To a Dear Friend

I have your phone number staring at me but I do have the courage to pick it up and dial it. I am scared to face you and am clueless as to what to say or do to console you. All my words might rekindle your pain and I might provide you no comfort. I am sorry for being so helpless.

I know how much you treasured your mum after the loss of your dad. I cannot accept the misfortunes GOD has put you through and have cursed Him and the bus driver ever since I heard the news. I will not dare tell you that I am sorry for your mother's condition but I would like to assure you that here is a friend who loves you, worries about you and is waiting to be useful. I will kick the wuss out me and pick up the phone as that is the least I can do to let you know that I will always be there for you.

I have been realizing how vain and ignorant my life has been in comparison to yours. I was extremely happy to hear about your job when I talked to you last (two weeks back on your birthday). Things were looking brighter and promising on your horizons and I was proud of you having come this far despite all your struggles.

You are one of the bravest people I have ever met and now life demands more bravery from your part. I know how unfair that is but all I can say now is take care of mum and please do not hesitate to ask me for anything.

Love

Maya 

I wrote this letter but chickened out just before I could press the send button. I am such an unreliable friend. I am terribly uncomfortable in such situations and always wait for time to play its course and situations to settle down before I contact people again. I can only face people in happier times. I feel so horrible. 

Yes!! Tramping

Shadow of Me

Me on the suspension bridge

Suspension bridge

Available tracks

Weather Forecast

Clearer shot than the one above

The Pinnacle

On our way down from The Pinnacle

The Peak

The Pinnacle

Inside The hut

The first day on our way up "not yet tired"

Nearing the Peak "Just above my Head"

Waterfall on our way down

Another angle Another Shot of the Pinnacle

Logging track

Rocky wet Roads the whole Way through

Yes! Yellow RainCoat trying to conquer a slope with some guided help

Jolly Jolly downhill

Scenery..can you spot the hut in the wilderness?

The Hut

another shot of the peak

Rocky road

Stream

Journey Upward...still smiling :)

Captured the Sunset along with Some Steps

Me on top of the Logging track

Survived the Pinnacles!!! Now I am left with aches, pains and a sense of accomplishment. Now I can tick tramping off my Bucket list. I should stress that tramping is not a glamour sport. Begun my tramp looking like a gypsy and ended it looking like a hobo...it only gets better.

So to keep warm I set out in layers after layers of clothes each one peeping underneath the other. A backpack full of snacks and some more clothes (just in case the ones I was wearing got wet). Enjoyed a joyful car-ride to the bottom of the pinnacles full of pot-holes. Parked the car on a camp site and chose a three hour track up. We (my two-friends and I) climbed the steep rocky track gracefully and quietly for the first half hour, our destination being the Pinnacle hut where we had booked for the night. And there after we required a break every ten steps with our complaints getting louder. My excuse was that it was my first tramp with no proper shoes or any other gear for that matter as 1) I was too cool to invest on them and 2) my over-confidence on my survival skills (which has now been knocked down). We were eager for lunch and stopped early at a scenic spot to munch on some much needed calories. Here we were over taken an elderly couple which was quite an embarrassment. So we pressed on...with the only male among us resorting to some tricks to keep the girls moving such as fruit intervals at the next stop in half an hour. He was evil...laughing at us while we were panting for breadth. Now we had gone for what seemed like six hours but was actually only three hours. The hut was still nowhere in sight (we knew we would not have made it in the prescribed three hours as we seemed to have stopped for a lot of breaks). Our next motivation to reach our destination seemed to appear shortly as we sat down to eat some oranges. Another couple from Perth was also going up to the Hut and we had decided to race them to the Hut (this competition was formed unknown to the couple obviously). So for the next hour we ran with all our might not uttering a word of complaint and at last there was the hut. I think I should mention, the weather forecast for the two days we were out on our tramp was horrible but be sly managed to dodge rain. Lucky!

So, to freshen up I opened the toilet and there awaited the shock of my life. Gross and yuck!! I am tempted to put imagery in heads of my readers but only my kind heart is stopping me from doing so. And looking at the shower, only a cold shower without any roofing was available, so that you can get a nice cold breeze under a cold shower...recipe for freezing to death. So guess what...I did not pee or shower for two days...travel wipes came in handy. So we chose our beds and unpacked, when the Hut warden visited and said it was the perfect time to climb to the peak to view the sunset. That was another two hours of walk. We all had developed thigh muscles by now and decided to go for gold. We set out again now lighter by our packs and the hill had become ridiculously steep. The wind was so rough it could have carried me...I stopped looking down and had only a few more steps to of the top rock. Oh the exhilaration...the proud grin and the sense of being almighty are the sensations I felt then. After the thrill came the low I had to walk back down. This was scarier than walking up for some reason. I was glad to have reached the hut again. Made dinner. Learned how to make pasta with the bare minimums and them it was cards till 11 o'clock at night. Learned how to make a fire. Learnt many card games but I would like to stress on having learnt Poker. Now wait for me Casinos. I did not have a sleeping bag, so had to share a smelly one with my friend. My friend's comment looking into my bag, "You will not die out of hunger but of the cold". The night was a tug-a-war fighting for the blanket to keep warm.

