by Tooba Afraz
Shortlisted in the PureTravel Writing Competition 2024
Squished between two absolute strangers I had met just 20 minutes ago, I was confused about what to feel. My mind went blank the moment I saw what was next. Conversations buzzed around me, and music blasted through the speakers, but I couldn’t remember a single thing. It was as if I had been transported to another world. Let me rewind and tell you how I ended up in this place.
It all started one evening, just an ordinary evening, when I decided that I had enough of my monotonous life. Waking up, doing the same thing over and over again, falling into the same patterns, existing like a robot on autopilot. The excruciatingly hot weather made things worse. I had forgotten how to live, so I packed my bag with essentials and decided to get out of the house and embark on an adventure. My brother and I decided to escape to the small village in the mountains to relax our minds and break free from the normal routine. We set out at 5 am, half-asleep, with nothing in our stomachs except for some biscuits and tea.
Our goal was to find a bus or car to take us to the Village. After some searching, I found a mini bus going to our desired location. We loaded our bags into a blue mini bus that looked small from the outside but contained a whole universe inside. By universe, I mean it was packed with people squished next to each other. We made our space, squeezing our way through the tight crowd. The van had a strong, sweet scent of mangoes, which I later discovered was due to two crates of them on the front seat next to the driver. He was bringing them back to his village in the mountains.
After over an hour of waiting in the overcrowded van, where everyone visibly looked pissed off due to the heat and the driver still finding people to squish in, the van finally started. But the driver wasn’t treating it like a bus with actual living people inside. He definitely thought he was an F1 racer, speeding on a bumpy, single road with no fencing on the side of the mountain.
I was squished between two strangers who clearly didn’t enjoy sitting with me. During the whole ride we didn’t speak to each other and I assumed they hated me. If being kidnapped had a feeling, this was definitely it. A kid seemed to really enjoy kicking my seat, and it seemed like it was the best entertainment for him. Fed up, I looked back to face him, only to discover he was traveling alone! It was quite normal for little kids like him to travel alone from their villages to the city. The journey wasn’t long, just 3.5 hours, but it felt like an eternity. Overstimulated by my surroundings, my ears keep blocking and popping.
Suddenly, the bus jolted to a stop. Everyone was thrown forward, and the driver cursed loudly. A herd of goats had decided to cross the road at the most inconvenient moment. We watched as the goats leisurely made their way across, their bells tinkling softly. The driver’s frustration was palpable, but it gave us all a moment to breathe and take in the surreal scenery.
Finally, the moment arrived. Amidst the noise of crying babies, people talking loudly on their phones, and music blasting through the speakers, what I saw next left me stunned. When the clouds cleared, I realized how high we had climbed. The vibrant colors of the mountains and tiny houses built on the slopes came into view. We were overlooking a small village in the mountains. The air felt cleaner and fresher, and the sunlight illuminated everything, making the colors vibrant.
The little red houses in the middle of the mountains looked straight out of a painting. Graceful women filled buckets of water from the glaciers and carried them to their homes. Children played cricket and laughed with joy. In that moment, I was truly present, not thinking about the past or the future, just purely in the moment. I felt one with nature and felt like I had reached home. Even though I was far from home and squished between strangers, it felt comforting.
As we disembarked, a friendly local approached us and offered to guide us to a nearby waterfall. Intrigued, my brother and I followed him on a narrow path through the forest. The trek was challenging but invigorating. We crossed a shaky wooden bridge and climbed steep rocks, our hearts racing with excitement and exertion.
When we finally reached the waterfall, it was breathtaking. Crystal-clear water cascaded down moss-covered rocks, creating a serene pool at the bottom. We dipped our feet in the cool water, feeling an overwhelming sense of peace and accomplishment.
It was then I realized that we cannot live life focusing on the negatives. I looked around and noticed the little things that made my day. I thought about the families in the mountains enjoying mangoes that day. I saw an elderly couple lost in discussion about their granddaughter, laughing at adorable videos of her. I realized there’s always more to things than what we choose to see. I had been miserable because I wasn’t looking at life from another perspective.
I learned that you can’t wait for the perfect moment; you have to take a moment and make it perfect. For me, my bus ride to the mountains became the perfect moment of my whole trip. The adventure, the unexpected encounters, and the stunning beauty of the mountains all contributed to an experience I would never forget.
Photo by Chandan Parihar on Unsplash
