream. And, were raven calls always this deep and piercing? I shake his arm, and getting no response, I carefully lift his body up and pull out his arm from underneath him, he groans again, but that¡¯s all I can do now to ease his pain. I then turn him round, so that he lies on his back. Hmm¡­ he has oriental features, but it¡¯s difficult to say where he¡¯s from with that alone. He is probably in his thirties. I maybe wrong, but the thick black framed glasses really make him look a little older. The navy blue suit on him, no longer looks elegant after being covered in dirt from the ground. While looking at him, I see him squint his eyes, and open them. He mutters something in a foreign language, to which I reply ¡°Sorry, I can¡¯t understand you... Do you speak English?¡± While saying thus I causally look around, half hoping to find a canteen or a water bottle from the other people. When suddenly I see a lady looking at me, hmm¡­ that¡¯s a cautious gaze. Did she wake up earlier, and was watching me? A little perplexed, I was about to open my mouth, when I heard the man before me speak. ¡°Where am I¡±, he asks raising his head. He has an accent, but so do I. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡± I say, ¡°Woke up here a while ago,... this seems to be a forest.¡±If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Forest?!¡± he says surprised. Yea, forest it is. And with trees that look like mountains. But I didn¡¯t say that to him though. He¡¯ll find out eventually. ¡°But, I was¡­ driving...¡±, he says becoming more perplexed. ¡°Can you sit¡±, I ask him and offer my hand to him as a support. The lady who was looking at me a while ago, also sits up slowly. ¡°Yes, thank you...¡±, he tries to raise himself up, but soon hisses in agony, when he places his arm as support. Well, it¡­ doesn¡¯t seem to be broken, but it must be sprained bad. I help him up, and after some time he seem to be somewhat more aware of his surroundings. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Dhruv¡±, I say extending my hand out to him. He looks at my hand, and then shakes it ¡°I¡¯m Chin-Hae¡± he says. Meanwhile the lady has already made her way here, she seems uneasy and nervous. I guess the more so by looking at the trees, her eyes seemed to be glued to them. Both me and Chin-Hae look at her, ¡°I¡¯m Saito Hinata¡± she says with a slight bow. I nod, and Chin-Hae gives her a fatigued smile. Then we three people just wait in silence for a while, each expecting the other to say something. I was never an extroverted person, and so while I think of what to say next, Chin-Hae breaks the silence. ¡°What time is it?¡±, he asks looking at his hand. Then as if realizing something, he quickly reaches out for his pockets. Then I hear a short gasp, ¡°My moneybag, dammit!¡±, ¡°My moneybag is gone! And also my mobile, and watch.¡± I also fumble through my pockets, though I didn¡¯t have that much cash on me anyway, but still it was hard earned money. Well, but now it¡¯s gone. I hear Miss Hinata¡¯s dejected voice, as she mumbles something to herself. It looks like she has also lost her possessions. ¡°My things, they¡¯re also lost¡±, she says in a somewhat weak voice. ¡°The trees it looks like Amazon¡±, she adds. Well kind of,... but I¡¯m quiet certain, that Amazon doesn''t have such gigant trees. There¡¯s something peculiar about this place, but I can¡¯t tell what¡­ Chin-Hae also seem to notice the trees, and his gaze lingers on them for sometime, but he doesn¡¯t say anything in the end. Well, I am a little disappointed,¡­ maybe he knows what there trees are? I¡¯ll ask him later. ¡°We should wait for the others to wake up, maybe they may know something?¡±, I suggested to which both Chin-Hae and Miss Hinata nodded. I sat down, because I was feeling fatigued, and so did Miss Hinata. Suddenly I felt a little frigntened as I began thinking, how I and all these people ended up here in the middle of this Jungle. Were we abducted? But the last thing I remember was waiting on the railway platform bustling with people¡­. Will someone abduct me in broad daylight, I mean yea it is doable, but what will they gain from it? I¡¯m not nouveau riche, or something like that. So why would anyone bother kidnapping a nobody like me? ¡°Mr. Chin-Hae, what were you doing before?¡±, I say looking at him. He looks at me quizzically, it seems I was not clear enough. So I add ¡°I mean, I was waiting on a railway platform, before I suddenly found myself here...¡± ¡°I was driving to a meeting¡±, he says. I could sense the uneasiness from his voice, it seems like he knows something but is not willing to say. Well, let¡¯s leave it at that for now, because from the looks of it, all of us are trapped here. So if it¡¯s something important, I¡¯ll find it out eventually. Chin-Hae then looks towards Miss Hinata, and says ¡°What about you Miss Saito?¡± ¡°Miss Saito?