The Flight or the Pursuit?

The man stood by the street light. He could hear the train winding down the railway tracks that he had been trekking on all day. He got off the tracks to let the train pass and leaned on the lamp post. It was nearing dusk and the evening passenger train, as was the norm with the trains in this region, was carrying twice the number of passengers than it was built to carry. The clouds had started settling into the valleys that the mountains towered around, and the temperature was rapidly falling.

The engine moved past him slowly when the lamp post that he had been leaning on suddenly sprang to life. He absent-mindedly scratched his unshaven face along the protruding straight jaw line that seemed chiseled to perfection to portray him as the man he was – a determined uncompromising creature. Against the background of the full moon night sky, the train's windows put a procession of lights, sometimes obscured by curious passengers peering at the tall hefty man with a huge backpack, leaning against the light pole.

The train chugged along slowly. He took out a cigarette and lit it after placing it between his parched lips. Beyond the rhythmic characteristic shuffling sound of the train, he could hear the roar of the waterfall that was his destination for the day. He smoked as he saw the last coach of the train disappear round the bend, revealing the breathtaking view behind it… tall trees stood out like an island amidst a sea of clouds. The tracks turned around the bend, near the next street light and he guessed that that was where the waterfall was. He ambled towards the next street light pole.

The breeze was chilly and it brushed past his weather beaten face, ruffling the locks of curly unkempt hair on his head. All the clouds seemed to have sunk into the valleys leaving behind a clear well-lit night to watch over him. He grinned at the thought of sleeping alone beside a deafening waterfall on a mountain under a clear full moon night sky. And that was when he suddenly, almost in a casual manner, registered that his shadow was no longer moving with him but was standing right next to the street light that he had previously leaned on.

He paused. He was almost near the next street light. An eagle was soaring high above him and it cast a huge shadow as it passed across the moon. He slowly scanned the ground all around him to see where his shadow was and frowned when he realized that he wasn’t casting any shadow. This was strange even for a vagabond like him, who had lived pursuing the most mysterious haunts that the world had to offer. He turned back to look at the other street light again. There was no mistaking the silhouette that leaned against it… it was his.

A few more minutes passed in concentrated silence that was broken by the croaking of the frogs in the dense jungle that covered the mountains, the persistent noise made by crickets and the crashing waterfall. He decided that this must be a trick his mind was playing on him owing to the mental fatigue he had imposed on it and moved on. As he turned around the bend and passed the street light pole by the bend, he saw that his silhouette had reached this street light. He immediately bent to see if the previous street light also had his shadow. And sure enough, there it was! Now, he had two shadows, both of which refused to follow him and were resting against different street lights…

He started to be anxious then and small beads of sweat started forming on his wide forehead. He wanted to get to the waterfall as soon as possible. He had reached the bend, but there was no waterfall there like he had assumed. However, the unnervingly loud rumble of the waterfall persisted. There were only tracks that snaked around to eternity, lit by the same kind of street lights that his profiles now rested on.

He quickened his pace and started hurrying down the tracks, hunting in vain for the waterfall. He realized with every street light he passed that he left behind a new shadow by that street light. The shadows seemed to get more animated as their numbers increased. After he passed many more street lights, he knew that something was seriously amiss. He put his backpack down and looked back as he gained his breath. His shadows seemed to have a life of their own! He could’ve sworn that he saw one of those silhouettes smoke just like he had some time back. They were all inching closer to him, slowly but surely.

He wasn’t at all pleased with this development. He dimly registered that the street light went out the moment all of his shadows walked past it. From where he stood, it looked like the darkness was slowly creeping up to him, as the street lights began getting engulfed by eternal darkness one by one, from the farthest end… and as his shadows came closer to him, the lights behind them all went out, quicker and quicker. He froze for there were just a couple of lights left behind him and an army of his shadows marched to him.

Fear knows no rationality. He couldn’t explain why, but he was certain that he didn’t want to be captured by his shadows. He lifted his backpack and started running ahead, creating more shadows as he passed the street lights on the way and thus, adding more life into the existing shadows. He ran in pursuit of the waterfall whose roar grew louder with every step and in fear of his own shadows that seemed to be hunting him. The street lights behind him went out in quick succession… We live a lot like that… with the beast in us casting shadows that pursue our soul for the rest of our life.