The Higher Road

The High Road

Image Courtesy – Sadaham Yathra on Pexels.com

The loud whirring of the engine refused to die as the odometer now showed – 150.

He hasn’t driven this fast in his life, ever, but today was probably different, the soft hands glided over the steering, as the eyes stared ahead, the body still, as a man in a trance. 

The open windows suddenly brought in the salty smell; he finally glanced from the corner of his eyes to discover an entirely new landscape; the car was driving in the midst of a desert road now, with nothing in front or behind for miles.

The feet abruptly pressed the brakes, surprising even him as if done against his wishes, as he looked around like a little boy stranded in an unknown city before opening the doors to explore and to stare at the endless expanse of sand; the evening sun too was hurrying to leave, putting everything behind.

A part of the exhaustive brown landscape though seemed to be playing a prank, hiding something, as his sharp eyes noticed a small bulge of green at a distance.  He walked over, while still admiring the orange reddening sun and the sky behind; the large white shirt of his, fluttered out but, the cowboy hat remained as steady as it can.

‘What is it,’ he muttered, talking to himself while feeling that bulge with his feet.

The eyes suddenly stretched wide, as a subtle smile occupied his face.

A large stash of cash,

‘at least a million,’ the thought cracked up!

It all lay there stuffed in a plastic bag, the money flowing out unable to keep itself hidden in the tattered sac and wishing to break free.

He stared as if examining a specimen under a microscope, his hands itching to get hold of every single bill when the feet suddenly started running towards the car again.

The engine turned on with a loud sizzle, and he pressed the pedal as hard as he could.

The road, as straight as a line, suddenly swerved to the right.

His eyes, however, missed the little green board a few metres before with the sign as he suddenly found himself falling down the rock and into the water; a loud splash scared away the seagulls and a few men nearby.

The body bathed in sweat suddenly jumped on the bed, as he looked around. 

The huge room, inside the largest house of the city, couldn’t prevent nightmares as the young heir, began recollecting every moment of the dream he was in only a few seconds ago.

Placing his palms on his face, he stayed still, breathing slowly before finally getting down.

‘I want to shave my head,’ he ordered the barber.

Pulling out the whitest bedsheet from the room, he wrapped it around him, walking barefoot out of that princely mansion.

‘The scion of the largest business family renounces the world; will be a monk now,’ screamed the headlines and newsreaders of almost every prime newspaper and news channel.

A new monk in an ashram faraway in the lap of the Himalayas collected water from the nearby stream, a ritual he would have to follow for at least a decade before he could move to his second lesson.

A contented smile and sparkling smile emanated his twinkling face as he placed the bucket of water before the master.

‘You can take some rest now,’ gestured the master, as he obediently nods his head and bows in agreement.

The eyes have surprisingly turned firmer and unwavering now, following his ‘instruction’ instead of acting on their own.