Diary From The Missing Plane, Page 4
Shrimant
started again, ‘The flight landed on a patch of land on the island. Both sides, as well as the front of the so called runway, was surrounded by lofty hills. As I told before, dawn was yet to arrive at the time of landing. Immediately before touching the ground I realised that the runway was not enough in length and the plane could crash. Everything would have been over. Then I saw there was a large tunnel in front of me. The tunnel was large and tall enough to accommodate the entire airplane. We were totally inside the tunnel. I thanked God. As if God had foreseen such a situation and had designed this natural runway millions of years back, just for us.’
‘My first job was to communicate our position to the outside world,’ Steve continued, ‘and unfortunately, all the communication was out of order. I even couldn’t know our exact location. I was feeling exhausted. Even though I was sleeping the whole night, it was not a normal sleep. Rather it was a sleep induced by the spread of chemical poison in the cabin. I desperately needed few hours of normal sleep. I was feeling extremely hungry. But there was another more urgent task. The three hundred plus passengers and the crew were my responsibility.’
‘Thank you Steve,’ Rayhana, who was quietly listening till now showed her appreciation on behalf the crew, ‘we will remember you forever for your help.’
Steve gestured as if he accepted her thanks and started again, ‘I went to see the passengers.’
Jimmy suddenly interfered, ‘But I never saw you when we all came out of the plane!’
‘All of you were in deep sleep even the plane had a rough landing,’ Steve confirmed.
We all looked at one another in disbelief. What is he talking? We all know the plane had an extremely tough landing. But we were awake from our long sleep! We all came out of the plane.
‘Please be patient.’ Steve suggested, ‘Do you all know how you people reached in these caves?’
‘No,’ Hanif replied, ‘we are trying to find out the way out of this site since we came here, but without success.’
‘I know there is no rational way out from this enclosed area, this is like a natural prison.’ Steve explained, ‘you require specific mountaineering equipment, or a helicopter to go out.’
‘So, how did we all make inside this in the first place?’ I asked, ‘And how did you also come in?’
‘Exactly that I am going to explain,’ Steve said, ‘None of you remembered which way you people came inside this, is that correct?’
‘Yes,’ Hanif confirmed.
‘Actually you people are still inside the plane,’ Steve confirmed.
‘What do you mean?’ Many people asked collectively.
‘I am sorry,’ Steve explained further, ‘I said it wrongly. You people are all here, but your bodies are still lying inside the plane.’
There was confusion for some time. People started arguing with one another. Everyone was trying to prove his point. But it was difficult to hear as there was too much noise.
Dr Prakash pacified the people, ‘I see some significance in Steve’s idea.’
‘I am not suggesting anything,’ Steve said, ‘I am telling the truth. The sooner you people accept the fact, sooner you will move towards freedom. None of you is alive now. Your bodies are still lying, I mean stinking inside the airplane. And the airplane is still standing inside the gigantic tunnel. If you need any evidence, please pinch yourself.’
We all started pinching ourselves. Then people started pinching one another.
Dr Prakash also pinched himself few times. Then he stood above a large rock and started speaking like a leader.
‘Guys, I can guarantee, I am not getting any pain while pinching myself. Can any of you feel the pinch?’
‘No,’ was the collective response filled with sorrow.
‘Let’s accept that our bodies are dead.’ Dr Prakash suggested.
‘So who are we?’ Rayhana asked.
‘We are just souls, we can’t die.’ Dr Prakash replied.
There was a long pause. There was so much silence that, you can hear even if a mustard seed falls on the ground. Then I heard collective crying. Many times I have seen people cry for the death of their relatives. But the first time I saw we dead men and women were crying for our own death. Let me admit that I was also crying. The only two people who kept their phlegmatic were Steve and Dr Prakash. Maybe Steve already knew that he was dead and already finished his crying bit.
Jimmy, who till now was showing a brave face in everything, was inconsolable. I stopped crying and tried to comfort him.
‘I can’t imagine what would be passing on my wife Rita and my baby boy William.’ Jimmy mourned his own death, ‘she must have been devastated. Do you know just last week we both went to the Sea Cliff Bridge for locking our wedding forever?’
‘How do you secure a marriage?’ My eagerness to learn more didn’t die even with end of my body. I started feeling that everything is not over even after death.
‘We took several locks, put them on the steel bars of the bridge and threw away the keys inside the sea.’ Jimmy told. Dr Prakash and few other passengers were keenly listening to his story even though they might have similar stories to tell. ‘We prayed God to keep us together not only for this life, but for our future lives, as well. I mean we both wanted to stay as a couple even for our next births.’
‘That is wonderful,’ Dr Prakash commented, ‘you should expect to be united with her in your next life?’
‘Is there a next life?’ Jimmy asked.
‘If you can show your feelings even after your death,’ Dr Prakash argued, ‘why there shouldn’t be another life? You are alive even now. Only your body is dead. If you both truly love each other, law of attraction will connect you life after life.’
I was listening to the conversation in disbelief. It seemed there is a hope even after all hope is lost. Dr Prakash’s statement may be philosophical. But at this moment of desperation, his words were like magic.
