The Quest

"It's been 76th day in this unknown desert,and still nobody is here!", Kevin murmured in despair,while hurling the stone on the sand heap and threw his body down and leaned against a palm tree."Everything is gone!I can't stay alive any longer! Had I not been so obstinate, I wouldn't be in a situation I am in today",he repented.He looked up at the sky surrendering to his destiny, watching the calm translucent, feathery clouds floating away across the indigo bed of the sky."Everything is so peaceful up there", realizing he will pass gently into that good night.There is no proper shade over his head to shelter himself from the scorching heat of the sun.He turned his hands and watched his palms with his worn-out,half-closed eyes between his greasy,dirty long hair,they appear grubby, filthy, the nails are uneven and begrimed , the malnourished fingers resembles bare skeleton bones,he tries to clench his fist,but lacks strength and growls in pain,his hands are shaky, legs are feeble, joints are stiff,muscles suffer cramps frequently,the fabrics of his clothes started to show bigger tears, his skin appear tarnished.

In this belligerent, merciless nature that cursed him with obnoxious moments, his little hope of somebody coming like a saviour and rescuing him,is the only spark of light in darkness, that still keeps him alive. He craves to return to family, his motherland, he daily visits the seashore with a hope somebody got his letter that he sailed in an empty glass bottle, which probably reached some other shore. Kevin often gets submerged deep in nostalgic moments when he sits under the shade of this palm tree and sticks a side of his head against it. He closes his eyes and gets lost in his thoughts. He used to live a healthy life,with his wife and children, his life as an explorer has always been nice and good, but this time things are poles apart,he commenced his expedition to a new island with his fellow companions for exploring a handful of scattered islands having stretched lands covered with deserts right on the bossom of pacific.Rumour has it,an oasis in one of the islands of that desert has hidden treasure. Voyages are not only a passion,but a reason for being for him. But things are at odds this time. Had they not confronted the stormy, rough weather that night in addition to the thundery, lightning and torrential rain at the sea,which totally blinded their visibility, they would have had a successful expedition. But circumstances were such on that night in the sea that made them vulnerable to lose their destination for some other destiny. The turbulent,big waves wrecked their fragile ship leading to the death of his fellow companions,where Kevin was fortunate enough to reach an undisclosed desert probably somewhere in the middle-east.

Suddenly, with a sensation of intense pain on his right leg his nostalgic thoughts were shattered. Tears started to roll down his drawn,sunken cheeks.His tear-soaked eyes developed dark circles,and appear zombie-like with little or no hope.He tried to lift his half-paralyzed body,his hands are trembling,his waist is heavy,finally blowing a heavy gust of wind,out of his mouth he forcibly stood on his feeble thin legs,in a semi-erect posture.His full body was covered with scars.The right toe was nibbled by some unknown desert fauna, and due to lack of treatment the infection is spreading fast making him lame. The toe appears to turn blackish, and white pus-like fluid oozing out of the portion,the infected part was totally exposed as he was bare-footed.He has been out of food for the past 2 days,a portion of the food that was with him when he reached the shore was finished more or less ten days ago,since then he had to satisfy hunger by hunting sand boas,scorpions,lizards,sidewinders.But now........now his health is detoriating, the infection proving to be detrimental for him,it is too difficult to search for food,but easier to die on this island.He feels himself on the brink of life and death.He glances at his lanky,skinny body, then slids his view over his hands,skin appears roughy, darky, dead.He has not seen mirror for so many days, he forgot how he actually used to look, lack of food worsened his plight,he often suffers memory loss, loses his physical and mental balance.He needs medical attention, but in this desert where is he going to get medical assistance?.He gazes at the sea as far as he could,holding himself back patiently, and convincing his mind and body, "One more day,please for heaven sake, somebody will surely come."He waits for the sound of some boat,ship,sailor who will pass by,so that he can cry out loud,asking for help, but no......the sea out there is very calm, placid, the only sound that sea can offer is of waves and water.His face started to become pale,his tranquil eyes seems to lose the eager ,saliva drools out his mouth but mentally he is lost somewhere in the sea. His stomach is almost empty,he didnt have anything since morning, except dried dates.He started to feel the ache of stomach cramp developing followed by nausea. His blood pressure started falling, he started to feel vertigo,he tried hard to keep his eyes open,tried to hold on,but could not bear the harsh nature, lost his grip on his body, and collapsed on the sand, losing his senses and finally took his last breathe on that island.

But,he could hear one voice coming from somewhere but he could not find where it is,he was desperately searching for it,the voice told him,"relax Kevin, with my count till three you will come back to reality,.........3,2,1......open your eyes now" ,with a typical sound of snapping two fingers by the psychiatrist , Kevin suddenly opened his eyes to find himself sitting in the doctor's cabin, his wife waiting eagerly and staring at his face to see his reactions."Are you Ok now?",his wife asked.Kevin remembered he came to psychiatrist for a series of hypnotherapy sessions as suggested for the treatment of his depression.He took a deep breathe with tears in his eyes,and replied his wife,"Of course!".