GOD of a man

“All mighty and strong are vanquished by the one who never raises a finger, Time.”

Chapter Eighteen: Water
Dated: 11th November, 2425

What is history? Simply put, it’s a mere cataloguing of the ageing of time. But then time is ageless. Age and ageing are measures not of time but of deterioration, a phenomenon that can be associated with anything that has a span of existence. We only borrow some constants from time to keep a record of the same. “A mighty empire lasted two centuries,” is a statement about the birth and demise of the empire and not the ageing of time. Offcourse we borrowed the number of times sun rose and set and quantitated the same into a measure comprehensible to us. Time is never changing. It is constant. It is today, today, it was today yesterday, it was today the day before yesterday, and it was today every day before that. It will be today tomorrow as well and every tomorrow after that is going to be a today as well. We try to catalogue time everyday but the truth is: it’s time that is cataloguing us. The mightiest of empires may have ruled vast expanses of land and none may have been able to defeat them, but how many of them stand today. And how many that stand today will be standing two centuries from now?

Four hundred years is a measure long enough to see cities turn to ruins, ruins into artefacts and artefacts into oblivious. And once again man rediscovers those artefacts and they become an object of curious inspection and then stories that lead to history. It’s a process that moves forward in time as we try to decipher the clues, but leads us back to the past that was lost somewhere in another measure of time.

When Aika woke up that fateful morning, the heart of a mother knew a part of it had died somewhere but she wasn’t the only one whose heart was torn. Ono may be only a man who will never understand womanhood leave alone motherhood, but the bond of love he shared with his twin was as pure and strong as any. No words were exchanged between the mother and son as Aika walked up to the corner where Ono was sitting, reclined against the wall beside him and embraced him in her arms as they both cried.

“Ono, Aika! Where are you?” Sumitra Ramsay, Steve’s neighbour Vir Ramsay’s wife called for the mother and son as she entered their scube, “Did you hear the news?”

“What happened, Sumitra?” Aika wiped her tears as she asked her in a broken voice.

“Steve’s wife gave birth to a son today morning and Demetria has already named him Nakata after your,” Sumitra was pretty excited to share the news with them but when she saw them crying she was shocked and her words changed their framework as they struggled to come out of her mouth, “What happened? Why are you two crying?”

“Nothing,” Aika said as she broke down and grabbed her son in her arms again.

“Are you two alright? What’s the matter with you two? Why are you crying?” Sumitra asked them as she knelt down infront of them and grabbed Aika’s folded arms in her hands.

“Something terrible has happened to my son today,” Aika shared her nightmare with Sumitra, “I had a really bad dream. I saw him going away with an old man with white beard, white hair and white clothes. He said; mother, please take care of Ono. I tried to stop him but he didn’t listen to me. I don’t know but my heart is feeling really bad today.”

“It was just a bad dream. I am sure he is alright,” Sumitra tried to comfort her and continued, “Look you have scared Ono as well.”

“No, she didn’t. She hasn’t said a word to me,” Ono cried as he spoke, “I saw Nakata in my dream with an old man just like mother’s dream and he said to me; I am leaving you with a responsibility. He then walked away and didn’t listen to me.”

Sumitra tried to calm and comfort the two but pure hearts always know when their loved ones are in trouble.

In another corner of the world, Clara was inconsolable.

“Clara, please take a hold of yourself and let me get Nakata’s body out of this building. No one else is going to come inside for the fear of the collapse of the structure,” Steve was consoling and pleading with her at the same time.

“Leave me here with him. Let it collapse. I want to die with him,” Clara cried.

“Look, we both know I won’t let that happen. Let me take his body outside atleast so you can have a better look at him and the others can see him for the last time as well,” Steve pleaded again.

“See him for the last time, why? What are you going to do to him? I won’t let anyone touch his body,” Clara became a bit aggressive.

“We won’t do anything to him. I just want everyone to see him. And perhaps the bright sunlight might do a miracle and warm his body to wake him up again,” Steve tried everything he could think of, to pacify Clara. It took a while for Clara to yield. Steve aided by Clara dragged Nakata’s body outside the Church into the open courtyard for everyone to see. They tried to console Clara but lack of another woman around made them realize what an invaluable asset a woman is in such a scenario. They all lacked the compassion needed to calm a beloved who’s just lost the only thing precious she had in her life as well as none of them knew what a woman’s heart feels.

“Now I know how Frank must have felt in his last minutes before he was killed because of me. Someone who’s lost the only person they loved, it feels like the whole world has stopped spinning and everything around has been destroyed,” Clara said, “I don’t want to live anymore. Steve, can you please shoot me with your gun?”

