...And He Had No Answer #2

“Are you crazy?”

I looked incredulously at my companion as he glared back defiantly. It had been three weeks since my friend and I had started our trek. Our friendship of ever so many years was a result of the one passion we both had in common—trekking. The terrain had been rough and craggy during our trip and my friend had injured his foot rather seriously. Being the stubborn individual he was, he had insisted we continue the journey instead of heading back. I had reluctantly agreed. We had now reached the final lap of the journey where we were supposed to climb upto the local temple which was built overlooking one of the most breathtaking landscapes.

We had heard that the journey was cumbersome but what we had not heard was that we had to climb precisely ten thousand four hundred and twenty seven steps to witness that magnificence. I had flatly refused to continue with the trip but my friend remained obstinate.

“There is no way you are going to convince me to climb” I declared.

“There is no way you are going to stop me from climbing” he said heatedly.

“Why are you being so difficult and silly? It’s okay if we don’t finish the trip!  You shouldn’t be climbing steps with that injury.”

He looked at me and I could tell he just wasn’t convinced. “I will never be able to accept the fact that I couldn’t finish a trek because of a menial injury” he stated and continued, “Besides, it is a temple we are visiting and you know the faith I have in God. I must visit the temple.”

I had now seated myself shamelessly on the road at the foot of the flight of steps. I looked at my friend and said to him, “Give me one solid reason why you should be climbing those steps in this condition and I will come without saying a word.”

He exclaimed, “What faith can I flaunt if I turn back now and not see the Lord in the temple!”

I replied simply, “And what faith can you flaunt if you think you can see the Lord…. only in a temple.”

…And he had no answer.

….And I Had No Answer

There are few things as pleasurable as watching a ribbon of white frothy waves kiss a sandy shore.

I had just finished walking the entire stretch of the beach. I could hardly describe the way the hues of the skyline had changed during the walk. It was like watching a motion picture with the sky as the screen. The beach was really clean and the sand was almost white. My toes sank comfortably into the sand. I had never known that I could enjoy silence so much as I did now, for the only sound was that of the calm waves that occasionally reached my toes. The sea breeze played with my open hair, I knew they would get terribly knotty later but I really didn’t care. I felt as if I was treading into a most beautiful picture postcard.

I had reached the point where one could see the entire shoreline curving gracefully. I decided to stand awhile and savour the breath-taking view before me. Further down the beach, I saw a young boy pacing frantically to and fro. He looked very preoccupied about something and there was a hint of stress on his face. In such a calm location I couldn’t imagine anyone being worried.

I decided to walk back along the beach after a few moments. As I reached closer, I could see that the young lad was searching for something. His small nimble fingers were swiftly raking the sand as he rummaged through the grains. I stood awhile watching him before asking him what it was that he was looking for. He had apparently lost his ring on the beach last evening and had come searching for it this morning. He seemed quite confident that he had not dropped it near the sea as he had mostly been walking towards the other end of the beach. I did feel slightly sorry for him but I really couldn’t imagine how he expected to get his ring back.

After a pause, I spoke, “I’m not really sure you’ll find that ring of yours, kid”

He had been peering into the sand all this while, but at this he looked up and asked, “Why would you say that?”

“Well, the beach is huge! The tides have come and gone! How can you ever expect to find it?”

The boy looked at me for a moment and then answered with an innocently questioning look, “If a sailor on the high seas can expect to find his way to a shore he hasn’t even seen, I can surely expect to find my ring on a shore I can see.”

...And I had no answer.