GOD of a man

“Man forgets his frailties to conquer nature until nature conquers him again.”

Chapter Fourteen: To home!
Dated: 12th August, 2425 and later

Human beings, physically the weakest of all mammals, neither the power of elephants, nor the agility of cheetahs, nor the quickness of deer, nor the armour of rhinoceros, only intelligence unparalleled and look how many times have they destroyed more than they have ever created. Every now and then they grow taller than their vertical extremes, so as to speak metamorphically, and dwarf the very nature itself. The feeling of on top of the world and creation is a heady cocktail and the urge to gather more than what anyone will ever use in their entire lifespan triggers irreversible acts of destruction by men. The mayhem continues until nature puts man back in his place every now and then. The lessons mankind learnt in the aftermath of the nuclear hara-kiri reinstated the reign of humanity among humans even if just about barely before the total wipe-out. However time moved on, slowly for men but quickly for mankind, and the greed that never deserted humans once again became predominant and decisive in every human act.

As Clara just about managed to cling on to life, politics degenerated her plight to just an incident of shrewd interest. Robin, Andy and Daniel were rather happy to see her dead even before she actually died. Nakata however, pure at heart, wanted her to live and smile once again, or perhaps his natural instincts had taken over him. As Steve went back to his sleep, Nakata lay there sharing a blanket with a gorgeous girl, dying but still so pretty and so close to him, it would be the biggest lie if it was to be denied that he had his heart pumping harder than the feeble work the engines’ of the boat were doing at their quarter power. But perhaps he was too much of a gentleman to venture any misdemeanour. He lay next to her, looking at her face, at times putting the errant hair strands back behind her ear, at times massaging her shoulder and at others just lying there lost in some distant thoughts. His fatigue finally caught up with him and he didn’t realize when he fell asleep as a new morning just about arrived at the fringe.

“She still looks a bit pale,” Robin’s voice woke Nakata up as he realized it was nearly afternoon. He noticed Steve checking her fever by putting his hand on her forehead and then her pulse.

“She’s actually a bit weaker now. Her temperature has lowered down further and her pulse is getting weaker. I am afraid we are going to loose her,” Steve replied.

“Don’t say so Steve. She will get better soon,” Nakata nearly jumped out of the bed as he heard that.

“Let’s just hope you are right Nakata,” Steve replied, “You however stay with her yet.” Steve stopped him from getting out of the blanket. Nakata looked at Steve and then at Clara, he realized what his job at that moment was and he stayed put. Steve and Robin left for the wheel house while Andy brought some meat and water for Nakata. He ate a small bit and took a few sips but he was more worried about Clara than his hunger of thirst at that time. As he was left alone there with Clara he looked at her and tears rolled down his eyes.

All a man could have done in that situation was pray as prayer gives more strength to the one who’s making it than the one who is sick. Prayer is a psychological boost, a medicine for humans who are suffering seeing their loved ones’ suffer. Alas! He didn’t know how to make it and whom to make it to. He just gazed at her untiringly, his hand managing the hair on her face. He looked at her, touched her cheek with his hand and said, “Please Clara, don’t go anywhere Clara! Please don’t.” Something took over him and he bent over her face and placed a small peck on her lips, “Please Clara wake up!”

The moment his lips softly caressed her lips, she moaned, not in pain but as if sleepy and trying to wake up.

“Frank! Frank! Frank!” she just about managed to whisper the name faintly.

“Steve! Steve! Steve!” Nakata however was loud enough to be heard even as far as Hatsu Saisho.

“What happened?” Steve rushed into the cabin as others followed, “Is everything alright?”

“She is waking up Steve,” Nakata replied with a smile, “She is waking up.”

Clara struggled a while before she opened up her eyes slowly, “What happened? Where am I?” she asked as if in a daze, for a moment forgetting what had happened and where she was.

“It’s alright Clara, you are safe and among friends. How are you feeling today?” Steve asked as Robin’s shoulders dropped as the first words came out of Clara’s mouth.

“What’s happening? What are you doing with me?” Clara exclaimed weakly as she realized the situation she and Nakata were in.

“Relax Clara, I had asked him to sleep with you for the night to save your life. He didn’t do anything wrong,” Steve replied for Nakata and then explained to Clara what had happened.

“I understand Steve, thanks for everything you’ve done for me and thanks a lot to Nakata,” Clara was weak and struggling to complete her sentences. Perhaps she was suffering a bit of pain in her wound too.

“How are you feeling Clara?” Nakata asked as he got out of the bed grabbing his clothes lying in a corner of the bed.

