Despite my devoted care I couldn’t save that boy from dying.
“One
grand is the final I can give you” I bargained.
“Agreed”
said Belmiro.
“Ok,
we depart tomorrow around six in the morning” I added.
I
was in Sau Paulo, Brazil, working on my final assignment of PhD in Ecological
studies. Two days earlier I had flown from Kansas to this city to rub my
shoulders with some of the ecologists in order for giving finishing touches to
my assignment before its final submission.
It
was five in the morning when the alarm I had set shrieked in my ear at my hotel
room. I jumped out of my bed and made for the bathroom for a quick shower.
Having
had my breakfast, I quickly buzzed at Belmiro’s cell phone to inquire whether
he was ready or not. Then around 6:30, we departed from our hotel to the port. The
air was full of pollution unlike in Kansas, boats rocked tied with huge rocks.
While I was looking around and comparing this atmosphere with that of my home
town, Belmiro called me out enthusiastically asking me to come and have a look
at the vessel by which we were to go for a small expedition.
It
was seven O’ clock when we left the city in our vessel loaded with gas tanks
and food stock enough for us for two to three days. Belmiro apprised me on the
unpredictable weather of Brazil. We chatted for a while about his whole life
spent on these rivers. Then I moved to the hammock to busy myself with a book.
As I was about to finish only the second page, I glanced at the dancing clouds
up in the sky. In 10 minutes or so, rain drops started pelting the deck hard.
Belmiro
quickly switched the engine off and rushed into the hammock. I was
horror-struck by thoughts of getting trapped here at river accompanied by
jungles full of dangerous animals. But on the other hand, Belmiro looked as
tranquil as a saint in paradise.
Rain
stopped after half an hour allowing us to proceed with our venture. Belmiro was
tackling with the river turns and currents as if he was the one who had
designed the river. After two hours of continuous voyage, the vessel came to a
halt. I looked up quizzically at Belmiro’s face that had a broad smile on it.
He winked at me enjoyably and uttered:
“A
short break for lunch!”
We
resumed our voyage shortly after we were finished with our lunch. This time, it
turned out to be a long drive of about four hours. Then at around six in the evening,
we dismounted from our boat and stepped onto the land.
“Where
do we stand now and how far is the Helumba Forest?”
I
inquired.
“At
four hour distance, but we can’t proceed any further now. We’ll start again
tomorrow early morning” replied Belmiro in a faint tone. I thought of insisting
on our carrying on during the night but an afterthought encouraged me to trust
my young but experienced guide.
We
stopped our boat by a small rock where Belmiro tied it with a tree. Belmiro then
took out two camps from the vessel and started fixing them while I busied
myself in preparing the dinner. In about an hour time, Belmiro had set two
camps and a small fire as well --- quite close to the river so that we could keep
an eye on our boat.
Since
it was rainy season, big and small battalions of musical mosquitoes were
abundantly visible all around. Belmiro warned me against dengue that was common
in that season. Feeling scared, I quickly took out my mosquito repellant and
started applying it all over my body. Belmiro followed me with an equal
seriousness.
After
having dinner, we yakked for a while then we both said goodbye to each other
and went into our camps. Merely half an hour had passed when I heard something.
The sound seemed to have arisen from Belmiro’s camp. I was busy guessing when Belmiro
yelped again and rather piercingly. Frantic, I bolted towards his camp.
With
his eyes tightly shut, he was holding his left thigh with both hands. I noticed
a small bleeding around that spot. I quickly bent over him to see what had
happened.
“It’s
a snake bite” he could hardly utter the words. I was obvious the pain was
excruciating.
I
tore off a hem from my shirt, tied his thigh with it from both sides, and
pressed his thigh to squeeze venom out of it while he nickered out of ache. I
tried whatever I knew and I could to stop the venom from going up in the body
or going down towards legs. All my efforts, however, ended in a smoke. Nothing
went in my favor. Despite my devoted care, I couldn’t save that young Belmiro
from dying.
And
here was an American named Stephan from Kansas, lost in the perilous jungles of
Brazil, and left at the mercy of treacherous reptiles, snakes, bears, and big cats.
Stephan was now left to the nature’s decision. Nature's cruel court would decide now whether
to spare him or engulf him down into her corpulent belly --- full of corpses.
Sohaib
Zahir
O’Level
Final Year
PakTurk
Schools
Islamabad Branch![]() |
Sohaib Zahir |
WaaaH Sohaib Bhai, Chaa gaye hain,.. ;)
ReplyDeleteas usual a splendid piece of writing sohaib :)
ReplyDelete