As I walked through the woods toward what seemed like the probable end of the path we were on, a particular scene from Shilpi, subtly made its way into my conscience...
"...Riri: Do you remember those lines of the poem I had narrated to you the other day from my mom's old diary?
Onko*: Um.. Which one?
Riri: Maybe within one of those dreams, or perhaps in a completely different time,
I have seen it all... Everything this world has to offer,
But-
Onko: But now as I stand here, (he continued) At the very edge of that dream,
I find myself getting curious about it all, once again!
Riri: You remembered the poem! (she expressed, glancing at him as her face slowly lit up with a radiant smile)
Onko: He he (smiles) How could I even begin to forget about those lines, being an artist myself..."
Upon reaching that 'probable end', I realized that it was just a new beginning - A super elevated highland in the middle of the woods with a totally open view.
At the center of my bore sight stood a colossal old factory, its exterior adorned with a burnt black patina.
The expansive view unveiled most of the factory in an open area, enclosed by a dense perimeter of trees on all sides. The entire landscape, with the factory situated at a lower elevation, presented a captivating scene, creating a striking contrast against the lush greenery that enveloped the entire vicinity. Finally, the greyish-white textured sky was hanging on top of the dark factory giving birth to a crispy texture, almost similar to that of a manga panel.
Walking upto me, Avinash presented his fists in front of my mouth like an imaginary mic. "Thoughts?" he asked, wearing a confident grin on his face.
" 'Maybe within one of those dreams, or... in a completely different time,' " I recited, adjusting my eyes to the warmth of that picturesque landscape in front of my eyes, " 'I've seen it all,' But now..." I whispered, shifting my glance towards Avinash, "As I stand here enchanted by nature's soulful embrace... I surely regret not coming to this place sooner!"
"BROOOO...!" Avinash yelled, his uncontrolled excitement bursting forth as he almost jumped on me, taking support on my shoulders. "The first time I arrived at this place a few weeks ago, I had a reaction EXACTLY similar to yours!" he exclaimed, retaining his newfound vigor.
I could finally begin to comprehend the reason for his excitement all along.
"That's quite natural..." I replied, absolutely mesmerized by the landscape which stood before my eyes, "Infact, I believe that any sane person would get absolutely blown away by this landscape!"
"Yeah!" he exclaimed, agreeing with me.
"That super long chimney had always piqued my interest, you know," I conveyed, pointing at the massive cylindrical chimneys protruding from the factory.
"Mine too...!" he exclaimed, gaping at the chimneys against the greyish texture of the sky. Glancing at the sky, I realized how the clouds were taking shape in the sky once again, getting ready for another round of pouring.
"Hey Dhriti, do you remember that conversation we had about visiting the factory one day in the future...!?" Avinash questioned all of a sudden, wearing a nostalgic look of satisfaction on his face.
As I stood gazing at his face, my consciousness began actively searching for that memory throughout space-time within the fabrics of my brain and it was before long that I recalled the conversation we had one day, standing on the open basketball court of our college campus.
"Yeah..." I expressed, shifting my gaze towards the sky, "It was, I guess, just around the time we had begun working on Shilpi, was'nt it?"
"Yes... Exactly!" Avinash whispered, dreamily re-collecting that moment.
"So, we are here finally," I whispered, recollecting our passion and enthusiasm from those inital days of work.
"Thanks to me," Avinash added, gently slapping my back.
"Yeah..." I affirmed.
"Man... I could gaze at his scenery for hours at end, you know," he expressed, gaping at the view with his mouth wide open.
"Absolutely, It's strange how I had never even remotely considered the possibility of such dense vegetation existing here, only just half a kilometer from our college..."
"Hmm, *tch* Only if I had my drawing pad right now...!" Avinash lamented, clicking his tongue. I quickly pulled out my mobile from my trouser pocket and slid open the camera.
"A moment like this should be preserved carefully," I muttered, capturing multiple pictures of that place, both in its natural state and with my favorite filters applied.
"Good idea!" he mentioned, his face lightening up once again. "But hey, keep those pictures confined to your mobile," he suggested, "I wouldn't want this place to become a dating spot or anything like that, you know,"
"Don't worry about that, these are just for the sake of keeping memories," I assured him, keeping the mobile back inside my pocket.
"Hey, by the way, that poem from Shilpi was a good one though," Avinash pointed out, taking his spectacles off and wiping them clean with the lower portion of his tshirt.
"My pleasure...!" I jested, copying the accent of Onko from that scene.
"Well.. on that no~te," he voiced dramatically, with a bit of hesitation, "A-after I came across this place, I finally understood what um.. 'The Alchemist**' wanted to say.."
Listening to his grand confession, which came out of nowhere, I glanced at him totally expressionless,
" 'Finally' indeed!" I complained, mocking him. "Remember, how much you had argued with me on that..!?"
"Hm.. I-I am sorry..." he whispered apologetically, wearing his spectacles back on.
"Well, nonetheless.. that's an interesting co-relation, so I will forgive you for that," I replied, wearing somewhat of a mischievous smile on my face,
"Heh..!" Avinash exhaled, swaying his head in disbelief,
"So, what's next? Are we going down there?" I asked, once again staring at the majestic structure of the factory,
"Well, let's keep that for another day," Avinash suggested. Glancing at the land just below where we were standing, he added, "It's nearly a lake down there... I wouldn't want to drown in the middle of a forest, heh"
"That's true, we are two lazy boneheads who don't even know the basics of swimming after all," I replied, adding to the light hearted tone of the conversation,
"Heh heh," Avinash expressed, visualizing the idea of us drowning within that deep vegetation!
"Okaaay, so now that our little 'side trip' is over, don't you think that it's your turn to spit out some 'answers'...?" I stated, leaning on the tree which was nearest to me.
"Answers...?" Avinash voiced, kicking at the ground near his foot,
"Yeah..!?" I replied, surprised once again at his sudden change of behavior,
"Well, wouldn't it be too uninteresting if I simply told you what's going on?" he stated, an enigmatic smile slowly developing across his face,
"What do you mean!?" I inquired, totally confused about his reaction.
"Heh he heh, let's make this a little more in-ter-es-ting...!"
"Huh!?"
"Do what I say and you will be presented with all the answers that your curious soul desires!" he acted out, mimicking the expression of a creepy clown.
"Oh, man...!" I exhaled with frustration, covering my face with the palm of my hands.
"Heh he he he he...!"
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