I put on my head lamp. But the path was hardly visible, we then turned on the flash lamp from our phones. Those were they only source of light in between those mountains filled with darkness. It was making no difference than the stars in sky, shining but not suppling enough source of light to see clearly. We were walking with the bags of garbage on those slippery rocks and hills. Our plan was to collect all the garbage while returning as well. After walking for some time we were completely exhausted and we could also sense some sort of danger we are walking into. We walked for some more minutes, almost got drowned and survived, slipped on a slope and enjoyed the slide, and what not. It was my phone ringing. I looked at it and it was my cousin calling. I told him about the situation and the reason for our pace of walking. He asked us not to panic and keep walking towards them.
It was good that network was available in my phone but this happiness lasted hardly a minute. I opened the map and tried figuring out where were we. It was dense forest and mountains and had no way to reach that point through the navigation feature. All we had was lights for a few more hours and a hope of reaching home safe. After walking for a few more minutes we sat in between the stream and discussing what could be done. I could see both my friends suffering and me as well but still we were carrying the load along with us. I suggest them that we should walk down the stream to reach the plains as walking up along the stream eventually leads to the source of the stream or the waterfalls. We started walking again, one of my friends had a big leech stuck on his right leg. He shouted and in a hurry got rid of that bloodsucking parasite. I remember my cousin saying “Don’t panic” but still we hopped out of the stream and check if there was anymore stuck on our body. Found none, we kept walking even though scared. Soon we realised that this path we are walking in is no way recognizable. The fear I was having came into real. We walked a little bit more to reassure but yes, we are lost. Although we were unable to remember when did we actually lost the track its nearly impossible to return back and restart the journey. My phone rang again, I rushed to receive the call and due to poor strength of network voices were lagging.
All I could hear was keep moving down the stream, people are starting to get suspicious and worried. We kept on moving until I could recognize a spot as it was my second time to that place. It was hard for me to believe that we haven’t even covered half the distance. I look towards the sky, it was the clearest sky I have ever seen. We turned off our lights and the only source of light was stars and the moon. It seems to be not a good idea to carry down all the bags. So, we decided to keep it at a safe place only to be taken away later by us or any other youths like us. We left three bags there and took the rest three with us. Lights on and we are good to go! We could increase our pace but unlucky enough to get lost again amidst the jungle which is predators territory. We kept following the flow of water. My cousin called to ask if we could hear the honking from the bike. I said no, the flow of water is not allowing me hear that. Maybe the sound is being absorbed by the dense forest. While we were moving he asked me not to end the call and keep walking. Now, he asked if we could see for the light from his bike’s projector lamps. But it was still a “NO” to his questions. Eventually scaring us more after answering the questions. Then the locals might have suggested him to ask me for the light from the house built on top a mountain. He described on which side should we look for it to spot the light. It was a mountain which was cover the light, crossing it we could see the light. He than honked and flashed light from his bike and we started running towards it. After crossing the river for the last time it felt like winning battle and returning alive.
About the writer: Akshay
Akshoy Gogoi, a resident of North Lakhimpur, Assam. A travel enthusiast pursuing BBA in Tourism and Hospitality Management. I am currently an intern of GreenAmmo. With wisdom gained down the memory lane I have realized that we should promote sustainability to preserve the resources for a long run. My main moto behind joining GreenAmmo is to gain knowledge as much as I can in the field sustainability. I want to gain more knowledge about sustainability and educate people why is it so necessary, the basics pros of it. I however believe that our planet i.e Earth has given us much more then we deserve, by doing this we can at least do our bit for the enormous resource our planet offers us.
Gmail: akshaygogoi00@gmail.com