Cycle of Time

3. Two journeys

It was a hot and uncomfortable day. One of those days you'd prefer to spend indoors. The sun was out with a vengeance, determined to shine today. It was midday, and if you were out in the open you could almost feel the sun hovering just above you. It was as if the morning sun had expanded itself towards the earth as the day went by. Uben could feel the sweat pouring down the middle of his back, only to evaporate in a few moments. He was glad to find shade under this hollow some tree. Under here it was a different world, the sun was filtered by this giant canopy. And the few rays that did percolate down were joyful and energetic rather than draining. The only real indication of modernity was the drone that blinked as the rays hit it in the distant sky. It followed Uben around at a distance guiding him sometimes just in case he got lost.

He had taken the long ride out of the city and to the countryside. He needed some time to think things over. What Maya had said, and all the happenings of the past week. Life had been flowing along fine till then. Artificial Intelligence usually handled temperature and many other physical aspects of life in the cities, that it was unusual for one to feel uncomfortable. It was good to feel uncomfortable for then you were able to really appreciate paradise when you found it Uben thought, as he sat down in the shade. Did it all make sense? Filling up the gaps is what he did best. He kept ruminating, well it did. But being the investigator he was, there were gaps that made no sense. He wanted more details about this group of people. Were they up to something? He couldn't help thinking .

He felt himself instinctively pull at his trouser pocket .But there was no device there, he had momentarily forgotten, that this was a part of his experiment to be without it. As soon as he realised this he consciously reinforced his determination to do without. But it was harder than he had initially thought it appeared. He felt like he was alone .Someone had pulled the plug on connectivity.

He was feeling grief and loss. But he couldn't be lost in his thoughts for long, the sound of a breaking branch overhead made him look up. A squirrel was scampering away unscratched after a tender branch had broken under its weight. Looking up had made Uben notice that it wasn't only him and the squirrel that had found comfort from the sun in this tree. There were birds and many of them at many levels of the tree, squirrels, and even a small troupe of monkeys looking curiously back at him. There was whole world underneath the tree too, now that he was focused enough on what was happening around him. He again grabbed at his pocket looking for his device. But he realised quickly enough to stop himself this time. He managed to deal with the urge to take a photo and share it. With no device it seemed easy to make up his mind and enjoy what was around him.

There was a subtle interaction between all the animals. They all seemed to be aware of each other, but went about their own affairs as long as everyone else did the same. But at the same time they all seemed to be aware of their surroundings .Uben too was aware of his surroundings .But he was distracted again. Wondering what was happening in the outside world, in the connected world. How many calls, chats, news, and alerts had he missed? Was it worth worrying about? The wise old monkey above seemed to be amused and his look pronounced that he thought otherwise. But, Uben couldn't stop his thoughts.