detour

I adjusted the strap of my backpack, now lighter, as I had emptied the bottle to make my trek up the rock a little easier. It was no ordinary rock. Unlike the ubiquitous rock of Gibraltar, it was a residence to almost a hundred families with their homes scattered along both the edges of the rock, leaving a path in between. A few shops along the alley sold bijou souvenirs apart from the paraphernalia for the far and between travelers.

I took a detour from this narrow yet nitid passage to see and smell more of their daily chores. Looking for the next best stone to jump on, I trotted off.

Small homes with smaller windows let out family conversations as morsels, but enough to suggest that dinner was a pretty early affair here. Soon, as their ovens were heated, the smell of sautéed garlic and parsleys whetted up the rocky terrain. A bagpipe was being played on the roof where few men seemed to have gathered to have a good time.

I stopped in between to catch some breath as the gradient was increasing with each step. The moist wind gained thrust too, making me toil. Above me, the clouds were getting in a fantod, but I trudged on in anticipation of what lay ahead. Having set my sight on it during a walk along the city esplanade, I knew I just had to be there. So without wasting any time I picked up my back pack (ready as always for any escapade) on the nearest weekend and set off.

Bracing for the impending downpour, I quickened my pace a little. The light from the light house indicated that the crest was not very far. Dodging the window panes lightly, I trekked my way up. In about ten or fifteen minutes, I emerged onto what was a different world altogether.

Cruising closer to the cliff around the light house I reached the end … or maybe, the beginning. For some hundred and fifty feet below, the ocean began into an endless expanse. The strong waves together with the dark clouds created a rhapsody in which every other sound got submerged.

Thoughtless yet enchanted, I stood there as if under a spell. In one breath I took in the panorama encircling the rock while my heart resonated with joy. It ceased to matter where I was; I felt as if I had become a part of it. Standing there, that moment turned into forever.