The scorching sunlight has made me weary and tired. I am a wounded soldier, lost in this labyrinthe, stranded alone in this unknown territory. I wonder what my fellow soldiers are doing right now, at this moment. Have they been captured, tortured or even killed? Have they revealed our pursuits? Is someone searching me, showing my photo and promising rewards to whosoever that finds me dead or alive? Thoughts and questions leave me blinded as much as this burning heat. With no more provisions left with me, I have no more choices left but to continue. I had been walking looking for food, water and shade for the last 8 hours. Up from the valley, I could see this structure and I wondered if I would get what I have been looking for. This place seemed so close from there, but, in reality, it was an illusion. The closer it appeared to my deceiving vision, the more distanced it was to my debilitating legs.
From the top of the hill, one would have referred to it as a desolate, abandoned house still mourning in the memory of the lives that it sheltered. It had nothing to boast about. A mediocre architecture, the cascading roofs and a couple of neatly aligned windows gave the impression of a descent poor man's shelter. One could see the electricity poles and the suspending wires: remnants of its recent habitation. The house stood at an awkward position. No contact whatsoever was possible from either sides of the road and it looked as if the mass of bricks and straw was detached from the human civilisation by ages in time and light years in distance. I was afraid of approaching this place, fear of being caught hovering in my thoughts every now and then. If anyone has seen me on the way and informed them to expect me at this temple in some hours, they are bound to patrol this place. What if they are expecting me here? What if they have purposely left the clothes and other insignia of my friends, as a reminder for their inconsolable families? What if they have deliberately spilled the very life of my mates to test my dying patience?
Expecting the worst, I give in and I approach this structure with a pumping heart and careful vision. The vast deserted area had belittled the place earlier on, but down here, resides a charming edifice. The sober look and the modest design can be experienced only from a closer introspection. In fact, none of the beauty of this place could be seen from up there. However, when I reached here, I felt I was home, back to my village, cows grazing in the backyard, unpleasant but the familiar odour of the sheep waste and their constant bleating. The place is covered with trees, plants and wild weeds growing in unison and cool breeze could bring you the smell of soils of distanced, faraway lands. From the veranda, I realize being in the safe hands of an old, holy temple in ruins. This same place that had appeared to be a house is in fact a place of worship. Entering the temple is an experience devoid of any thoughts. The space is so neatly sheltered from the heat, that the cold touch of the surface of the floor gives a tempting urge to relax and recover. It is pitch dark here and there doesn't seem to be an idol dominating the scene, but a faint perfume of incense, some flowers and a meek lantern lay untouched away in the corner. Further away in the corner, to my sheer delight, I can identify two known exhausted bodies almost in the state of blissful meditation.
From the top of the hill, one would have referred to it as a desolate, abandoned house still mourning in the memory of the lives that it sheltered. It had nothing to boast about. A mediocre architecture, the cascading roofs and a couple of neatly aligned windows gave the impression of a descent poor man's shelter. One could see the electricity poles and the suspending wires: remnants of its recent habitation. The house stood at an awkward position. No contact whatsoever was possible from either sides of the road and it looked as if the mass of bricks and straw was detached from the human civilisation by ages in time and light years in distance. I was afraid of approaching this place, fear of being caught hovering in my thoughts every now and then. If anyone has seen me on the way and informed them to expect me at this temple in some hours, they are bound to patrol this place. What if they are expecting me here? What if they have purposely left the clothes and other insignia of my friends, as a reminder for their inconsolable families? What if they have deliberately spilled the very life of my mates to test my dying patience?
Expecting the worst, I give in and I approach this structure with a pumping heart and careful vision. The vast deserted area had belittled the place earlier on, but down here, resides a charming edifice. The sober look and the modest design can be experienced only from a closer introspection. In fact, none of the beauty of this place could be seen from up there. However, when I reached here, I felt I was home, back to my village, cows grazing in the backyard, unpleasant but the familiar odour of the sheep waste and their constant bleating. The place is covered with trees, plants and wild weeds growing in unison and cool breeze could bring you the smell of soils of distanced, faraway lands. From the veranda, I realize being in the safe hands of an old, holy temple in ruins. This same place that had appeared to be a house is in fact a place of worship. Entering the temple is an experience devoid of any thoughts. The space is so neatly sheltered from the heat, that the cold touch of the surface of the floor gives a tempting urge to relax and recover. It is pitch dark here and there doesn't seem to be an idol dominating the scene, but a faint perfume of incense, some flowers and a meek lantern lay untouched away in the corner. Further away in the corner, to my sheer delight, I can identify two known exhausted bodies almost in the state of blissful meditation.
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