¡±, is he calling her by her first name? No, probably not. Wait,¡­ the Japanese seem to write their surname first. Got it. She was looking at the other people, being asked suddenly, she looked towards him with a little lost look in her eyes. ¡°I was going to pick up my daughter from school, on my way back from work.¡± ¡°Were you perhaps also driving a car?¡±, I ask her. Who shakes her head in a denial, ¡°No, I was on the metro.¡± Then after a pause, she says, ¡°Can we return?¡± Then the silence ensued, I don¡¯t know what to reply to her question, because I don¡¯t even know the situation I¡¯m in. Perhaps Chin-Hae also thinks the same. To divert my attention I was about to go check the condition of the other people, before Chin-Hae spoke ¡°The others, maybe we should look at their condition first. Someone among them may be seriously injured¡±, he says looking at his arm, which seems to be a little swollen. I nod to show that I agree. What he said just now sounds reasonable. Perhaps we got lucky, and suffered less injuries than them, that¡¯s why the are still not waking up? Nervously, we moved towards the others, when suddenly I had this ominous feeling, will there be wild beasts here, the trees seem so huge. I don¡¯t know where we are, so the possibility exists. But still I decided to keep quiet, lest I should make the other two more uncomfortable than they presently are. 3. Light and Darkness ¡°Why are they still not waking up?¡±, Chin-Hae asked in a perplexed voice, which carried a hint of a shiver within it. I looked at the people still lying unconscious on the ground, breathing peacefully. The look of serenity on their faces, a sharp contrast to the rough jungle ground, sprawled with leaves, broken twigs and insects, on which they were lying. But what Chin-Hae said was really something to think about. Why won¡¯t they wake up? And why did we wake up, if they don¡¯t? Chin-Hae was currently taking the pulse of a man. I saw a drop of sweat roll down his forehead, and fall on the ground. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡±, I said what was on my mind, then I added ¡°So did you find anything from their pulse?¡± Chin-Hae shook his head, ¡°No, their pulses are all normal¡±, then with a pause he added, ¡°it seems like they are just,... sleeping.¡± I stood up, and some distance away from me was Miss Saito, sitting elegantly with her knees folded. She has been really quite all this time, apart from inquiring once about whether anyone woke up or not. She seemed to be contemplating about something. But from time to time her eyes would betray the uneasiness, which she felt within. I watched as a leaf fall to the ground. It fell from above, so I¡¯m sure it belongs to one of those giants, as the normal trees are a little distance away¡­ But, I have to say, I¡¯m a little surprised. I was expecting the leaves of these giants, to be at least the size of a small boat. Anyways, while sitting I¡¯ve had enough time to observe my surrounding properly. The giant trees, are three in number, and spaced roughly diagonally at a distance of about thirty meters from one another, which is also about the the diameter of this clearing. Apart from them there are also regular trees here, but they are located somewhat further away. And the place where they are located is also a little dark and obscure, because most of the sunlight is being obscured by the forest roof. The area which we¡¯re in, is a clearing in the forest, like I said previously, and save for the occasional raven calls, I¡¯ve not seen any birds nor any animals, be it small or large¡­ This is really a big relief to me, because I don¡¯t want to come across any animals now, when the conditions which we''re in are not that optimistic. ¡°Mr. Dhruv¡±, I was presently brought out of my musing by Chin-Hae, who is standing beside me. Speaking of Chin-Hae, and also Miss Saito, the''re actually both quite amazing. Chin-Hae has already inspected the surroundings, and both of them have checked on the unconscious people, to determine their condition. While I was only sitting and casually observing this and that. ¡°We¡¯ve waited for about an hour¡±, I said, ¡°but they are not waking up.¡± Chin-Hae nodded thoughtfully. While I pondered on what to say next. It is still daytime, and we can clearly see our surroundings. But I know, and probably Miss Saito, and Chin-Hae also knows it too. That any forest during the day, is completely different to what it is like at night. Its relative serenity during the day, is just a facade, which it uses to lure in innocent preys, only gobble them up whole, under the veil of darkness. ¡°Well,¡­ there¡¯s still daylight, so we can wait a bit more for them to wake up, but we should try to find a place as shelter during the night.¡± I said, while looking at those lying on the ground, ¡®sleeping¡¯ peacefully. I then kept quite because I don¡¯t know what to do next, we have no cell phones, so no means of communicating with the outside world. I don¡¯t even know how we got here in the first place, but I know one thing for sure. We were brought here by human intervention. That¡¯s the only way to explain all the weird things, that¡¯s been happening. But why?... ¡°Chin-Hae, did you find anything on them?