The Co Passenger

It was known that my end was drawing near. It was known that following a few more sunsets, the succeeding sunrise wouldn’t be lucky enough to have a glimpse of my face when my feet would be striving to attain a state of perfection in health on the sands of the beach. But contentment is something alien to the world of today- the same world that had at one point of time found happiness in what was available and what was within reach. My eyes, that were a window to truth and reality seemed to lose interest in assisting me to distinguish between the two contrasting worlds of eternal truth and eternal falsification. A surgery was demanded and that too in a far off land, crossing the seas.

My son would have accompanied me had everything taken place as expected. But an unavoidable business meeting, which would have been assigned a second priority had I not interfered, came in our way and I was left at my mercy to travel all alone. I knew that the journey would be recorded in my diary with shivering hands but not in the way it had taken place. I was taken to the airport and assisted to my seat and arrangements have been made to receive me in the foreign land. It was my first trip by air and I since a long time feared this mode of travel considering the reports in the newspapers popping up several times related to hijacks and crashes.

Fear in me started rising above acceptable levels. It appeared as if I had taken a dip in the Ganga and had been either too lazy or too spiritual to have not let those holy drops of water part from my soul. Assurance from the air hostess had seen no miracle take place and so did the innumerable glasses of water that were offered. Every tick of watch could be heard so clearly which reminded me of my passing age and my approaching death. Thoughts of the uncertainty after death induced an even greater fear. Where would I be sent to if there did exist something called life after death? And if not, what would happen to the life in me?

Fear levels started rising even further. A look outside through the unbreakable windows only reminded me of the vastness of space and my not so important role of a human. Thousands of seconds in front of me but the least did I have the idea of how to pass time or atleast devoid those moments of the fear that was a part of my life since my childhood. The journey was incredible- incredible enough to be recollected even after my death but not so incredible to be experienced. Time seemed to slow down and the aircraft appeared to move with speeds that were the sole property of a child recently taught to walk.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner for that day contained nothing more than water, even after compulsion by the crew on board. My blood pressure levels went out of control. The doctor on board administered saline drops and the situation reflected my life at home- the same pain den the same incapability of refusal to treatment.

Had a miracle not taken place, my soul would have departed this world along with the eyes that were ready to do so. A copassengeer sensing my discomfort assisted to offer company. At that time, I did agree for the first and the last time hat humans do possess the power to modify space around them for the creation of an ambient atmosphere. I had the last idea as to how he knew what could make me live. He took out the Bhagwad Gita and started reading aloud. Eight hours passed by and the plane set its wheels on the runway.

Image Credit: Image redrawn from here

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