The Noisy Silence

Hello. Passengers of British Airways, flight 17 bound for Bengaluru, we regret to announce that there will be a slight delay in departure due to inclement weather. British Airways regrets for the inconvenience caused. 

"Such an unpleasant news," I muttered to myself and looked at the sky outside. The view outside the window was poetically beautiful. The sky was tar-black, and the large clouds were moving towards me. My eyes were fixed on the window, watching aeroplanes and the rain. I was lost in thoughts. Suddenly, I realized that something was disturbing me and pulling me down from the mesmerizing realm of thoughts to the humdrum world of reality. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see who it was. It was a girl; maybe in her 20's. I was confused, and I was pretty sure that I hadn't met the girl earlier. 

"Do I know you miss?" I asked.

"No. As you are also waiting for the same flight, I just felt like talking to you." The girl said. 

"That's so nice of you. You look like an Indian. Are you?" I asked her.

"Yes, I am. I had been to the US for vacation", she said. 

"You might have had a great time", I said in excitement. 

"Yes I had, but by the God's grace, I just escaped a tragedy", she said. 

 I was curious to know her story. I sat next to her and asked her if everything is okay with her? 

"Tragedy is not one, but many. All stories are tragic, and only the names change, now here, now there. I have one too". The girl began. 

Those words drenched my heart. 

She continued, “It was our 26th day in the US. 

By 7 in the morning, I woke up lazily from my airbed. I indolently sat on the couch, watching the fish swim in the aquarium”. 

"Get up, girl; we are going on a picnic", my cousin screamed out of excitement.

"Where?" I enquired.

"Your dad wants to go to some scenic place, so we are going to Mulberry River bed. Get ready soon, my colleagues John and Kyumi will also join us. We will have lots of fun there, with them", she said, packing some snacks in the kitchen. In no time, I was ready with my bag pack. We drove to John's house, which was nearby. John and Kyumi form a lovely couple, happily married. There is a sweet love story behind their marriage. When John had been to Japan on a business meeting, he met Kyumi there and fell in love with her. When they told about their relationship to Kyumi's parents, as expected, they didn't get a favorable response. The primary reason for rejection was that John was an American, and Kyumi was Japanese. They belonged not just to two different cultures but also two different countries. Even after facing rejection from Kyumi's parents, John was not ready to leave his love back at Japan. They both flew to the US and got married there. 

As my cousin finished narrating me John-Kyumi love story, we had already reached their house. John and Kyumi welcomed us. Along with Kyumi, John's Persian cat was also there to receive us. As soon as I saw the cat, I jumped to catch it, and soon we became friends. 

While I was playing with John's Persian cat, I heard him say that we will be driving to Turner Bend on the Mulberry River at Arkansas State in Mid America and Canoeing in that river is very easy. He did lots of surfing on the internet, showed us a few pictures of Canoeing, rafting and kayaking. I was excited seeing the pictures. 

After a few minutes, I bade Good Bye to my new friend, John's cat, and we drove to Arkansas. 

The next morning, we had our complimentary breakfast and drove to Turner Bend. The billboard on the road read: Turner Bend, where the National Wild and Scenic Mulberry River meet the Pig Trail Scenic Byway. That is when I realized that we had reached our destination. We entered a small wooden shop to buy our tickets. The person in the counter told us that for over one hundred years, travelers have been stopping at this spot to admire the river, forests and mountains. Looking at the river, I was not thrilled anymore; I was scared. Adding more to my fear, the person in the counter said that we would have to canoe 8 mile down the river and there is only one stop in between. He even made us sign a form which stated that the river is dangerous and they are not responsible for the damage caused. After taking our signature on the paper, he provided us with four canoe, eight paddle and lifeguard jackets. 

 I even told my cousin, "Sis, I don't want to come. I am scared, and I don't even know how to swim".

"Dear, this is a shallow river, the water comes just up to your knee level, upon that you have lifeguard jackets, so don't worry, nothing will happen to you" my sister tried to fill some course in me. 

Kyumi and my cousin sat in one boat, Dad and mom took another boat, my brother-in-law, I sat in another boat and John alone took one boat. I was not feeling frightened because

I was sitting with an experienced hand. The river was calm and shallow. Our boat was moving slow. We were following John, and Kyumi's boat was following ours. But it was not an easy task for my parents. They were fighting with each other and shouting at each other, and their boat was moving haphazardly. That was the moment I realized that the fundamentals of Canoeing and Life are the same. Both the partners have to cooperate and move the paddle in one direction, then the boat moves forward and also the life. At one point, we all stopped, and mom was shifted into John's boat. Dad alone rowed his boat, and he looked happy. He was feeling relieved from his nagging wife. I was completely enjoying and had fallen in love with nature. Canoeing is for adventurers, romantics and lovers of nature. Everything was beautiful and then suddenly our boat started picking up speed, and my brother-in-law couldn't control it. We tried a lot to cut off the boat's speed. But it was of no use. What was scarier was I saw a massive stone in the middle of the river, and we were approaching it, too rapidly. I just had 'Titanic- iceberg' experience. Before I could scream, our canoe banged the stone, and the worst part is that, it didn't turn completely upside down. For half a kilometre, the boat slid slanting, and finally it turned upside down, and we fell into the water. The fall was not just a fall; I went six feet into the water. I thought 'This is the end'. I had drowned only for a few seconds, but I experienced the other side of the world, which I had never seen, and I don't want to see again. It was because of the lifeguard jacket that I was out of the water and began to float. I tried to stand, but I couldn't. As my brother-in-law knew swimming, he came swimming to me and held me. For half an hour, we stood in the middle of the water, waiting for someone to help us. We had lost our boat, my shoes and my paddle. We were confused, and I was scared. At that point I had the second lesson for the day: "Life is like a river journey. We just need to keep flowing; no one will neither stop to help us, nor can we stop to help someone else. We just need to keep flowing."