“Clara!” Steve’s agony was evident in the only word that escaped his lips.

Clara was inconsolable and didn’t let anyone touch Nakata’s body, leave alone bury it. Finally, after two hours of painful pleading with her, everybody gave up.

“Let her take her time to fathom the reality and get over it. We will bury him later. Lets’ get on with other important items on our agenda for the day,” Steve said to the others.

“Have you got any emotions at all? What can be more important right now? We’ve just lost a great guy. After all the time we spent with him, he was a family now,” Andy exclaimed.

“I know Andy. Nakata was very close to me as well. Lets’ not forget I am the one who will have to answer Ono who entrusted his brother into my hands. It’s me who will have to face Aika when she’ll ask me about her son. It’s me whom the entire community is going to ask to return their son,” Steve retorted back, “I know all of that. But there are things which cannot be delayed because of it; things that determine the survival of the rest of us.”

“Like what?” Robin asked as Daniel and Andy looked on with curiosity.

“Water and oil,” Steve summed up the entire story in two words.

“He’s right. We need to find both very soon,” Robin nodded his head in affirmation.

“Yeah, you are right. We are running out of drinking water fast now. We don’t even know when it will rain over here. Is there any chance we can fix that water purification system on the boat, cause if we can it will solve atleast our water problem,” Daniel said.

“The simple answer will be no. Firstly, we don’t know how to fix that system and secondly, even if we fixed the water purification system we’ll still need oil to run the boat and hence the purification system, something we are running short on as well,” Robin replied for Steve.

“What about rain water harvesting?” Andy asked, “We did that all the time on the boat during our journey.

“I won’t count too much on that,” Steve replied.

“And why is that?” Andy asked further.

“Firstly, this being land it will receive lesser frequent rain than sea and more so since there is no green cover left anywhere on this land, which means no transpiration and hence lesser rain. The only rain that might be will be somewhere down in the middle of the dessert and that too not a flattering amount. Secondly, we don’t have the right apparatus to harvest it in bulk. On sea it was easy because of the frequency of showers but on land it’s a different scenario altogether,” Steve explained in details.

“So what do we do now?” Daniel and Andy both became concerned.

“First thing we can do is, sail along the coast and search for a river. Rivers bring fresh water from inlands. If we can find one river, we can move over to that geographical area,” Steve said.

“Then what are we waiting for. Lets’ all get on the boat and get moving. If Clara want’s to hang on with a dead body we can put him onboard as well until she gets’ better,” Robin said.

“We can do that but unfortunately we need to look for Oil as well and the best place to find that will be in a city; perhaps a deserted gas station or a container full of oil but still intact. If we leave for the river we will have to leave this place and the presence of a Church here clearly indicates there was a big city somewhere around here. The river on the contrary may be at a totally deserted place, or it may have changed its’ course to a deserted place now. We have to set our base at this place and plan our search endeavours from here only,” Steve explained.

“Looks like we need to break up into two teams in that case, one to search for water and the other to search for oil,” Robin remarked.

“I am afraid that is the only option we have,” Steve said.

“So what do you say, me and Daniel sail out in search of river and return in evening, while you and Andy go out for water?” Robin suggested.

“Sounds good to me but there is only one hiccup,” Steve replied as he looked towards Clara who was sitting by Nakata’s body crying silently, “Either you take her along with you or someone has to stay and keep a watch on her.”

“I don’t think she’ll accompany us on the ship even if we agreed to take Nakata’s body along, but let’s give it a shot anyway,” Robin remarked.

They all walked up to Clara and told her what they needed to do urgently and asked her to come along. When she expectedly refused to leave Nakata’s body they offered to take it along as well but Clara refused saying, “I know he’s not going to wake up again. I just want to spend the last few hours I can with his body before we give him a decent burial that he deserves.”

Since Clara wouldn’t leave with either of the search party they were left with no choice but to send Robin and Daniel out for river hunting, while Steve asked Andy to stay guard for Clara, just to make sure she didn’t commit anything stupid. When you don’t know how to swim, you are sitting next to an ocean and you have no foreseeable reason to live, it’s a reason all the more to take care of you.

“Steve, I am not too comfortable with female company and besides Clara and me, we are not the best of the friends either. You know her well since the time of Frank. Why don’t you stay here with her while I go in search of water?” Andy pleaded with Steve. Steve considered finding oil much more important and didn’t want to entrust the work to an inexperienced hand but after much persuasion he agreed.