¡±, I asked Chin-Hae, and then added ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind me calling you that. You can also call me by my name.¡± Chin-Hae laughs slightly, ¡°It¡¯s okay," he says, but then his face becomes a little disappointed as he speaks, ¡°No, they don¡¯t have anything on them, but for their clothes.¡± ¡°What about you Miss Saito?¡± I turn towards her and ask, though I already know the answer. Miss Saito stands up, perhaps she is also fatigued, as her face looks a little pale. Then she makes her way here. ¡°Just like Mr. Chin-Hae said. I also didn¡¯t find anything on them.¡± Then with a troubled look she adds, ¡°Umm¡­ I don¡¯t know, but someone may have brought us here...¡± Hmm¡­ that¡¯s also what I suspect¡­. After a pause I look at them, and ask ¡°...Can any of you make a fire?¡± Chin-Hae has a pained look on his face, as he says ¡°No, but I wish that I had learnt how to start one." Yea. It would have been really great. I was about to sigh, when Miss Saito interjected with an ¡°Umm¡±, both me and Chin-Hae looked at her, ¡°I can try¡­ to make a fire, but I don¡¯t know if I¡¯¡¯ll be able to¡±, said Miss Saito looking at us. I felt pleasantly surprised after hearing that, but then I felt a little elated. if it really works, then that means we have solved a big problem. But first I should probably look for substances that can make a fire. ¡°What does it require to start a fire?¡± I ask her. Although I¡¯ve seen TV shows where they collect dry woods, twigs etc., and then somehow rub them together to produce fire, but still it¡¯s better to be certain before I collect them. ¡°Twigs, leaves, and branches. But they must be really dry¡±, she says. ¡°Okay¡±, says Chin-Hae, as he nods towards me, and moves towards the woods. ¡°Wait!¡±, I said hurriedly. It is perhaps not a very good idea, to head out into the woods alone, when we don¡¯t even know what might be in there. Chin-Hae may have come to understand this too, as he says ¡°I wouldn''t have ventured too deep into the woods, but it¡¯s okay¡­ let all of us go together.¡± ¡°You should come along with us Saito-san, we don¡¯t know what situation we¡¯re in yet¡±, Chin-Hae tells Miss Saito. Miss Saito seems to have realized this as well, and comes along with us¡­.
It¡¯s been about half an hour since we have started scouting the woods for firewood, and all of us are now carrying our lot of firewood with us. We didn¡¯t venture too deep, firstly because it might be dangerous, and secondly because the further the place away from the clearing, the more dark and moist it is due to the lack of sunlight. All of us are now walking in silence. We were all probably trying to do our best to forget the situation we¡¯re in, while collecting the firewood. But now that we''re done collecting, we are again slowly walking towards the clearing, which seems to have make the mood oppressive. ¡°Doesany of you think that we were abducted...¡± I ask Chin-Hae, and then turn towards Miss Saito, while hoping that a conversation would somehow lighten up the oppressive feeling. Chin-Hae answers first. ¡°Yea that¡¯s possible¡± he says, but it seems he¡¯s thinking about something. ¡°Do you have any views of your own?¡± I ask him after a pause, he seems a bit troubled at first, but then slowly opens his mouth ¡°Well¡­ I know this may sound a little ridiculous,... but were we summoned here?¡± He says in a self-doubting voice. Huh, summoned? What is that? He seems to be looking at our faces with some anticipation, but still I say¡­ ¡°Uhhh¡­ what is summoned¡­?¡± ¡°It is like bringing someone from one place to another, the place may be a different planet.¡± This time it is Miss Saito who answers, then with a pause she adds, ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible though.¡± Oh? So Miss Saito also seem to know about summoning. I am a little perplexed. Understanding from my facial expression, she elaborates further ¡°Well it seems to happen mostly in games, and anime.¡± Chin-Hae nods. He then says in a slightly uncertain voice, ¡°I clearly remember driving a car, but the next thing I know is I¡¯m here. And not just me, you too Saito-san, were you not in the metro before you suddenly found yourself waking up here?¡± They chat for a bit, while with a little inquiry, I gained further insights into this summoning thing. It seems to be a common thing depicted in anime, and games. It is a kind of teleportation, but works with magic. Hmm... magic, I''m not sure. I would like think from a scientific view point before, I come to any conclusion. But I didn¡¯t tell them that. ¡°Can we not be knocked unconscious by someone, then brought here?