I was always the curious one. One to not accept things as
they are presented, but to challenge the status quo. To accept facts as fiction
till proven otherwise.
And when they told me that if anyone was to depart from the 10,000
mile radius of the Lotus of Life in the centre of the city, they would die. I
made up my mind on the spot to test it out. So for a good number of years, I
plotted in the dark how I would test it out. I’d go through the route a good
thousand times as I lay in bed. Every step, every turn - it’d bugged me every
single night. But tomorrow was different. Tomorrow, was THE day.
I could barely sleep the whole night. As soon as the sun hit
the horizon, I took my rug sack and heading out to my best friend’s crib. He
was just as adventurous as I, always taking things to the next level. But this
wasn’t the next level. This was a first time gamer going against the final
boss.
But nothing was going to stop us now.
So we walked.
And walked.
And walked some more.
Our straw shoes wore out. The soles of our feet were full of
cuts and bruises, but these minor things weren’t going to deter us. The goal
that lay ahead gave us extra determination to endure that which was before us.
I felt thirsty. But more than that. I felt a thirst that
couldn’t be satisfied with drinking water. It burned from the inside. I didn’t
like that feeling very much. But I chose not to say a word, nor let the pain
show on my face. I looked at my best friend and smiled. I could tell he was
struggling just as much as I did, but we were doing our best to encourage each
other by staying strong.
But it burned. It ached from the inside. Something was
happening. And it didn’t feel very natural. Maybe they were right. Maybe the
Lotus of Life held more inside it that being just a symbol of the city. Maybe
they were right to call me a fool.
---
We must have walked a good 9,000 miles by now. Every supply
we had was gone. No water, no food. The clothes on our back seemed a pale
shadow of what it was when we first set out. But more than that, I seemed to
notice something different on the face of my friend. Something changed, but I
couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
I questioned myself. Was I leading us both to our deaths? I
scanned the barren lands that were ahead. There was barely any population of
any sort. No humans, no bugs, no animals, no birds. Even vegetation was scarce.
But I figured we could squeeze a bit more juice out from the cacti that was 2
miles southeast of us.
I looked at my friend once more before heading out to gather
cacti juice. He seemed quite foreign now. But I thought, maybe it’s just the
heat getting into me. Before he was done setting up camp for the night, I had
returned with fluids to rehydrate ourselves.
---
I got up early the next morning. As I always have. But I
looked at my hands. They didn’t really seem like hands anymore. More bone than
flesh. Yet, they didn’t seem that odd. It looked natural to me. But it just
felt different.
I reached my hands out to stretch before I got up. And I
looked to my right. Who was this man taking rest next to me? His face – was
exactly like my hands. More bone than flesh. But it wasn’t that. I don’t
remember ever seeing this person in my life. I paused.
I don’t even remember where I am or what I’m doing here
anymore.
---
They say distances change things. Maybe they do. Maybe they
change who we are. Maybe they change the people we once knew. And maybe they
change the relationships we used to have.