“Look, you need to remember two things; first keep walking in a straight line towards north easterly direction until the sun has just crossed over your head and is roughly at a ten degree angle with your head. Then if you remember the route you took well and good, else start walking towards the west following the direction of the sun until you hit the beach. That’s when you start walking south and get to this point. If you don’t get here by evening, we will go searching for you along the cost northwards. Besides who knows Robin and Daniel might pick you up on their way back anyways,” Steve made the plan of action clear to Andy.

“Here take these three small containers of water with you. You’ll need ‘em. This place looks like one hot dessert,” Robin quipped.

When everybody was clear about what needs to be done, they all set on their respective journeys. Robin and Daniel cranked up the engines to sail along the coast up north while Andy grabbed his water and started his slow march up the sand hill just behind the Church. As soon as he reached the top of it there stood infront of him, another sand mount, taller than the one he was already standing on. “Boy, this is going to be one hell of a walk,” he said to himself as he gulped a couple of sips of water, looked at the mid-morning sun that had already started to burn the southern summer heat into his body and started walking again. He quickly climbed up the next sand hill that lay infront of him and the site he saw took his breath away, “Oh boy! Are we at a wrong place? This looks bad, really bad,” he said to himself. There infront of him lay a field of sand dunes after sand dunes, some big some small, and not a sign of any city. Should he walk or should he return was the question he asked himself. His brain told him to leave it and return to make a better plan along with the others but something in his heart told him, “Things are not always what they seem.” He continued walking.

Meanwhile, Robin and Andy sailed along the coast desperately looking for a river but it seemed like every water body feeding the brimming ocean they were sailing atop had vanquished with time. No signs of a water opening were found anywhere. All they saw was sandy beach followed by sand dunes. They sailed and sailed.

“Why don’t we see any rivers?” Daniel became impatient as the sun rose up to their heads.

“Looks like Steve is right, lack of greenery has left this land barren and waterless without rain. The rivers have perhaps dried or if one or two of them exist, they might have changed their course with the changed topographic structure of this place,” Robin tried to guess the reasons.

“That doesn’t sound encouraging,” Daniel lamented, “Looks like we are doomed.”

“Don’t loose your hope before you die Daniel, don’t loose your hope,” Robin commented as they trudged along the coast, their eyes desperately looking for even a small stream of fresh water flowing into the sea.

Meanwhile the heat of the desert was already taking its’ toll on Andy. He turned around and saw the sand dunes he had walked across. He panicked as he realized he’s forgotten his way. He desperately drank the last few drops of water in his first container and when it became empty he flung it on the ground, panicking and crying, “I am dead. I am dead. I am running out of water and I am lost. Somebody help me! Please!” he shouted at the top of his voice as he panicked more. The more he panicked the more he felt thirst and more water he drank. Soon enough his second container was sounding nearly empty as well. He cried out loud in desperation, shouted “Help me somebody! Help me! Please!” again and again. Called out for Steve, Robin and Andy and ran towards east trying to run away from the sun.

“Water, I see water! I’ve found water,” Andy shouted as he saw a mirage and ran madly in search of it, but the mirage kept moving east and east until he finally realized there was no water. He collapsed and fainted, luckily on the other side of an abnormal sand dune, the one which ended abruptly like a cliff forming a shadow.

On the other hand, Robin and Daniel couldn’t find any river opening even after sailing for the better half of the day.

“Daniel, it’s almost getting evening now, I think we better make a move back. We may pick up Andy on our way back as well. We’ll head south tomorrow or work out something else,” Robin said.

“I guess you are right. It was a terrible day indeed,” Daniel nodded his head as they turned around.

Meanwhile Andy finally regained consciousness, “What happened? Where am I?” He was lost for a few seconds before he remembered what he was looking for and realized what had happened. He also remembered Steve’s words, “Head west and then south along the beach.” Suddenly his head was clear about the line of action. But all the running in sun and heat had made him weak. He put his hand on the side of the cliff like sand dune to get some support as he pushed his body up and back on to his feet and suddenly the whole sand wall of the cliff nearly collapsed on him. He shrieked in fright as he tumbled and dragged his body backwards. As the resulting dust cloud settled, his eyes were amazed by the site he behold.

“Wow!” was the only word that escaped his mouth as he gathered himself up again and walked up to the cliff and stretched out his hand and touched the brick wall that stood infront of him.

“That is not a sand dune. That was a building,” he exclaimed in excitement. He rushed to the sand dune that lay on the side and fervently dug the sand away with both his hands until his hand pulled out a broken brick, then another and then another.

“This is not a desert. This is a city,” he nearly shrieked in excitement. He climbed up the sand dune and saw all around him and suddenly what had looked like a heartless burning desert had a new meaning for him.