¡± I ask, because I know of some nerve agents, which can induce instant unconsciousness. Both Chin-Hae and Miss Saito nods, ¡°Yea¡± Chin-Hae replies. But then he adds ¡°It¡¯s possible, but why would someone bother to do that to us?¡± I keep quite. Because I also don¡¯t know the answer. Ahh¡­ we''re already at the clearing. That¡¯s what I call it, since it is somewhat more clear when compared to its surroundings. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Miss Saito quickly gathers the leaves and branches together, and tries to start the fire. I stare at the branches rubbing against each other, but I¡¯m thinking about our uncertain future. Though I¡¯m not that fatigued now, but I¡¯ll soon need to drink some water, and also replenish my stomach with food. Without food and water survival is impossible, but we don¡¯t have any of that here, so that means we will have to venture out into the forest eventually. I don¡¯t know what time it is, because the sky is still bright, but we need to move out of this place sooner or later, whether these people wake up or not. So that means leaving them behind, if they don¡¯t wake up. But does it not imply that we¡¯re simply abandoning them to die here in the jungle? Thinking up to this, I suddenly felt a little sick, the thought itself seem to cause a revolting feeling to rise within my heart. I¡¯ve seen this being done in movies, but movies will be movies, and life will be life. Will I be able to forgive myself, if I do that? Will I able to forget the faces of these people who are now ¡®sleeping¡¯ peacefully? Although I haven¡¯t seen their faces that well, perhaps as a subconscious reaction to what is to come. And I¡¯ll probably forget their faces, after some time, but I will remember that I¡¯ve condemned these people to die here. And I know¡­ I know that that my memory will make these faces come back to me again and again, as vague horrors. I subconsciously looked towards the sleeping face, a little distance away from me. Facing towards the sky; her disheveled chestnut brown locks covered half of her face. The part uncovered seemed to belong to an angel, looking up at the heavens. While from the other side, I thought I felt the gaze of a mutilated demon, waiting in muted silence for an opportunity, to devour us all. I hurriedly looked towards the ground, and saw a bug crawling on my shoes. I shuddered and quickly brushed it away.
It has been quite some time since Miss Saito has been trying to light up the fire, but unfortunately, no matter how hard she tried, the wood wouldn¡¯t even smoke a little. Then after some time Chin-Hae took over, but still it was of no use. Finally, it was my turn and I also tried to light up the damned branch, but even when it felt like my palms would spew fire instead, it showed no sign of burning. Finally having exhausted all my energy, and feeling somewhat giddy again, I threw the stick away, and sat down. Neither among us were speaking. Each probably engrossed with their own troubled thoughts. This went for some time, when I walked over to one of the giant trees and tried to climb it. But the surface though somewhat irregular in shape was quite slippery. So after trying for some time, I had to give up because the fatigue was again slowly washing over me. After taking a brief repose, I tried to climb one of those normal trees. But unfortunately, they were also not suitable for climbing, as they were either too thin, or too short. This gave me a headache, as I slowly made my way back to the group of two awake and six sleeping. Chin-Hae also came from another direction. He too tried climbing the tree, it seems. ¡°It will be night sooner or later¡­¡± I said in a low voice, ¡° Any plans?¡± Chin-Hae thought for a while and said, ¡°Let¡¯s break some of the thinner trees, and make spears out of them¡­ In that way at least we have a chance at protecting ourselves.¡± I also found the idea to be quite good, so I agreed immediately. So we both went to the nearby trees that had apparently thin stems, and tried to break one of them. But after a while I discovered something, it is much harder to break the seemingly frail looking trees, thanI¡¯ve imagined. We tried for quite some time, but the trees would only budgea little but was nowhere near breaking, I looked at the branches and saw that they were too frail to be sharpened into spears. Dejected, we both returned to where we came from. Miss Saito, who seemed to be looking this way, also seem to have lost the hope in her eyes, after seeing us return empty handed. Okay, I''ll admit it. The situation is bad¡­. We have no food, no water and we don¡¯t have any means or protecting ourselves. We also failed to start a fire. Furthermore, no one probably knows that were here. So no search parties. The forest surrounding us seem to be growing more terrifying with every passing second now. I don¡¯t know whether it is because of the hopelessness or not.
