Naomi lived in one of the many tribes stationed in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It was the only world she knew. The village she lived in was surrounded by forests. Bulbous trees, as tall as towers, dug their roots deep into the fertile land. Poky shrubs sat on the foot of these trees, resting in a layer of slippery moss. These shrubs bloomed with colourful flowers that added to the scenic value of the village. Naomi’s favorite pastime during the day was to observe the lovely landscape she was surrounded by.
One day, as she engaged in her usual observational activity, barefoot on the rocky lands of the forest floor, she saw people with large guns lurking in the forests. She hid behind a tall oak tree, peering out at the coast occasionally. Suddenly, she overheard a loud sound accompanied by a series of painful, agonized screams. The village was under attack! Naomi ran towards her house only to find more invaders had usurped the area. Frightened by the deafening ring of guns, she ran in another direction before anyone noticed. Running faster than she ever had, adrenaline shot through Naomi’s body only to be drowned in waves of terror that flooded her mind. Finally, when she stopped to catch her breath as she looked around, none of the surroundings were familiar. She had left the village. It was the farthest she had ever been from home. She tried to find her way back to the village but somehow she seemed even more lost than before. She tried to think of which way she came but gave up, realizing too many twists and turns had been made along the way. What was she going to do? Suddenly, she remembered that her father had told her that another tribe had settled East of the village. She quickly headed East, hoping she was on the right path. After what seemed like days but were probably merely an hour or so she found herself walking on a dust road, she had entered the neighboring village!
Suddenly, a feeling of terrible fright and hunger left her overwhelmed.
A thousand questions flooded her mind as she thrust forward in hope that the villagers could help her.
Suddenly a bomb dropped into a field only a few yards away. Shards of wood and bits of dust mixed into a thick black cloud of smoke. The hairs on Naomi’s skin stood up as she gaped at the sight. This place was not safe. She turned around and fled before any more mishap could obstruct her way. She was on her own now. The night would fall in a couple of hours and the forest was not a safe place to stay in. She started walking straight ahead in the hope, that soon she would find a secure place to stay for the night.
Unfortunately, there was no inhabited place for miles to come, so Naomi had to make a shelter for herself. She grabbed a few broken branches from the forest bed, found a sturdy piece of ground enveloped with moss, and decided to camp there. She assembled 4 branches in a tent-like structure and covered them with a cluster of leaves. She then lined the floor with a sharp batch of stones to act as protection against the creatures that lurked in the woods.
The chilly night masked her in a blanket of cold, fright, and sleep. She soon felt drowsy and fell into a deep rest, leaving the dangers of the jungle behind.
She had a horrid dream that night that a few men from an unknown tribe had tied her hands and leg and taken her to a dark, candle-lit room. They placed her over a hearth and left the place. The peculiar place was centre to an ancient cave – dark and hollow. What they were going to do to her, she shuddered to think.
When she woke up, she found that that had been no dream! She truly had been tied and placed upon a stack of wood. Were they going to burn her?! “Help!” she began to scream but her mouth was covered by a soft hand. She looked up, her eyes embedded with fear. There, a large, old woman with kind, blue eyes stood before her. She wore an embroidered silk gown that had been dotted with emeralds. Upon her forehead was the symbol of a tribe, one unknown to Naomi. Waves of questions surged a sea of curiosity but were silenced in thoughts of terror, engulfing her mind.
As the woman talked to her assistant, she spoke in a tongue unfamiliar to Naomi. “Umm…Excuse me?” Naomi began to say but quickly quieted down when she saw that no one was listening to her. She was afraid and unsafe in this world foreign to her. Burning in the flames of confusion and quite literally about to be burnt, Naomi was vulnerable and had to escape.
So that night, after she pretended to fall asleep, the woman left the cave for a short interval. This was her moment. Naomi looked around for any sharp object she could use to cut the ropes that tied her. There was nothing within her reach. Was this it then? Was this where her journey would end? Toasted to bits in an alien place far away from home.
“Aha!” Naomi exclaimed. She still had a sharp rock in her pocket from when she was building the camp! She rocked herself violently to enable the stone to fall out of the cotton dress. Rock…Rock…Rock…There! It stumbled down onto the hearth. Naomi struggled but after a few tries was able to reach it. She held the cold slab of stone, coiling it in her fingers, and collided it with the ropes, hoping its jagged edges would cut her free. And they did!
She let loose from the ropes, stepping down onto the chilly floor as silently as she could. She tiptoed across the room making it out to the entrance/exit of the cave. She stepped forward and bumped into a large mass, she looked up. There was the old woman! They both shrieked as Naomi ducked quickly, running away as fast as she could. The woman screamed again, this time cursing in her language. This woke up the nearby guards, who now quickly approached Naomi. Naomi ran between their legs and off into the far-stretching wilderness, exhausted by her fatal experience.
She walked and walked for days to come, stopping occasionally to collect water from a nearby spring or pick a fruit from a tree. The isolated place had been a nightmare for Naomi and she had been left with cuts and wounds and mosquito bites all over herself. Despite her haggard situation, she thrust forward, covering kilometers at a time in search of her village.
It was a few days later, that she stumbled across a familiar place. This was where she would come to view the scenery. Her home was near! She let out a sigh of relief as the last drops of energy in her, helped her run as fast as she could. She couldn’t wait to see her family again, to be back in the comfort of her village. But when she reached, flames had submerged the place. There were houses burnt to ashes and fallen trees, bones of people she once knew scattered the floor. What had happened? Where was her family? Naomi could do nothing but let out a cry of hurt and pain, tiredness and loneliness and anger. She saw the ruins of her crumbling home and walked away. There she was, all alone, crying herself to sleep under the shade of the banyan tree a few metres away. All hope had left her, she just wanted to escape her reality. Away into the Land of Dreams…
When she awoke the disrupted view of flames had calmed. She knew she must get out of there. So she dragged herself out of the ruins of her village and onto the slope that would take her to the bay. She walked slowly, with no purpose of her being, no dreams to thrive on. All was lost.
Upon reaching the bay she walked onto the sand which was now cold with the evening wind. She strolled by the waters as the waves thrust between her toes. There! She stumbled past a wrecked raft, but it was still enough to carry one person safely away. Naomi’s mind raced with ideas, she no longer wanted to stay up on the grounds where her people had died. So she rushed to the nearest spring collected some water and gathered some fruits from the nearby tree. She ran to the raft pushing it over the calm sea. She stepped onto it with no clear destination in mind. She paddled away, letting destiny guide her. Sailing into the sunset…