TAP TAP TAP
Due to the absence of light, darkness had spread its covers everywhere, under which everything seemed no more than a looming figure. Rudra rubbed his eyes, he focused as we walked ahead , and everything became visible in a clear shape. He had enough vision to judge his through, but couldn't see what was ahead of him.
It was a dark cave, with a small narrow passage guiding its way through it, and a few stones sat randomly at the spots with a broad way. Rudra carefully touched the walls with his hands and walked ahead.
***
After walking for so long that felt like a decade, a tiny bit of light reached Rudra. That light was just like the hope that sprouted within the darkness in Rudra's heart. It made him feel like the world ahead of him had finally changed.
As Rudra crawled forward, a gust of salty winds struck his face, carrying with it the faint cries of distant waves. The cold stones scraped against his body. He struggled and approached the small opening. Rudra squinted as he dragged himself through that narrow fissure, the light of the dawn kissing his body.
He finally pushed through the last veil of rubble surrounding that fissure. As he stood up and planted his feet, his body screamed in pain, aching from the narrow, suffocating tunnel he had passed. Rudra looked around only to find out he had emerged from a fissure that connected to the secret cave.
Suddenly, a sharp pain surged in his right thigh. Rudra shifted his gaze to spot a lot of blood slowly gushing out from his thigh, the Vaidrik leaf he had strapped around his thigh had been torn recklessly by the scrapings against the cave walls.
That injury caused a lot of problems for him while he moved through that narrow cave. Rudra sat down as he completely tore off the Vaidrik leaf, and saw that most of the Vanshul resin was also squeezed out while he was in the cave.
Rudra untied his sack bag and pulled out the last bit Vanshul resin from it, he carefully smeared it across his thigh, which very quickly sealed the injury and stopped the leaking blood. Then, he wrapped the last leaf Vaidirik on his thigh. He had now realized that these two medicines alone weren't enough. He stood up and looked around.
All he saw was jagged stones that jutted out at weird angles. Massive chunks of stone spread across the area. From the midst of the rubbles and dust behind, dead roots of the nearby trees poked out. It was a tall cliff side which was crushed down to only ruins.
A soft golden glow spilled across the crumbled cliff side, casting long, sorrowful shadows over the shattered rocks and exposed roots. As the echoes of distant waves fell into his ears, he shifted his gaze, only to find a massive sea unfurl till the horizon. Rudra was shocked at the exposure of such a scene.
The coast was nearly ten meters away from him. Rudra instantly got out of those rumbles and walked towards the coast as he stared at the beautiful scenery in front of him. The blue salty water that kissed the coast each time it rushed with a wave. The sun that at the horizon as the sea casted a distorted image of it on it's surface.
The bright orange hue that surrounded the sun like an arc increased the excellence of this scenery even more. As Rudra saw this, a newfound determination and a new resolve surged within him. He clenched his fists, and that silent moment gave birth to a quiet burning oath carved deep into his heart and soul.
Rudra then opened his hand as he looked at his palm, filled with scratches scraped by those cave walls, it was similar to the pain if the past that throbbed in his chest, but now, it no longer chained him. Rudra took a deep breathe as he walked across the coast.
After walking for a few meters, Rudra went ahead of the fallen cliff side. He finally caught glimpse of what was beyond those rubbles and ruins, his eyes fell on a sliver of green in the distance. His eyes shone, incorporated with excitement as he walked towards it.
But as he came closer, it seemed more of like an illusion. What had once been a forest, now stood in solemn silence with blacked barks and skeletal trees devoid of their beauty. Charred trunks jutted out from the ground like forgotten tombstones. The air reeked of old smoke, still clinging to the ashes that blew away with the breeze. The sliver of green was only a cluster of grass that he saw from the distance.
As he walked deeper into the burned forest, before it could affect him any further, a slight shimmer of green amidst the sea of grey caught his eye. There, cradled between cracks in the scorched earth, a tiny sprout pushed it's ways through those ashes.
It's tiny leaves quivered in the breeze, defying the ruins around it. Rudra watched it flicker in resistance with silence. It seemed like even the nature itself was trying to tell him something. Now he had realized that. From death life rises again.
He bowed to that sprout in respect, that stood alone, get stubborn and alive. 'This fight isn't over yet!'
Rudra stood up and walked towards the direction the salty breeze drove in. Since, the entire forest was burned, leaving noting but ashes and skeletal trees behind. It was way for Rudra to guidhis way without any obstacle. Such circumstances increased his speed of travel.
PUFF PUFF
The sounds of his footsteps echoed, as his feet churned up small breezes that pushed the ashes aside with each step. After walking for a long time, Rudra leaned over a partially burned tree, it's trunk was still a little solid, allowing a little support to him.
Rudra's eyes flickered as he looked over a small patches that dotted alongside the burnt tree skeletons. He focused carefully, only to discover it was a temple, surrounded by multiple mini shrines around it. The temple was built on a platform a few steps high from the ground.
Pushing himself forward, Rudra walked towards the temple. It didn't take him much long as he neared the platform. Rudra stepped on the stairs that led to the platform. Climbing upon the platform, he caught a proper glimpse of a temple.
The morning spilled over through the thinning mist, casting a golden light over the landscape of charred silence. The small temple emerged from the ruins like a sacred memory surrounded by nightmares. It's steps were cracked, it's base was scarred with soot, but the temple in itself remained as a whole. Miraculously it seemed u touched by the destruction around it.
But the scene of the temple was the evidence that the temple was ageing. The temple was covered in vines that emerged out of well of water beside the temple, a source of the eveidentgrenery around the temple.
Those vines were hiding the intricate carvings, patterns and sculptures of different figures integrated with the wall like a veil. Those sculptures were very complex, each one trying to describe multiple situations, states and possibilities of each of the figures.
Those sculptures were designed similarly, visibly with the same artistic approach, as if only one person had carved it out of multiple stone pieces and assembled them like puzzle, resulting in the creation of such a prestige.
Rudra climbed on those steps as he finally came at the entrance to the main hall of the temple. From there, the deity that resided within it was clearly visible to Rudra. It was a stone icon with nearly ten hands, that rode on a fierce tiger. Countless weapons were held in each of its hands. Long hairs that fell below the shoulders, a crown on its head as a powerful ornament and the entire idol was draped in a saree.
Noticing all these details it didn't take much time for Rudra to realize that it was an idol of Devi Maa Durga (Goddess mother durga)¹. Out of all those things, the most captivating feature was the half closed eyes and the smile carved on the goddess's idol.
That smile, those eyes triggered a vortex of emotions within Rudra's heart as cold breezes of wind struck against him. Rudra fell to hi knees in front of the goddess, however a faint scent of sandalwood and incense lingered in the air, which calmed down Rudra's heart.
Rudra touched the goddess's feet as a symbol respect as he said. "Mother, help me in my journey, the only thing I ask for is your blessings," Rudra bowed down.
Rudra sat there for a few moments as he began to meditate, to calm down the turmoil going on within him, and reflected on whatever had happened till now. Although he couldn't recollect all of it as he didn't have much time. After a few minutes Rudra came down the steps of the temple as he looked behind at the goddess and bowed to her for one last time.
"Time to begin a new journey!"