Impact (Part 2nd) —

(Recap– In the first part of the story, a description was given about a piece of stone, that  had a remembrance about his past life. The stone piece explicitly recalled, a few months ago he lived a life of an adolescent boy and tried to find out about his present sorry plight.….)

I still remember the moment when I found myself laying here as a stone piece but there I too mistook myself as a human being only. Perhaps, it was the lasting impression of my previous life. In the broad day light, scorching sun used to make my external body quite hotter and that would distress me extremely. In the sever cold, I used to suffer from coldness inside me. But with the passing of time, I firmly came to realize that now I was a stone piece only somewhat flatten in shape and nothing sort of anything could occur with me even if I opt for optimistic aspects. The story of deprave, debauchee and profligate man I narrated in the beginning, in  which he was cursed to turn up into a huge rock, has badly been stuck to my mind. In books I had read when a big stone erodes by facing bad weather, in long process of time, it decimates into innumerable pieces. This makes small pieces of stone come into existence.

But here, I clearly remember, from the very beginning I was an independent piece of stone. Might be, god had had some plan to convict people after their demise to turn them up into various kinds of stones. This might be in accordance to the gravity of sins they committed upon the earth. But I don’t recall to commit any such grave offence in my past life for which I could be accorded such a harsh punishment. It all were enough to make me giddy. I bag pardon for this concept of “giddy” for that may sound weird to you. How come a stone feel giddy, this question certainly is to arise in your mind. In my past life when I was a human being, I also had opinion that stones have got no pulse or feelings. But now I realize that at that time as a human being I stood on a wrong footing.

Isn’t it surprising? I think I have got a pulsating mechanism but lack the sense of pain in a way as other living beings go through. Laying here motionless and passing through all cycles of weather, good and bad is an another kind of experience. In the dark of night when a clear sky is up like a heaven  or when moon is in shine, I watch that intently. In day time, an azure sky that sometimes gets clouded, to watch that incessantly is my daily routine. No doubt, I too have got a little crowd of other stones around me. But their entire structure is not visible to me. Merely their some body parts (of the flank of their shape) I can watch or feel them partially. With the changing of weather, sometimes I feel weeds growing around me or creeping over me.

Seldom when some one visits here, be that a man who comes here to manage the irrigation system of this small check-dam or little children who often in their whim gather here to gambol, then only I enjoy the presence of human beings. Besides, when I am kicked ruthlessly by some child in a joyous mood and roll away from old position to some new place, then the deep anguish of being displaced envelops me. It’s also a phenomenon to lodge oneself as a stone at a proper place and create a stability to ensure ones firmness. On the same, when you are thrown away to another place, it’s like an imposed migration and is so painful and humiliating. Even stones too feel that sort of pang.

One astonishing fact I elicit to you. It’s about my outer structure.  Once, when I was taken in hand by some child and he tossed me in hand prior to throw away, I realized I had some small hued strips on my flat exterior or may be I watched them coming out of my stony appearance. This may be possible as it happens with man when he experiences astral traveling. I mean in astral travelling he lives in his body but his invisible soul travels a long path by being connected to the main body through an invisible cord. This invisible cord at once pulls back man to his living body and confining it there; the same might have occurred with me, I think so.

I said earlier, I remember many sorts of things and feel different feelings which a stone ought not ( as it is opined about stones in common.) Now here in this hilly territory, it’s the beginning of wintry season. In a way I remember last out going wintry season clearly since I have been here for months only. As I know, as being an old denizen in my past life of this high land, whole through this cold season I am doomed to lay here in shivering nights. Only day time’s sun rays are supposed to console me with its warmth. Here again, around me some weeds  in shape of grass been grown and grip of them is so tight over me, sometimes I feel strangulated.

Often, up in the sky, myriads of scintillating stars in the night keep me busy akin to days of my past life, when I happened to watch them in ecstasy. Here in the ambiance of check-dam, at the beginning I noticed the presence of so many wild animals who visited in the dark from the surrounding forests. They had purposes.  Wild animals visited  either to quench the thirst or to prey upon the other innocent herbivorous animals who too used to visit to quench their thirst. At the beginning noticing their appearance dreaded me down to my spine. The fear of being mangled by them kept me trembling for long. But gradually I found, never they put upon me even a throwing glance and reason was obvious, no body had interests in stones even the wild animals. Of course, on various occasions I have been trampled down their feet. Now, it rational to say something about this check dam. I know the history of this check-dam since I had been a denizen of this village ( still I count myself as  a denizen, no matter as stone now.) (End of Part 2nd of the story, Cont’d.) Penned by– Vinay Pharasi —–