I looed up at the sky, and it had a shade of crimson in it. Although I can still see the other two''s faces clearly, but the forest surrounding us has become darker, and quieter. The raven has also gone silent for sometime now. Neither of those who were sleeping, has woken up yet. And with every passing breath the fear of the unknown is creeping deeper and deeper within me. Miss Saito seems to be quite disturbed,and fidgety. And Chin-Hae is sitting with his face towards the woods. I stood up again, and this may be my fourth or fifth time standing up. Every time I stand up thinking of doing something productive, I end up doing nothing at all, but still I say with my voice raised a little, and it''s more like I''m reassuring myself than talking to them. ¡°Let¡¯s clear this place up a bit¡±, I say, as they look towards me. The expression on their faces have already become obscure due to the approaching darkness. But still I managed to see clearly their white ofeyes, which seem to be the only mode of expression in a world of shadows. And what I saw with them, was a concealed fear and uncertainty. And I¡¯m sure, that both of them also saw the same within my eyes. But still I started removing the leaves and twigs from the ground with my feet, and both Chin-Hae and Miss Saito also stood up up and started doing the same. We stopped after sometime when the place looked somewhat clear. I don¡¯t exactly know why I cleared this place, but at least it gave a me a sense of accomplishment. It is finally dusk, and the world before me is hazy. Miss Saito and Chin-Hae have both moved closer, but a mask of darkness, seems to have already been fixed firmly upon their faces. In the hushed silence, I can hearmy own heart beat, and after a while I felt as if I could also hear the heartbeatfrom the other two people sitting beside me. I looked towards theempty darkness, but I know that it¡¯s a forest, concealed within it. If there¡¯s something in the forest like an wild animal, which poses a threat to us. Then the outcome will be unthinkable¡­ Suddenly Chin-Hae breaks the silence, as he says with a hushed tone ¡°We need to keep close, and also need to keep watch in rounds, so that we can get at least some rest during the night.¡± After some discussing we decided; Chin-Hae will stay on watch first, then it will be my turn, and finally Miss Saito will stay on watch. Also as there is no wayfor us to keep a measure of time, so we decided to act using out intuition. Each of us will be on watch for about four hours. Well, as if such a silly technique will work in such a dark and unknown place, but still its better than doing nothing at least¡­ I suddenly felt my chest tighten with an inexplicable fear!!!! Huh? I woke up as someone is shaking my arm, but all that I see around me now is darkness. ¡°Dh-ruuv?¡±, someone asks in a very hushed voice. ¡°Yea¡±, I muttered. I slowly sat up, ¡°Miss Saito¡±, the voice asked again. ¡°Hai¡±, came an answer in a whisper. So it¡¯s my turn huh¡­ I exhaled and then I slowly sat up. I don¡¯t know how much time I¡¯ve been awake for, and I would at times feel a slight throbbing pain in my eyes, and wouldsee hallucinations of orbs of light dancing in front of me, which won¡¯t go away even if I rub my eyes. When suddenly I saw a silver thread of light, falling on the forest floor. I looked at it, and it didn¡¯t seem like an hallucination. Then I looked up, and saw the moon hanging on a small patch of sky surrounded by darkness. I don¡¯t know why, but suddenly seeing the moon in this absolute darkness, I felt an immense joy surge within my heart. I never knew before,that even the moon can bring such happiness. I sat up straight, as a forgotten memory from my childhood, which seem so distant now, slowly surfaced within my mind. It was my that of my mother¡¯s singing me a lullaby, as I would look at the moon in a similar fashion, outside my window. I don¡¯t understand why during my childhood, the darkness seemed to be filled with light. But nowas an adult, I see only darkness in darkness. ¡°Viswa srushti vidhayinam, Punareva palana thathparam, Samharathamapi prapanchamasesha loka nivasinam, Kredayanthamaharnisam, gana nadha yudha samnvitham, Chandrashekaramasraye mama kim karishyathi vai yamah.¡± Actually it is an ancient Sanskrit poem. Which my mother used to sing to me as a lullaby. Though she also used it while meditating. If I am to translate it in English, it would be something like ¡°I seek refuge in Him, who has the moon, Who does the creation of the universe, Who then is interested in its upkeep, Who at proper time destroys the universe, Who lives in every being of the universe, Who is in play day and night with all beings, Who is the leader of all beings, And so what can god of death do to me? I softly hummed the tune of the poem, as my mind slowly relaxed, and suddenly I had this feeling that the surrounding darkness was not that threatening. I kept looking at the moon, and then when I looked down, I saw the light. The dark forest did not seem so dark, as it was before.