Wasn't that told by Dharmakhshema before? Standing and staring at the death ahead at the edge of Non-Aryan territory? Same words are uttered today after witnessing the abandoned, lone planet. It seems like these words rang some bells louder in Ashtabasu's memory! Ashtabasu has no idea who destroyed 'Alka' into its scattered reminiscent; neither has he had any feeble idea what made the Mars left haunted in the dark, lone cosmos; but one thing is sure, both of them turned dark and mute as a result of standing in the way of two aggressive, selfish races. They are paying off their debts because of outraging war between warmongers, along with all the inmates within.
A decade ago, a 'just-orphan' kid at the start of his teenage started his journey in search of food and shelter. Sooner, the kid falls into the grip of an extremely aggressive and violent race from West, known as 'Gir'. This nomad race was unique of their kind; they were atrocious and violent in nature, so as their 'game'. They find pleasure and entertainment in a special kind of game they invented straight from their sinister mind, infamous with the name of it – 'Bukhkashi'. Rules of this game were very simple; there will be two opposing teams on their horses, a 'Kill' in the wide-open field and they will have to kill it with everything they got – Bows and Arrows, Spears, Knives, and Lasso – whatever weapon they choose at will. The only point here is the 'Kill' we are talking about is no beasts or cattle; those were kids, live humans, one at a time! The kid will be left untied on the field and once discharged, both the teams will unleash hell upon it unless it falls on the ground, dead. The process repeats itself several times and at the end, the team with the highest number of kills will be declared as a winner. Simple, isn't it?
There are two more rules to this 'game', or whatever they call this infernal sinister. The first one is, hitting the target should be taking place from a definite distance. No shooting is allowed beyond a boundary line. If someone overrides the rule, the penalty is maximum – off with someone's head and decrease in the count of 'Kills' they made so far. In addition, the second one is – Wait a moment, please! What do you think about them? They are civilised and they always ought to prove their compassion and composure to other races. These helpless kids taking an active part in the game might belong to other races, but they are humans after all! Definitely not a cow, or a pig, or something like those sort of animals! So, there should be scope for them to survive in this madness. That is why a provision is made in this purpose. There is a boundary line at the end of this open field; if any of these poor souls manage to cross over that line, then the kid is allowed to keep its breath on. Nobody is going to hunt it down aftermath. Everything is square and simple!!
It is a separate issue that the poor souls were never informed that the direction they are running at is the edge of 'Mahavan', the Great Forest. Here comes the irony: If the kid saves itself from the claws and teeth of wild beasts, or is able to stay away from the Eagle Eyes of local Jungle tribe, still the Kid has to die; how somebody is supposed to overcome the iron-paw of hunger and thirst?
Sub-consciously Ashtabasu had his finger moving gently over the wound at the back, just beneath his right shoulder. The wound seems to be healed with the passage of time. But what about that one which is deep-rooted into his mind? It is fresh as it had been since the moment he got it. The situation makes someone tough enough, and a faint touch of 'luck' makes the same person invincible! Else, there is no other way to explain an impossible that turned out to be possible. There was not any feeble chance for any kid to cross the line clear that moment; every participant in this 'game' is experienced with unmatched precision to hit the target. Nobody saw any hope but the kid, who sorted it out quickly that running straight will help these hunters to hunt him down quickly; so he started running zigzag to his destination. Although, he could not make it clean to the end. When he was near to the line, an arrow hits him from behind, just beneath the right shoulder. He fell on the ground, but then he stood up to his toes again and crossed the rest of the distance with an arrow sticking to the back of his body. The kid had his trophy, his very own life with which he flew away safely from the barbarous species he met.
Now, where is the luck here? The doodle-doo, itsy-bitsy luck? Once he crossed the line safely, he ran forward straight and at a stretch. When he fell down of thirst and hunger, and of course lost his senses in the middle of a denser forest, waiting to be scavenged off by the beasts in the wilderness, he was rescued by a–
-"Everybody is ready and assembling to meet the All-in-all. You are requested to wait by the outer-gate to follow-up!" – An announcement was made.
Ashtabasu wrapped a blanket around his body and came out. He has to follow the instruction; everybody is gathering around the pointed location one by one.
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The Legend of Ram - Sight Beyond Sight
Science FictionThe Epic of 'Ramayan' has not been written yet. In the meantime, a devastating war was raged on the Earth between two emperors at the time belonging to two different races - King Shailendra from the Non-Aryan race and King Dashapal as the leader of...