‘I have never dreamt of getting my wife in my next birth,’ I started, ‘actually I have never thought that there is a life after death. But in the rat race of life I left several tasks unfinished. I always thought I will spend more time with my family when I am settled in business. Sadly I didn’t set up any conclusive target of the definition ‘settled’ for me. When I achieved something spectacular, I made another goal for myself. My family and my parents came in my future wish list. I didn’t realise when my two little kids grew up to be independent. I don’t remember after passing my high school when I have spent few days with my parents. Even when I was holidaying with my family, I have never enjoyed the holiday fully. I was always trying to run my business from everywhere. I have achieved much in my pursuit of the career. But now I think I have lost more than I have gained.’
I looked at Jimmy and told to Dr Prakash, ‘I can’t promise myself that I will behave differently in my next birth. But I am feeling guilty.’
Dr Prakash smiled and suggested, ‘Forgive self. There is little you can do now to alter what you have done or not done. You can only forgive and forget.’
Hamid was at peace with himself. ‘I have accepted my death. I believe it was the will of Allah. My only wish is for a formal religious ritual of my body as per my religious belief. Can’t my family get my body to make it a decent burial?’
We all looked at Steve in anticipation of a reply.
‘I was not able to communicate with the outside world,’ Steve explained as if he was explaining the cause of his failure. ‘Not a single communication system in the plane was working. But I could get the news from a radio.’
‘What was that news?’ I asked.
‘The whole world is searching this missing plane,’ he announced, ‘without success so far.’
‘Science is so developed now that we can find objects in planets like Mars,’ Dr Prakash commented, ‘and they can’t find an airplane which is still lying somewhere on the earth?’
‘It is because the last portion of the so called runway I landed the flight is insi
de the mountain,’ Steve disclosed, ‘the tunnel is long and wide enough to accommodate the large plane. No satellite can know the whereabouts of it. Unless someone lands in this island, the missing plane will remain a mystery forever or for an unusually long time. All the dead bodies may well turn into fossils by then. I tried my bit for disclosing the world our location.’
‘What did you do?’ Hanif asked.
‘Well I went to the seashore with the hope to waive my presence to some ship or at least fishery boats. I spent few days there and didn’t see a single boat or ship. The ocean is highly turbulent. Then I thought of climbing to the top of the hill so that I might be visible to airplanes above. The mountain was close to the sea and extremely steep. I was almost at the top when my feet slipped, and I fell straight inside the sea. My head was hit by a huge stone, and I think that was the end.’
‘I think after that it wouldn’t have been difficult for you to find all of us here,’ Dr Prakash clarified, ‘now that you can fly.’
I laughed, ‘Now I can understand how a woman like Rayhana, who has never climbed a tree, could climb the mountain so swiftly. She didn’t realise that she was not inside a human body.’
‘As long as you think you have limitations, you remain imprisoned in your imaginary prison.’ Dr Prakash revealed, ‘All of us were looking helplessly at her when she was climbing the steep hill like a pro because we thought that we can’t do that.’
Now it was Rayhana’s
‘My first job was to communicate our position to the outside world,’ Steve continued, ‘and unfortunately, all the communication was out of order. I even couldn’t know our exact location. I was feeling exhausted. Even though I was sleeping the whole night, it was not a normal sleep. Rather it was a sleep induced by the spread of chemical poison in the cabin. I desperately needed few hours of normal sleep. I was feeling extremely hungry. But there was another more urgent task. The three hundred plus passengers and the crew were my responsibility.’
‘Thank you Steve,’ Rayhana, who was quietly listening till now showed her appreciation on behalf the crew, ‘we will remember you forever for your help.’
Steve gestured as if he accepted her thanks and started again, ‘I went to see the passengers.’
Jimmy suddenly interfered, ‘But I never saw you when we all came out of the plane!’
‘All of you were in deep sleep even the plane had a rough landing,’ Steve confirmed.
We all looked at one another in disbelief. What is he talking? We all know the plane had an extremely tough landing. But we were awake from our long sleep! We all came out of the plane.
‘Please be patient.’ Steve suggested, ‘Do you all know how you people reached in these caves?’
‘No,’ Hanif replied, ‘we are trying to find out the way out of this site since we came here, but without success.’
‘I know there is no rational way out from this enclosed area, this is like a natural prison.’ Steve explained, ‘you require specific mountaineering equipment, or a helicopter to go out.’
‘So, how did we all make inside this in the first place?’ I asked, ‘And how did you also come in?’
‘Exactly that I am going to explain,’ Steve said, ‘None of you remembered which way you people came inside this, is that correct?’
‘Yes,’ Hanif confirmed.
‘Actually you people are still inside the plane,’ Steve confirmed.
‘What do you mean?’ Many people asked collectively.
‘I am sorry,’ Steve explained further, ‘I said it wrongly. You people are all here, but your bodies are still lying inside the plane.’
There was confusion for some time. People started arguing with one another. Everyone was trying to prove his point. But it was difficult to hear as there was too much noise.