“You people wouldn’t believe what happened. I saw Frank and Mike,” Clara replied.

“We all would like to know Clara but first someone get the girl some water and food so that she may have some energy. She needs it to survive all the more now,” Steve reminded everyone.

“No, I want you people to listen to me first,” Clara insisted.

Steve tried to reason with her but when she didn’t listen he said, “Ok! We will listen to your story first but have some water first.”

Clara took a few sips of water and started, “I saw Frank. Last night I saw myself getting off this bed. I saw Nakata lying with my body but I was standing right where Andy is standing now reclining to Steve’s bed. I saw Steve, Daniel and Andy sleeping in their beds. I walked out of this door and went to the wheel house, I saw Robin at the wheel humming a song that I don’t exactly remember. Perhaps it was about a lover calling his beloved through a blizzard searching for her.”

“How do you know that?” Robin was shocked and amazed at the same time, “I indeed was.”

“She might have regained consciousness for a while and heard your voice,” Steve tried to explain.

“Then how come no one else heard it?” Andy asked.

“Because we were all sleep,” Steve replied.

“No! That’s not true. I heard him humming it and not singing it. I just somehow knew what it was about,” Clara contradicted.

“That’s true. I was only humming it and that too very softly. It’s an old Irish folk song,” Robin supported her.

“She could have heard it somewhere previously and so recognized it. That’s just a chance happening,” Steve still tried to give a reasonable explanation.

“Trust me Steve, I’ve never heard that song before in my life,” Clara exclaimed.

“That’s fine Clara, you continue with your story,” Daniel cut the discussion.

“As I was saying, I saw Robin at the wheel humming the song so I walked up to him, a bit amazed as to how I can be over there if my body was still lying in bed in the cabin. I called Robin but he didn’t listen. I tried to tap him but my hand just went through his shoulder. I got scared and screamed, what’s happening to me. I ran back to the cabin and tried to wake everyone up but no one heard my voice and I couldn’t touch anyone or anything. My hand was like made of thin air and went through everything. I ran back to the wheel house and tried to talk to Robin again but he wasn’t listening,” Clara got all excited as she told the story and her forehead got covered with sweat as she relived her dream bit by bit.

“Don’t exert yourself Clara. It’s all right now, it was just a bad dream,” Nakata tried to calm her down.

“No, it wasn’t a bad dream. When I was all scared and hyper in the cabin a strange thing happened. I saw a very bright streak of light beam fall on the deck and a pair of white stairs with golden side-support bars descended on the ship. I walked outside to see what was happening. I saw the stares were growing out of a shining white cloud. I was tempted to know what lay above that cloud. I walked up to the stares and climbed them, and as I climbed them the stares themselves rose up. I turned around to look at the ship but the ship was left way below on the sea level and the next moment as I turned my head back towards the top I got the shock of my life,” Clara took a deep breath.

“What happened? What did you see?” Nakata got excited.

“There was a skin coloured road made of sand in the middle of it and you know we’ve never seen sand in Antarctica but I know it was sand, and there were green fields on both sides. There were beautiful coloured flowers on either side of the road, there were red and white roses, yellow sunflowers, purple petunia’s and many more lining up the edge of the road along with trees like weeping willows, bottle-brush plants and many more,” Clara replied.

“What are these plants and how do you know their names,” Robin was amazed.

“She must have read some old book on botany in the library,” Steve replied.

“But they don’t have any botanical book with pictures in the library,” Andy said.

“Perhaps not or maybe you didn’t notice it because you are from a different field of study,” Steve argued.

“No, I’ve never read about or seen those plants before but somehow I knew what they were, and they were amazing,” Clara exclaimed.

“That’s fine Clara, you continue with your story,” Steve said.

“Anyway, as I walked on the road I saw it was leading to a big white palace, I saw kids playing in a playground in the distance, their mothers and fathers sitting by the side enjoying the sun,” Clara continued.

“And you saw Frank there?” Nakata asked.

“No! I heard a voice from behind. When I turned around I saw Mike. He asked me what I was doing there. I told him I didn’t know. He told me to go back but I refused. I said to him I like this place and I want to stay here. That’s when I head Frank’s voice. He walked up to me from the side where Palace was,” Clara continued.

“What did he say?” Andy asked.

“He told me that Mike was right and that I need to go back. I was amazed that he was friendly with Mike and I asked him what are the two of them doing there and why can’t I stay there. Mike told me they live over there and they love each other more than ever now and they don’t have any hatred for anyone. I was amazed,” Clara said.

“Perhaps she saw what her mind wants her to believe, that Frank and Mike will be one again and Frank will forgive Mike,” Steve said.