“Yes! I need to get back to the rest and tell them about it,” Andy said to himself as he realized sun was fast slipping towards the horizon. “Damn! I need to be quick,” he said as he drank the last few sips out of his second container and a few sips from the third. And now he was running, running like a wild cat. As the sunset approached the temperatures around him became friendlier, his speed increased. He paused every now and then to take a few sips of water and then started to run again. Just as the sun slipped behind the veil of horizon with a promise to come up again the next day, Andy hit the beach. He started running towards south and had barely run a few yards when he saw the boat approaching from the opposite end. Daniel was standing on the deck looking out for Andy.

“There he is,” he shouted to Robin as he spotted a running Andy. Robin pulled the boat towards the shore and Andy rushed up to it. Daniel helped a panting Andy on board.

“Where have you been? Why were you running?” Daniel fired a salvo straight away.

“You guys won’t believe this,” Andy pushed a few words out while panting.

“You first calm down, have some water and then we will listen to your story. We all were really worried for you, so Steve asked me to return and find you. Steve’s caught some fish for us. Lets’ get back now,” Robin said as Andy sipped the last few drops of water from his last remaining container.

“Did you guys find water?” he asked to which both Robin and Daniel shrugged their shoulders and shook their heads in negative.

“Did you find oil?” Robin asked.

“No, but I found the mystery behind this place,” Andy said.

“Wait! Wait! Wait! We’ll miss our place,” Daniel shouted pointing to Robin as they were just about to sail past their current abode. They pulled up to the shore, tied the boat to the stone on the beach and alighted.

“What happened? Where were you?” Steve asked Andy as the three walked up to him. Clara was still sitting by the side of Nakata’s body, her head resting on his chest.

“Is she alright? Has she eaten anything?” Andy asked.

“Nope,” Steve replied in negative and then asked, “So did you find anything today?”

“Nothing as such but I discovered the secret behind this place,” Andy said with a smile of content.

“And what would that be?” Steve asked.

“These sand dunes that we see over here, these are not natural sand dunes. It’s the burial ground of an entire city that once existed and thrived over here,” Andy’s revelation shocked everyone.

“What? Are you sure?” Daniel asked.

“Affirmative,” Andy said and he explained to them the details of how it all happened.

“That’s interesting! In that case we might not even have to walk too far to find a buried gas station or something where we can find some oil,” Steve said, “As long as we know where to dig for a gas station.”

“We’ll figure that out tomorrow. Lets’ eat something and rest ourselves. It’s been a long and tiresome day for all of us,” Robin suggested to everyone.

“But what will we do about water? We are fast running out of what we have left. We need to find some quickly,” Daniel reminded everyone.

“I think I have an idea,” Clara’s voice startled everyone as they turned around to look at her.

“Clara, are you all right,” Steve asked.

“I am fine Steve. I know I cannot bring Nakata back to life but I cannot let everyone else die for it as well,” Clara said.

“You are a brave girl Clara,” Andy said.

“What’s the idea you were referring to?” Robin asked.

“I’ve read about an old world water purification system using pitchers, sand and pebbles in one of the books in the library once. I think we can try that if you want to,” Clara said.

“What’s the idea?” Steve asked.

“Can’t it wait till the morning?” Daniel asked.

“I think we better do it at night time as during the day the heat of the sun might affect it,” Clara said. When everybody agreed Clara asked Steve to dig holes in four containers and then asked Robin, Andy and Daniel to collect pebbles along the beach and put them into three containers, smaller ones in two, bigger ones in third. She asked Steve to fill one container with sand from a sand dune that lay behind the first one along the beach. When all that was done, she asked the four containers to be lined up one above the other and over a fifth container that was to act as a receiver. The one with bigger pebbles on top, followed by the one full of sand, followed by the two with the smaller pebbles, and the receiver below all of them.

“The bigger pebbles will filter larger impurities as well as remove some salt, the sand would hopefully have already been washed by a few rains not to have salts of its’ own and will remove the same along with minute impurities from water, while the smaller pebbles will further refine it. We actually needed charcoal for one of these to disinfect the water, but since radioactivity has already disinfected the water bodies naturally I hope, it should serve our purpose for the moment,” Clara said as she poured water into the one at top.

They went to have their dinner. Clara took a few bites as she still sat next to Nakata’s body. After dinner they all went back to their experiment and dismantled the hole thing to check what they have managed.

“What do you hear?” Robin asked as Steve shook the container.

“Water,” Steve said as he tilted the container to take a few sips of it and then exclaimed, “Aqua! Saline, but drinkable.”