it’s his life.
I ate my noodles in silence. I was a dickhead.
6. The Maoist
We stayed at the teahouse for about half an hour.
Mani returned full of vigour and we set off again, refuelled and a lot more energetic. I took the lead as I had done earlier. After a short walk we entered jungle. It was almost as though we’d been transported to a different place entirely. All around us were trees, dense, thick and grey—real jungle, far more concentrated than forest and much more intimidating. Only a little light managed to creep in, so it was also much cooler. The path here no longer ran over large stones, but was made up of shards of fallen tree branches. Because of the rain the night before, this was terribly slippery to tread on.
Surprisingly, Mani was the first to fall. He clambered to his feet in seconds, and as of to his hide embarrassment briskly assumed the lead, while I took upthe rear. Then, when we had been walking for almost two hours, Akio’s foot caught on a loose piece of wood. Under the weight of his backpack he keeled over. Mani turned swiftly to respond to Akio’s cry, but Akio’s slight stumble had developed alarmingly—over the side of the track and into a steep drop into thick trees and shrubbery below. We could hear Akio yelling in panic as he continued to roll, hands grabbing at whatever they could find.
Under the weight of my pack Mani could gather little speed to reach him. In desperation I threw my arm over the mountainside but Akio was well gone.
‘Ah shit! Shit, shit, shit,’ I yelled. ‘Akio! Akio!’
I peered over the edge, desperately trying to see where he’d landed. The drop below rose up, brought terrifyingly close by the vast covering of branches and leaves below the edge—he could be anywhere. Mani lay by my side, puffing and panting. We called out Akio’s name, but there was no response.
‘Akio, Akio,’ we yelled again, but still no response.
‘Where is he?’ I asked in shock.
‘I don’t know, I see nothing.’ Again we yelled his name; there was silence.
‘Ah, this is insane!’ I groaned, then tried a tremendous shout, ‘A KIO !’
‘I am a here-a.’ The voice was faint but there was no doubting it was Akio. Mani and I looked everywhere below the edge—but we could see no sign of him.
‘He could be anywhere down there,’ I said to Mani. ‘There are too many leaves in the way to see a thing.’
‘Where are you?’ Mani cried out, giving me a signal to be very quiet. Akio’s voice was just loud enough for Mani to pick the direction from which it came. ‘Over there,’ he said, pointing off to the right.
‘I’ll go down and get him,’ I said rising to my feet. ‘I need a rope or something. Have you got one?’
‘No, I will go down.’ His words were definite and direct. Perhaps this was best; Mani knew this country.
He had already removed the backpack and was making a plan to get down over the edge. At first he tried easing himself over the edge, feeling his way by his feet, but his right foot gave way and I pulled him back up.
‘Rope, maybe we need rope.’
You can say that again. A prayer surfaced horribly in my mind as I rummaged through the jungle trying to find something that resembled a rope. Dear Holy God, please protect Mam, Dad, John, Sarah and Sam, Benji and Rusty, all my friends and relatives, Mani, and Akio hanging off the cliff.
Again and again I repeated the prayer, and although my fingers and toes aimed to the sky as much as they could, I was unable to get it right! This was hopeless. Akio could die!
‘There, at your feet.’ Mani spoke but I was too slow to respond. Not until he was tugging at a large heap of vine-like branches beneath me, did I even see them.
Damn prayers! I felt stupid and angry. And distressed. Now my scolding of the prayers could be the cause of Akio’s falling further and perhaps even dying. I continued to recite the lines in my head as I helped Mani to tie the vine rope around a tree and go over
I ate my noodles in silence. I was a dickhead.
6. The Maoist
We stayed at the teahouse for about half an hour.
Mani returned full of vigour and we set off again, refuelled and a lot more energetic. I took the lead as I had done earlier. After a short walk we entered jungle. It was almost as though we’d been transported to a different place entirely. All around us were trees, dense, thick and grey—real jungle, far more concentrated than forest and much more intimidating. Only a little light managed to creep in, so it was also much cooler. The path here no longer ran over large stones, but was made up of shards of fallen tree branches. Because of the rain the night before, this was terribly slippery to tread on.
Surprisingly, Mani was the first to fall. He clambered to his feet in seconds, and as of to his hide embarrassment briskly assumed the lead, while I took upthe rear. Then, when we had been walking for almost two hours, Akio’s foot caught on a loose piece of wood. Under the weight of his backpack he keeled over. Mani turned swiftly to respond to Akio’s cry, but Akio’s slight stumble had developed alarmingly—over the side of the track and into a steep drop into thick trees and shrubbery below. We could hear Akio yelling in panic as he continued to roll, hands grabbing at whatever they could find.
Under the weight of my pack Mani could gather little speed to reach him. In desperation I threw my arm over the mountainside but Akio was well gone.
‘Ah shit! Shit, shit, shit,’ I yelled. ‘Akio! Akio!’
I peered over the edge, desperately trying to see where he’d landed. The drop below rose up, brought terrifyingly close by the vast covering of branches and leaves below the edge—he could be anywhere. Mani lay by my side, puffing and panting. We called out Akio’s name, but there was no response.
‘Akio, Akio,’ we yelled again, but still no response.
‘Where is he?’ I asked in shock.
‘I don’t know, I see nothing.’ Again we yelled his name; there was silence.
‘Ah, this is insane!’ I groaned, then tried a tremendous shout, ‘A KIO !’
‘I am a here-a.’ The voice was faint but there was no doubting it was Akio. Mani and I looked everywhere below the edge—but we could see no sign of him.
‘He could be anywhere down there,’ I said to Mani. ‘There are too many leaves in the way to see a thing.’
‘Where are you?’ Mani cried out, giving me a signal to be very quiet. Akio’s voice was just loud enough for Mani to pick the direction from which it came. ‘Over there,’ he said, pointing off to the right.
‘I’ll go down and get him,’ I said rising to my feet. ‘I need a rope or something. Have you got one?’
‘No, I will go down.’ His words were definite and direct. Perhaps this was best; Mani knew this country.
He had already removed the backpack and was making a plan to get down over the edge. At first he tried easing himself over the edge, feeling his way by his feet, but his right foot gave way and I pulled him back up.
‘Rope, maybe we need rope.’
You can say that again. A prayer surfaced horribly in my mind as I rummaged through the jungle trying to find something that resembled a rope. Dear Holy God, please protect Mam, Dad, John, Sarah and Sam, Benji and Rusty, all my friends and relatives, Mani, and Akio hanging off the cliff.
Again and again I repeated the prayer, and although my fingers and toes aimed to the sky as much as they could, I was unable to get it right! This was hopeless. Akio could die!
‘There, at your feet.’ Mani spoke but I was too slow to respond. Not until he was tugging at a large heap of vine-like branches beneath me, did I even see them.
Damn prayers! I felt stupid and angry. And distressed. Now my scolding of the prayers could be the cause of Akio’s falling further and perhaps even dying. I continued to recite the lines in my head as I helped Mani to tie the vine rope around a tree and go over
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