Destiny's Appetite

The Task

Full of haze, that morning had dense fog everywhere in the jungle. Bodhi was in a dilemma to get down from the tree or not. He spent one more night in the watch duty which his master had tasked him with for a month. Still 15 more days to go. Every morning Bodhi was in a mix of thrill and anticipation before getting down from his tree. He waited and observed his surroundings. The trilling sounds of insects have not come down yet. Nocturnal creatures were still on the way to their homes. The environment was still intense and uncertain. The barking deer nearby had made the point that they have started doing their jobs already. Bodhi made his first descent. The first step down the tree, holding tight to the rope, he realized something was not right. Still he trusted his instincts and decided to get down the tree and return to "shaolin temple". 

6 years of learning martial arts through a lot of rigorous physical and mental exercises and yet he is there to learn many things unknown to him. This jungle had so many lessons to offer. Only when someone is keen to learn, the teacher of nature will step in to teach the real lessons that matter. This task was part of his martial arts training program at Shaolin temple, to spend 30 nights on a jungle's tree top and understand his positioning in nature's ecosystem. The purpose of this exercise was to blend and become one with nature. This was not mandatory for everyone at the temple but his shaolin master Shifu had his way of teaching to his best disciples. He believed that we are all part of nature in a way or another. Bodhi too believed in it and he didn't object to this task. He enjoyed the task thoroughly as he got the chance to see many beautiful phenomena of a jungle that happens in the night, ranging from bioluminescence of insects to the mating calls of different animals.

Bodhi belonged to siraki village where every youngster is motivated by the village elders to learn martial arts in their young ages so that the youngsters will know their in-built energy system and how to harness their mind, body and spirit. Bodhi was a happy, curious, strong and disciplined youth of siraki and followed the mission of learning the ways of nature. He never argued with Shifu in any way but always followed his command because he believed a lot in his Shifu. His Shifu believed in the equanimity of nature and preached to his disciples to follow their natural flow of energies. He often said to his disciples, "you can disagree with me, but never disagree with nature". Bodhi recalled his Shifu's teachings and he let go of the rope and landed hard on the ground. The very earth of the jungle itself was flourishing with flora and fauna. The jungle which nurtured millions of lives in the process of achieving extensive biodiversity.

Bodhi set foot on the soil of that fertile jungle. He looked to his left and right. He was looking to see if he could spot any predators. He looked across the path and he saw the calm and fierce lake full of fresh water. Lot of lotus had blossomed in that lake which represented peace and serenity. He couldn't resist taking a dip in that lake. He raised his saffron pants till his knee. His robes presented a picture of him being a monk in that attire. He walked across the path and was almost in the process of getting knee deep in the depths of the naturally formed lake. He suddenly noticed some ripples in the water. He saw a magnificent king cobra descending into the lake gracefully from the opposite bank. The 12 foot, majestic black and brown scaled snake descended into the lake in a hope of crossing the lake and reaching the place where Bodhi was standing. Bodhi took a back foot and thought for a while to continue his plan. He then respected the snake's path and decided not to dip in the lake. He stepped back and returned his saffron robes to its natural position. He turned towards the southern direction and decided to head towards the Shaolin temple. He picked up a long stick and walked past all the weeds on the edge of the path and was very eager to cross the "danger" zone as soon as possible. After a few meters of walking, he noticed there was a jeep coming towards him. The open jeep clearly was traveling at constant speed and was heading towards the northern part of the jungle. Bodhi understood it was the Ranger's jeep and he hoped he could meet with anyone he knew already.

Before he could make a guess of the vehicle's driver he noticed that the jeep was gradually slowing down a few meters before him and came to a halt. The headlights of the jeep flashed and it just stopped. The driver of that jeep peeped out of the jeep's front windshield and signaled Bodhi to hurry towards the jeep. Bodhi didn't understand the signal and was puzzled. He just followed the body language of the jeep driver and hurried his steps towards the vehicle. As he neared the jeep, he realized it was Kishan who was driving the jeep alone. He shouted "hey kishan.. what are you doing here so early in the morning".. Kishan replied:"walk fast and get into the jeep". Bodhi didn't understand why he was saying that. Believing in Kishan's words, Bodhi hurried towards the jeep. He was almost a few feet's distance from the jeep. In a curiosity, he turned back at the path he walked and he saw that shocking scene.

Orange body with dark black stripes, a fully grown adult tiger was walking towards Bodhi. With its head in a strategically positioned hunting position, the tiger advanced with well calculated footwork. At Least 300+ kilograms and with such a fiercest outlook, the tiger was determined to get its prey for breakfast. Probably during the walk, Bodhi didn't notice the danger that was following him. Bodhi immediately understood the risk he was in and he ran like a bolt and hopped into the jeep's backseat. After bodhi hopped in, Kishan sounded the jeep's horn loud and indicated to the tiger that it is not safe to pursue its target.

The tiger slowed down and the massive beast disappeared into the bushes. Kishan spoke: "This is the man eater we all are after. He has killed around 80 people in and around this jungle". Bodhi looked at Kishan with no speech. Bodhi was not scared but he had questions in his mind. Kishan said:" I will drop you at Tara's house and you continue after that".

Kishan turned around the jeep. On the way, Kishan narrated all those stories about the man eater. His stories could send a chill down the spine for anyone who hears them. Bodhi was still untouched by Kishan's man-eater stories. He just hoped that journey ended fast. Soon they were at Tara's house.. an unsophisticated hut which was at the border of the jungle and the village..