New day, new beginning and ode to friendship.
After a long day of trekking we reached the top of one of the mountains. The sun was setting, the sky was a mélange of unimaginable hues hitting the mighty himalayas that stood before us. I had been on this trek several times before, but for my friend this was his first ever trek experience.My friend and I, whom I have known since ages, have shared many great life experiences together, but all of them were in the comfort of a city life.
We decided to pitch our tents in an open grass patch overlooking the mountain which we would trek the following day. Within moments of us building our night shelter it became dark, as it does in the mountains. The
welcoming blue sky now became eerily black. The cool breeze now turned into ice gusts pinching like needles on our skin. Cup noodles and a chocolate bar was to be our gourmet dinner for the night, snuggled into our sleeping bags in what felt like the reverse of metamorphosis.
However suddenly, to our surprise the weather was rather unexpected. Rain started pouring madly, wind blew across intensely, and thunder struck fervently.The wind was strong that it pushed the side wall of the tent on our faces. This went on for some time, the situation getting worse by the second. Sleeping there was no longer a safe option. Both of us decided we had to abandon our fort, trek in the middle of the storm in the darkness in order to look for shelter. I knew exactly where the next group of trekkers rested, some five kilometers from our stop.
It was only natural for both of us to be scared. As I knew my way around this trek I knew it was up to me to lead us to safety. We left the tent and had to cross some distance in the open till we reached the cover of trees. Behind us the storm ripped up the tent from the ground, the darkness swallowed it.
We were left with no option but to walk till safety. I held the torch in one hand and clenched onto my friend’s hand tightly.
By the time we reached the tree cover, we were soaking wet. We knew that the tree covers were not a very safe option either, wasting no time we moved to our next goal. Wet, cold and shivering we walked into what seemed like a dark hole.
I knew I had to step up, take responsibility and guide us both to safety as I was the one who had planned everything, also I had been on many treks before. My friend had all the faith in me and not once did he doubt our decision. This was a trying moment in our friendship. Difficult situations don’t seem so difficult when you are with the right company and there is mutual trust
and confidence amongst each other.
After a slow and arduous trek for a couple of hours we finally caught up with the trekkers.These people were more professional than us, and certainly had better facilities for any such eventuality. They welcomed us with open arms. The look of concern for another human being is something that I will always remember. That was the first time, since we left our tent, I felt assured that we
were going to be safe tonight. They were kind enough to make some space for us to spend the rest of the night. All our clothes were wet, they provided us with fresh clothes and even made tea for us. Never have I ever had a more blissful tea in my life.
The morning came. The sun rose so quickly, as if it had been worrying the entire night about our safety. The sun shined extra bright that morning on us. After bread, eggs and tea we continued to finish our trek. It was new day and a new beginning. Many nights have passed since that evening, so now whenever my friend and I discuss that episode we don’t remember the bone chilling and wet night. We remember it as a life lesson on the importance of friendship. I realized that in life it is not important where you go but rather whom you go with. As the African proverb says ‘if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’ And together we did go far, walking slowly and basking in the warm afternoon sun.
