Wild in Wood

Decades back. It was summer vacation. I went to my grand parents’ village like every year. I loved the village as there were so many boys like me. I think I was 13 or 14 years old then. It was our time to reconnoiter the jungle, make robotic stuff, fishing, and create new stories everyday.

One day, we all boys planned to explore the nearby forest, which was adjacent to a hill. After having early breakfast, we started our journey……We walked almost four kilometers to reach the forest. We entered the jungle…..It was different kind of experience for me as I used to live in a concrete jungle – buildings all around.  My friends started writing their names on the trees, some guys wrote their girl friend or secret lover’s names covering with a heart sign. 

One guy proposed, “Let’s play one game! We will divide ourselves into two groups and gather fruits from the jungle. We will have one hour of time limit.”

Everyone agreed. Unfortunately, I and another guy – both had to stay in the same place , wait and check who would come back first and then, declare the winner. 

All proceeded in their expedition. Almost half an hour was over. 

Suddenly, I heard few people running towards our side with dow, axe, sickle and stick… We were horrified, brought our souls to our pockets…..looking at our dying moments so close….

“Run! Run! Boys….GajaRaj’s troupe is coming towards this side…..Save yourself!”  Oops! Thank God! They were wood cutters, alarmed us about the elephants’ expected movement.

We were clueless what to do now. How to inform our friends about this news…

I thought of shouting loud and call them. But, my friend asked me not to shout as it might harm us. We were trying to think of a way to inform them…

Suddenly, we heard some sound of  breaking trees. We looked back…..Oh My God! What was that! A spectacular scene…..almost 50 elephants were walking one after another…..along with few calves. A scene to cherish…unexplainable. I remembered the saying that when elephants walk, no one hear their footsteps…..And I could see and feel that…Both of us were awestruck. Quickly, we hide ourselves behind a bush and kept ourselves with pin-drop silence.

Suddenly, I could feel some soft touch from behind. I was about to shout……I looked back with courage….All our friends were standing behind us silently…..watching that spectacular scene.