So the next day we slept back in till ten, while all the other trampers had left early. We went out to brush when the NW winds were blowing wild. Brushing came as a surprise to me, I spat out the paste and my spit when flying from the first basin to the third. That was way too embarrassing in front of my friends who couldn’t stop laughing. Then, made hot maple syruped pancakes to counteract the chills we were feeling in our feet and hands. After deciding our route downhill, we journeyed downhill enjoying and photographing every scenic location in our way.

We came back to the car...stopped at a restaurant and caught dinner. Reaching home, rushed to the toilet and had a wash with the thoughts of how grateful I am to people who discovered bulldozers, roads, cars, toilets, heaters, jackets, cards and junk food. There are many other thanks that have been forgotten or left unsaid but they will be remembered with time.

Randomness

Been having some problems with my phone, it does not seem to be charging and therefore have planned to get a new phone, this time with a better camera to capture the funny moments of life. The other day while shopping I saw this boy about age six trying on hairbands and necklaces while shopping with his mum. But no camera to capture it :( so I have decided to walk with my eyes open on the road just to capture the jokes in life.

Other randomness in life...

I want to go on a six hour tramp up the Pinnacle but I do not know how I am going to convince mum and dad...they think I will strike midway throught or freeze to death...second situation more likely than the first...I thought I was old enough to give information about my whereabouts rather than ask permission but doesnt seem so :/

Have a strange feeling that dad is stalking my facebook page :X

Watched a video on Sai Baba and the money, gold n silver stored away in his private room. It is obsence for a man who claims to be God to be so fond of money. It always reminds me a news article I read where the journalist writes about his mother asking Sai Baba for a jackfruit when he thought he could satisfy her with gold. Would reference it if I could remembered  where I read it but it was a long while back.

Note to self:- Need to stay off the blog for sometime :(

A Daily Occurence

I have been finding myself a lot more OC these days. I have plenty of other things that currently require my attention, but when I read the themes in a short story competition my mind materialized a story which I was forced to put into words. I quite enjoyed the topics in this competition; rarely do we see such nice topics/themes. But the date for this competition is long past nor would I have qualified or submitted an entry. Spent a sleepless night meant for studying writing this, hopefully it is nice.
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Waiting at the signal, I noticed that he looked unusually rushed today. We always managed to reach this signal at the same time, every day. Though I had many principles in life that had evolved and changed, punctuality was one thing that always remained. I was late only when fashionable lateness was required. He too seemed to be stickler for time and now our morning meetings had become inevitable. As strangers we ignored each other initially but as these meetings repeated, we nodded in acknowledgement.  Slowly, we progressed to smiling at each other. He was a tall, dark, middle aged man with glasses, neatly combed hair and dressed in office attire. My guess was he took the 8’ Ó clock bus to the city from the bus stop 15 meters away from the signal, but I never looked back to see him actually do so. Today as the signal turned green, he hurried across the road when a heavy breeze blew away one of the papers he held loosely. When I picked up the paper, he was already out of hearing distance and the signal had started blinking red. In my confusion, I crossed the signal and then decided it was too late to chase after him, I pushed forward to school.
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I reached for the snack box in my bag minutes before the school bell had rung (always punctual) and along with it came the paper I picked up this morning. At a glance I noticed that the A4 sheet was covered in words, upon taking a closer look, it resembled a story/script. With a little bit of imagination, I derived at stories within a story, written in style most engaging. I passed the paper around when my friends asked what I was staring at so intently. As they read the sheet, one looked more mesmerized than the other. The writing style kept us expectant for the next page. My respect for the middle-aged man had multiplied folds. I took charge of the paper and ironed out the creases and placed it neatly among my books. While walking home, my bag seemed more precious and tons heavier than it did that morning.
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With a job to accomplish, an earlier start to the day was necessary. I sprinted to the signal and waited…He arrived at his usual time and flashed a difficult smile at me from across the road. After what seemed like a long wait, the signal changed from red to green. He crossed the wide road and avoided further eye contact. Like a lion watching its prey, I waited for the man to reach my side of the road and I stretched out the piece of paper. His face changed from a question mark to a warm smile. Being an opportunist, I struck a deal for returning the paper. I was to have the rest of the story in return for my favor. I knew I was being unreasonable and he realized that too. But after some thought, he handed the thick folder of un-copyrighted manuscript to me. I should have guessed, he would have stored another copy elsewhere and didn’t need to tolerate my unreasonable request but he seemed to trust me. I held the folder close to my heart and walked to school.
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Jumping onto the bed with the folder, I began to absorb every word written. I laughed, smiled, cried, pondered and got involved and attached to the script. 374 pages of reading through the night and I was awestruck. That night I slept with a grin on my face.

Next morning I woke up with a heavy heart. I had promised to return the manuscript back to Mr. Shivam, but was so attached to that I did not want to part with it. I slyly placed my fan mail at the end of the manuscript and walked. My dramatic dream of a kiss to his hands was replaced with genuine praises and hearty congratulations when I did meet him.

Days, weeks and months passed, I hadn’t seen him at the crossing ever after. Again one day when I crossed the signal we crossed paths again. He stopped me to hand over a book. Smelling the scent of new print, I opened the pages. I had received a personalized copy signed by the author himself and on the back cover I found familiar words from my fan mail written below critics and reviews from the New York Times. Thrilled, I thanked him for the book as he crossed the road.