“No, I saw them together and Frank told me, they love me very much. I cried and begged for forgiveness from Frank. But he said he wasn’t angry with me at all. What happened was the way GOD wanted it to happen and he’s not angry with anyone because that was the purpose of his life, and because he fulfilled the purpose of his life, he was now in heaven just as Mike was because he had fulfilled his job,” Clara said as she looked at the five faces in the room expecting a bit of contradiction.

“Now wait a minute girl. First, there is no GOD and second, that diary thing has infected you brain and your physical state has corrupted your thinking,” Robin got a bit agitated at it.

“Robin, no one’s ever told me what heaven is,” Clara replied.

“That’s fine Clara, we understand. And Robin, you should realize her condition,” Steve reminded Robin as he asked Clara to continue with her story.

“Well, I told them that I wanted to stay there with them but they refused. They told me I needed to go back as I haven’t fulfilled my destiny yet. They told me, “GOD has picked you up for a special purpose, and you need to fulfil you destiny, only then when the time is right you can come here”. And they told me to go back,” Clara said.

“She’s gone nuts,” Robin shook his head, “I am not interested in this pack of lies anymore. I am going to the deck.”

“This is not a lie. I am telling the truth,” Clara argued.

“That’s fine Clara, we understand what you are saying,” Steve replied as he glared at others, as if to remind them of her condition and not to agitate her.

“Well, I didn’t want to come back but they insisted that I returned. That’s when I heard Nakata calling me,” Clara continued, “Everything around me turned into bright light which blinded my eyes. It was so bright that I had to close my eyes and when I opened them, I was lying in my bed right here.”

“That’s a ridiculous story,” Daniel shook his head.

“Look, I told you what I saw. Now it’s up to you if you want to believe it or not,” Clara was taken aback.

“That’s fine Clara. Please don’t stress yourself!” Nakata comforted her as Daniel and Andy left the room, Andy for the wheel house, Daniel for fishing.

“Steve you believe me, don’t you?” Clara asked.

“I do believe you Clara and I am sure so does Nakata,” Steve comforted her.

“I believe her,” Nakata replied.

“Steve, is there GOD?” Clara asked.

“Look Clara, I don’t know. Perhaps it’s because of all the chatter we had the other day about GOD mixed with your current situation. I don’t know what to say Clara. You just get better first, and quick,” Steve was visibly uncomfortable with the discussion and got up to leave.

“Steve, I know there is GOD,” Clara said as Steve was walking out of the door. Steve turned around and looked at Clara and he noticed a radiance on her face that was never there before, not for the last two days, not before that. Clara smiled.

As the days flew one by one, Clara improved first in hops then in leaps, and as she realized how selflessly Nakata nursed her without resting or leaving her side and how concerned he had been for her, her affection for Nakata grew, and so did Nakata’s affection for her. Everybody witnessed their love bloom like the vibrant colours of spring. Even the time felt like it had stopped for a while just to have a look at the two hearts flying out in open skies with gay abandon and no worries. Their love was soft, smooth and something about it was pious. The day Nakata held her hand softly in his hand for the first time Steve saw it from the wheel house as they stood on the deck. The relaxed smile on his face spoke volumes of how happy he was for them.

Time continued to trickle along as their ship sailed and sailed in search of the land that was their new promised land in more ways than one. It was a land expected to provide humanity a better home, an opportunity to regain it’s lost glory and a chance of resurgence of human race. But good things don’t come easy on a platter and humanity has learnt this lesson more than the number of times any person has dared to aspire.

With the land not in sight after weeks of meandering on the ship, it was imperative everybody got homesick, especially when they didn’t even knew if the land they were looking for was worth searching for as who knew if it was safe for human race anymore. The fact they had the same six faces to look at everyday and virtually nothing to do for the most of it, and then say it made the situation worst would be a gross injustice to the word understatement. And then as the saying goes, there is always a last nail in the coffin, they ran into food crises. As the radioactivity levels inched closer to the barely survivable four centuries old mark of Hatsu Saisho, the seas seemed to have dried off food as well. The fish to catch was scarce and the condition of the team deplorable and desperate. For days they barely survived on a meal a day but when the meal shrunk to half a meal a day after struggling for an entire day for fish, the patience wore off. As their little ship dragged on straight under a thickening blanket of clouds, the storm that was building inside the wheel house was mightier than the one anyone might have been expecting on the outside.

“Steve, we got a decision to make and that too quick. We are loosing our strength and getting nowhere. How long will we survive this way now,” Robin spoke.