After half an hour of helpless thinking, slowly step by step, we started moving towards the river bank fighting against the river. It was not easy for us because I couldn't reach the river bed, I was floating, and my brother-in-law had to pull me towards the bank. 

After one hour of battle against the river, we reached the bank. I turned around to look for others, my cousin had also lost her boat, as she knew swimming, and she was trying to use her learnt life skill. In the meantime, John had held our boats. I didn't dare to sit in the boat again. "I don't want to continue", I begged my brother-in-law.

"You will have to come, dear. In this forest, you cannot stay alone”, my brother-in-law told in reply.

I was shivering and panicking. I had already lost my shoes and paddle. I didn't want to lose my life too. I had decided not to continue.

My brother-in-law was helpless. He had to accompany his wife. So he promised me that he would be back as soon as possible. "We will be back", saying so, he left. I was not feeling alone at that point because I could see Kyumi swimming towards me. "Dear, come with us. You can't stay here alone. Forests are always filled with danger. Anything might happen to you here. Please come."

"No, aunty, whatever happens, I will stay here, and I won't come", I begged her.

She asked me to calm down and gave me her handkerchief, a watch and a water bottle. She strictly told me not to go anywhere, and that they will be back within 2-3 hours. Saying so, she jumped back into the river. All had lost their canoe except my dad. He was not rowing smoothly, but he hadn't fallen into the river yet. I could see him wave his hand, asking me to come. I didn't make up my mind to go again, and I thought that would be the last time, I will be seeing my dad. My eyes were filled with tears, and as dad disappeared from my sight, I felt suffocated. I looked around, and there were only tall, lush green trees. None of them seemed beautiful to me now, and they were haunting me. I cried. I cried and cried. Then I realized that there is no use of crying and Kyumi promised me that they would be back, so definitely they will be back. I saw a broken bridge at a distance. I thought if I go near that, it will be easy for my parents to find me. So I started to walk towards the bridge. The stones and thorns were pricking me badly and for the first time, I experienced what loneliness is. Somehow, with lots of difficulty, I reached the bridge. I thought of my college, friends, mom, dad and everything back in India. I could see people Canoeing, drafting. Whenever I saw anyone pass by, I would scream at the top of my voice, "Please help me; I am lost. If you find my parents anywhere, please tell them that I am waiting for them near the broken bridge." "Take Care love", they would reply back to me. Four long hours passed, but there was no sign of my parents. Are they alive? Or dead? I don't know. Will they find me? Or not? I don't know. Should I search for them? Or not? I don't know. 

While the girl was explaining to me, about her situation in the forest, she was panicking so much as though she was reliving the situation. I held her hand softly to convince her that she is out, safe and okay.

She looked at me and then continued- 

Questions were battling in my mind. And then, I heard some noise, and I turned to see what it was. A wild boar was standing behind me. It took some seconds for me to realize that it is a wild boar. What should I do now? I was confused. Should I jump into the river and die or die in the hands of a boar. Should I jump or stand? Stand? Jump? Jump? Stand? I ran! I ran for life. I felt that I shouldn't die like this in the forest. I ran for some distance and then I turned to see whether the boar is still following or not. The boar had disappeared. I walked back to the bridge. After six hours, my parents came to me, but all damaged. I had no words to describe my happiness. It was a magical reunion. The boar might have disappeared probably thinking that I would be more dangerous to him, hearing me scream and looking at my scattered hair. 

When the girl said this, there was a grin on my face, and it lightened the situation. 

My dad then told to me that, they immediately went to the counter at the first stop and asked for help. Some of the travelers had also informed them that a girl is waiting near the bridge. People in the counter arranged for a car and they started to search for me, and finally they found me drenched in tears.

I ran to my dad and hugged him, and there is no place for me in this world, as secure as my dad's arms. 

"I thanked God a thousand times, for reuniting me with my parents", she said.

When she completed her story, her eyes were wet. 

Good news, Passengers of British Airways, flight 17 bound for Bengaluru, I request the passengers to head towards gate 18 A.

We bid goodbye to each other and departed as we heard the announcement. 

I was back in Bengaluru, but not as the same person. I often sit with my wife, and think what I could have done to find my little daughter whom I had lost in Mumbai railway station. I sit long hours, staring at the old photographs of my daughter, thinking how irresponsibly I let the little hands slip out of mine. I too should have searched like the girl's parents. I feel guilty for not trying more. I want to end the voyage of sorrow and old wounds to heal. I want to return from the nightmare and fill the suffocating silence of my house with laughter.

My wife, holding my hand affectionately, would always say: "The noise within you is making you silent".  

But for me:

"Tragedy is not one, but many. All stories are tragic, and only the names change, now here, now there. I have one too."