Om seemed lost in the desert. He thought about his life that had been beautiful all through till he ended up at this place. Though the beauty of the desert was something to die for he could not come to persuade himself from taking his eyes off that one particular sand dune which lay before his very eyes.
Since his early childhood, all he could remember was playing in the lap of his mother, the Mediterranean sea, and watching the cool blue ocean which stretched on for miles. From where he was situated, high in the sky, he could see the horizon and a sparkling gold like stretch of never ending, gleaming sand awaiting him.
While his brothers and sisters had been busy complaining about the long & tiring journey they would have to endure when the winds start to blow, he could not hide is excitement to be able to travel near to the shiny golden horizon that he saw every single day.
Even though his mother, the sea, would tell him that his duty was to travel with the winds and the rest of the clouds, to rain over the central African rainforests. He would always ask her about the desert that lay in between. She would tell him that it was not a nice place, it had no water or life for miles, but he would have none of it. Eventually the sea would tell him all about the magnificent desert, of its sand dunes, the whirlwinds, and of all the secret treasures it has engulfed.
Soon enough the time came, and all the clouds were filled with excitement as the winds had started to blow them to their destiny. Om could hardly contain his excitement; he bid his mother goodbye, knowing he’d never be able to see her again. The anticipation of what lay ahead, had him exhilarated.
He sang along, watching his brothers and sisters, some who had been caught by a stronger wind blow past him, while some slowly drifted behind him. All he could think about was that he would finally get to be where he wanted to be.
It didn’t take much time before he had left the sea, and started to float over land. Everything around him was new, it was a beautiful sight, he saw what was, told to him by his mentor wind, were plants, animals and smaller bodies of water, which were called rivers and lakes.
The wind would listen to what ever he said and answered every one of his questions. He came to know that the wind was many a thousand years old. It would keep traveling all over the planet where ever the flow took it. It had amassed years of wisdom and seemed to know about everything Om may have wanted to know.
They had started to leave behind the sparse pieces of civilization, which they had encountered till now. Om was getting closer to his dream, his desire. He could feel the gleam of the desert right in front of him, and he realized it was even more beautiful than what he had imagined.
He started floating over the sand dunes and was in awe of the sight he withheld. An endless glow of the sand, in front of him, behind him and in every possible direction he could look at.
He questioned the wind, why does he have to go to some far off place when all he wanted to do was float gently over the desert. He told the wind that the desert felt like home to him. The wind got agitated, never in his life had he heard such a nuisance. The whole thought seemed wrong as per nature to him.
The wind tried to reason with Om, it tried to tell him that it was not meant to be, it was not what nature had intended. Had nature wanted him to rain on the desert, it would have given life to the desert and not just sand.
The wind realized that Om was not listening, his eyes were set upon a sand dune, one like which even the wind had never seen before. It gave away a golden shine when the sunlight struck its sand. Om had stopped and the wind knew it had nearly lost him.
He tried one last reasoning with Om, he prayed, that no other cloud had ever done this before. Om came back with; no cloud must have felt the way I feel today. The wind argued that, his brothers and sisters would be waiting for him at the forest, Om replied by saying that he had already spent half his life with them.
The wind saw that it was loosing the argument, it made a valiant effort, by telling him how beautiful the forest is, with its lush green trees and the numerous floras and fauna, Om said; all the beauty of the world, for him lay in that sand dune at that moment of time, and no other beauty could match it.
The wind was not ready to take such drivel, it threatened Om that it would leave him there, Om drew a slight smile, and the wind realized that this was exactly what he wanted. The wind had accepted defeat and gave Om his best wishes, and gently guided him to the sand dune.
***
Om neared the sand dune, still awestruck by her beauty. He jotted up courage and told her, that her beauty was enchanting and that he could not take his eye off of her. She blushed making her glow more radiant. Om was more in love now. The sand dune replied by saying, she too was noticing him conversing in the sky with the wind. She told him, that this was the first time ever that a cloud had fought with the wind for a sand dune.
Om told her about his childhood dreams of staying over the desert, and of all the stories his mother had recited to him. He said he always knew that his love was a treasure of the desert, and proposed his love to her.
The sand dune accepted his appreciation and said that she too would reciprocate the feelings.
To Om life seemed beautiful, he started rumbling and thundering with happiness. He wanted to stay with her forever. He knew that, the winds and the heat in the desert would not let him. He told her what was troubling her, and she consoled him by saying, that she knew it was all going to turn out alright and there was no need to be alarmed. She insisted that they should enjoy each others company at least while they were together.
Om told her that he always wanted to be with her, and the only way to be able to do that; was for him to rain on her. The sand dune could not help but shed a tear, stating that he would perish if he rained. Om tried to comfort her by telling her that, this way he would always be with her and nothing could take them apart.
The sand dune could not hide her sorrow and began to weep, Om wept with her Om wanted to show her how much he loved her. He closed his eyes bearing in mind a last memory of her gleaming golden sand and poured his heart out. He rained heavily on her till every drop of him had been shed. Soon he perished. It was a miraculous sight, that of rain on the desert sand.
***
In a distance the clouds could see that a cloud had started to rain. There was panic and a rumor grew that the forest had come. They geared up and followed in the foot steps of the cloud in the distance.
Soon one after the other numerous clouds gathered up and started to rain on and near the spot, where the first cloud had rained.
***
It had been years and the wind had grown fond of this particular route. This was the route where it had last met the most distinct cloud. Om was the name, if the wind recalled correctly, and that it did, after all it had thousands of years of experience and wisdom.
Even though the path was the same, something seemed amiss, how could there be an oasis in this part of the desert, it was not there, the last time the wind had blown through the region. How could there be such lush green trees and beautiful lakes in the middle of such a perilous desert.
Had the wind lost its flow! Was it not on the right path! The wind was puzzled, it could not comprehend having had made any wrong turns on the way, after all it had been through this region hundreds of times before.
There was a sudden glimpse of gold from the oasis and the wind realized, there was something familiar about it. This was where the cloud, Om, had left the wind, for the dune he loved. The wind realized what might have happened over the past few years and was filled with a new sense of animation.
It realized that the power of love had prevailed, and it gushed through the oasis with all its strength and looking back knew that it had been recognized.
'Kingshaw '
Originally Published on 20/09/2010 04:15