“It’s been almost a week now and we are struggling to hold on to our lives on barely one meal a day. It won’t be long before we will run into waters totally bereft of fish,” Daniel exclaimed.

“I agree with Robin and Daniel. How much longer should we struggle now? There’s a limit to everything. There is no land in sight and we are fast running out of fuel for the ship and energy for our bodies. We are almost halfway down with our fuel supply already, now if we go any further and we run out of food as well, we will be stuck on the sea until we die,” Andy lamented.

“You are our navigator Robin. How far do you reckon are we from finding land?” Steve asked.

“That’s ridiculous. You still insist on continuing this meaningless pursuit in search of a hypothetical home?” Robin got agitated.

“If we are going to turn around and return to Hatsu Saisho, I need to have a good reason to believe that it was worth forfeiting the quest,” Steve calmly reasoned.

“Isn’t the reason, we all are dying piece by piece painfully without food good enough for you,” Daniel blew hot and hot.

“We are still getting one decent meal a day, enough to survive. And considering the time and effort we have already invested in this endeavour and the fact this might be the last endeavour ever by mankind is a reason good enough to forget about the rest of the problems,” Steve’s reasons were good enough to quieten a mob but when it’s a bunch of thugs trying to misuse a situation to their personal ends, the soundness of good advice is always lost on deaf ears.

“It doesn’t matter. Mankind will still survive and prosper on ice, and irrespective of all the time and energy we wasted for this stupid adventure of yours, we are still better off saving whatever life is left in us by returning forthwith,” Robin was cold and rude in his rebuttal.

“Wrong! We are fast running out of resources to clone our species and we will be extinct in the next two generation time if we don’t find a better place to live and more resources to exploit,” Steve presented the true aspect of situation mankind was in, “And just to remind you people, this isn’t my personal interest activity. I have been forced into it as much as you are. Don’t forget Robin, it was you who thrust it upon me in the first place. I am the best man for the job, that is what you had said at that time and now you are ignoring the advice of the same best man for the job?”

“We don’t care. Once we are dead, who cares for how many generations of humans live on and how long,” Daniel continued with their pitched assault against Steve’s authority.

“He’s right. Why should we needlessly die in pursuit of something non consequential to us when others are living peacefully and enjoying their lives back at home,” Andy made his statement.

“Besides, I think we have lost our direction. We should have hit the land about two weeks back. Now we are nearly finished with half of our fuel supply,” Robin added.

“How can we loose our direction when we have been carefully monitoring it?” Steve asked.

“That’s immaterial now. Perhaps we made some minor error in calculations. But how does that matter now? The thing is, we are running the risk of running out of fuel now and we are already nearly out of food around us. The best option available for taking her is to return home,” Robin closed the argument.

“What do you two think,” Steve asked Nakata and Clara.

“What do they think? They are just kids,” Daniel replied.

“They are mature enough to make their own decisions and are equal parts of this team. Their say holds the same value as any of us,” Steve reminded everyone.

“Once again, it doesn’t matter. The majority of us want to return,” Andy said.

“How can you say it’s the majority who wants to return when we don’t even know the stance of half of the team?” Steve asked.

“What half of the team? Three of us are not willing to continue on this journey and that leaves only Nakata and Clara, two,” Daniel said.

“And what about me? You forgot to count me. I don’t want to return and waste our effort,” Steve retorted.

“But you cannot have a vote on this issue. You are the head of the team and you have to listen to your team members’ voices. You cannot tilt the balance of the fulcrum in the direction you intend to by adding your say in the position of a team member,” Robin said.

“I am as much a team member as you are and I have every right to make a choice as much as anyone else on this ship, especially when it happens to be for the best of mankind,” Steve said.

When the deadlock continued they finally agreed to take Nakata and Clara’s opinions as well.

“Honestly guys, I don’t know what to say. I am ready to continue further as I find Steve’s arguments really convincing, and something tells me he is saying the right thing, but then you are also right in a way. I don’t know what to say,” Nakata was unsure.

“That settles it,” Robin exclaimed triumphantly, “The majority of us want to return.”

Steve looked at Nakata and Clara for a moment but when he couldn’t elicit a favourable response, or rather any response, he had no choice but to say, “Ok! To home!”

As Steve got up dejected and the three others left for the cabin, exuberant at the thought of returning home to their wives and families, Clara smiled and as Steve looked at her she said, “You do what you want to, GOD will make you do what you need to.”

Nakata looked on at her while Steve turned his head away and twisted the wheel to turn the ship back towards Hatsu Saisho. As the ship turned the first ear shattering thunder of the storm brewing outside made it’s presence felt.