Looking For An Island

It is all about the freedom in choosing your lifestyle, I guess; the takeaway of being single. That was what Cher agreed to, the other evening during dinner. Coming from a much attached lass, it was hardly convincing, I felt. I rather be like her or be a simpleton, not fathoming the feeling of love, of hope, of missing someone.

Then again, I am only me...

I found myself drifting in a huge ocean, in a middle of nowhere with no land in sight. The crashing waves at times just flapping against my lips, barely kept me afloat, at times raising above my head before bundling me deeper into the blue bottomless water. I gasped for air and thrust my arms and legs against the current. You could hear the rushing wind above the waves, nothing else. It did not take long before you realised you couldn't fight - against the tide, the time or your tiredness. You just let go, without hope or with hope that fate would decide to be merciful to spare you this cruel end.

Hours turned into days and days into nights, as you watched the gleaming cotton clouds and the dark starry sky revolving. How intriguing, these canopies of nature, you thought in your half-asleep, half-awaken state. Are they for eternal for all their beauty? - I would never know.

Your lips cracked and skin burnt, but torments of the mind aggravated it all. When is death coming? How is it like to face death? - You asked yourselves, who else. The weary mind started to play tricks. You thought you saw a plane in the navy blue sky, a bright little spark of white. Was that a grey hump of an island in the distance, or a playful dolphin arcing above the shimmering water under the setting sun? But the hue remained all visible, static despite the choppy water and your blurred vision. No, it was no mirage born out of lost hope or fatigue.

You flung your arms and pushed your legs with every last breath and strength. Never mind the vicious tide, the roaring wind proclaiming a coming storm. You knew what was needed, what hung by a thread. The distance ahead tracked the difference between life and death, glory and insignificance.

A dark sky opened up with a flash of lighting tearing across. The thunder seemed to boom in sync with each stroke, each heartbeat. In the pouring rain, the body seemed to be heavier, sinking deeper with every kick. Yet still, you had to push on. Extinction toyed with the mind as did the values of life. Guided by the stars, you toiled through the night, wary only of the island seemingly appearing larger.

The sweltering sun failed to defer the advance, as you were conscious of what the island offered; food, shelter and drinking water. But more than that, it would be an island of rest and comfort that you could call your own. This place, you can only find with struggle, beliefs and sacrifices.

PS: I believe life is a long, hard journey looking for that island of comfort and rest somewhere in our mind and heart.