"Oh no! Not again! Crap! Dead end? What the hell! How do I reach there?" *tension* *tears* *helplessness* *scared*
It was around 7.30 p.m. I called up my mom & told her I was heading back home. "Maa, I'm leaving now, will be home in 30 mins but can you please quickly explain me the route? I don't know how to reach there? *route explained* Okay Maa, see you in 30"
Okay, we were shifting to a new home the next day which I have visited only once before. I had my college & had to visit my aunt post college to collect a few things required for the housewarming ceremony & reach the new home so that the preparations for the ceremony on the following day can be made. My parents were waiting for me and I had to reach there as early as possible.
"Damn! it's already 10 p.m. They must be worried! Where am I lost?"
Oh yeah, 2 and a half hours later I was still on the way, haven't reached home, was lost, mobile battery dead, petrol almost nil & the area I was stuck in was way too isolated. No people, no street lights, totally unknown, completely dark. And why all these? Only because I took a wrong turn, a 'left' instead of a 'right' not knowing how to trace back.
*Continued riding & took every turn that felt correct*
"OMG! This looks like a main road!"
*One hour later*
"Oh! This area looks familiar... I think this is the hospital mom was talking about."
It was 11 p.m and I finally got on to the main road, got the fuel filled, called up home from a local telephone booth, reached the landmark around 11.30 p.m. and by 11.45 p.m. I was home. I reached home completely safe.
Have you lost ways like this? Have you taken wrong turns? Or you wanted to reach somewhere as quick as possible but encountered unexpected breath blocked traffic jams or unexpected diversions or accidents or fuel got empty and you had to push your vehicle to the bunk or missed the bus/ train/ flight or the cab reaching late for the pick up or getting lost in some lanes and discovering something amazing or discovering a new short cut or something more exciting or bad? I'm sure you have experienced all of these or a few or at least one of these kind of experiences, right? Well, I did. I many a times lost the way or reached the desired place late, very late. But I reached. You reached too. We, at the end reached our desired destination in spite of all the obstacles.
Now whenever I recollect that day, I get an ear to ear smile though I was totally petrified that day. I was petrified because that was for the first time I was lost and coming out of it, reaching home safe was a big deal for me. I felt proud of myself for not giving up. There were no sources, no idea of the route, no one to help or guide, no GPS and for the increasing crime rate, I had a little fear of getting kidnapped but the hope I had kept me going. I knew I'd reach home for sure even if I reach two days later because I knew where to go. I knew where to go though I didn't know how to go and when would I reach.
What do we learn out of such experiences? Well, These kind of not less than an adventure and thrillers taught me that in spite of what ever life throws at you, if you know where to reach, you surely will. If you don't know where to go, keep travelling, don't stop your journey because you would definitely find to what you are destined for. We make many plans and many a times it just doesn't happen the way we want but that's OK because we have a different chapter to add to our life's story. If life gets predictable, it would surely bore us just like how the predicted twists and ends of movies make us lose our interest.
The unplanned and unexpected situations in my life made it interesting and gave me many stories to share, helped me shield up and stay geared up for the adventures coming my way. We all have different destinations and different paths. Some journeys are shorter than expected while some are long, really long! Does that matter? How ever it is, it's our journey, our story. Let's push into what life gives us with heads first & fiercely so that we have volumes of stories to recollect, laugh and feel proud of. Why to make our story an ordinary one when you & I are extraordinary? Keep adding chapters to your book of life the way you want as we may not have another life to scribble & share the same story because we live only once!
#WLOO
Preneeja Peelukhana