Dr Prakash pacified the people, ‘I see some significance in Steve’s idea.’
‘I am not suggesting anything,’ Steve said, ‘I am telling the truth. The sooner you people accept the fact, sooner you will move towards freedom. None of you is alive now. Your bodies are still lying, I mean stinking inside the airplane. And the airplane is still standing inside the gigantic tunnel. If you need any evidence, please pinch yourself.’
We all started pinching ourselves. Then people started pinching one another.
Dr Prakash also pinched himself few times. Then he stood above a large rock and started speaking like a leader.
‘Guys, I can guarantee, I am not getting any pain while pinching myself. Can any of you feel the pinch?’
‘No,’ was the collective response filled with sorrow.
‘Let’s accept that our bodies are dead.’ Dr Prakash suggested.
‘So who are we?’ Rayhana asked.
‘We are just souls, we can’t die.’ Dr Prakash replied.
There was a long pause. There was so much silence that, you can hear even if a mustard seed falls on the ground. Then I heard collective crying. Many times I have seen people cry for the death of their relatives. But the first time I saw we dead men and women were crying for our own death. Let me admit that I was also crying. The only two people who kept their phlegmatic were Steve and Dr Prakash. Maybe Steve already knew that he was dead and already finished his crying bit.
Jimmy, who till now was showing a brave face in everything, was inconsolable. I stopped crying and tried to comfort him.
‘I can’t imagine what would be passing on my wife Rita and my baby boy William.’ Jimmy mourned his own death, ‘she must have been devastated. Do you know just last week we both went to the Sea Cliff Bridge for locking our wedding forever?’
‘How do you secure a marriage?’ My eagerness to learn more didn’t die even with end of my body. I started feeling that everything is not over even after death.
‘We took several locks, put them on the steel bars of the bridge and threw away the keys inside the sea.’ Jimmy told. Dr Prakash and few other passengers were keenly listening to his story even though they might have similar stories to tell. ‘We prayed God to keep us together not only for this life, but for our future lives, as well. I mean we both wanted to stay as a couple even for our next births.’
‘That is wonderful,’ Dr Prakash commented, ‘you should expect to be united with her in your next life?’
‘Is there a next life?’ Jimmy asked.
‘If you can show your feelings even after your death,’ Dr Prakash argued, ‘why there shouldn’t be another life? You are alive even now. Only your body is dead. If you both truly love each other, law of attraction will connect you life after life.’
I was listening to the conversation in disbelief. It seemed there is a hope even after all hope is lost. Dr Prakash’s statement may be philosophical. But at this moment of desperation, his words were like magic.
‘I have never dreamt of getting my wife in my next birth,’ I started, ‘actually I have never thought that there is a life after death. But in the rat race of life I left several tasks unfinished. I always thought I will spend more time with my family when I am settled in business. Sadly I didn’t set up any conclusive target of the definition ‘settled’ for me. When I achieved something spectacular, I made another goal for myself. My family and my parents came in my future wish list. I didn’t realise when my two little kids grew up to be independent. I don’t remember after passing my high school when I have spent few days with my parents. Even when I was holidaying with my family, I have never enjoyed the holiday fully. I was always trying to run my business from everywhere. I have achieved much in my pursuit of the career. But now I think I have lost more than I have gained.’
I looked at Jimmy and told to Dr Prakash, ‘I can’t promise myself that I will behave differently in my next birth. But I am feeling guilty.’
Dr Prakash smiled and suggested, ‘Forgive self. There is little you can do now to alter what you have done or not done. You can only forgive and forget.’
Hamid was at peace with himself. ‘I have accepted my death. I believe it was the will of Allah. My only wish is for a formal religious ritual of my body as per my religious belief. Can’t my family get my body to make it a decent burial?’
We all looked at Steve in anticipation of a reply.
‘I was not able to communicate with the outside world,’ Steve explained as if he was explaining the cause of his failure. ‘Not a single communication system in the plane was working. But I could get the news from a radio.’
‘What was that news?’ I asked.
‘The whole world is searching this missing plane,’ he announced, ‘without success so far.’
‘Science is so developed now that we can find objects in planets like Mars,’ Dr Prakash commented, ‘and they can’t find an airplane which is still lying somewhere on the earth?’
‘It is because the last portion of the so called runway I landed the flight is insi
de the mountain,’ Steve disclosed, ‘the tunnel is long and wide enough to accommodate the large plane. No satellite can know the whereabouts of it. Unless someone lands in this island, the missing plane will remain a mystery forever or for an unusually long time. All the dead bodies may well turn into fossils by then. I tried my bit for disclosing the world our location.’
‘What did you do?’ Hanif asked.
‘Well I went to the seashore with the hope to waive my presence to some ship or at least fishery boats. I spent few days there and didn’t see a single boat or ship. The ocean is highly turbulent. Then I thought of climbing to the top of the hill so that I might be visible to airplanes above. The mountain was close to the sea and extremely steep. I was almost at the top when my feet slipped, and I fell straight inside the sea. My head was hit by a huge stone, and I think that was the end.’
‘I think after that it wouldn’t have been difficult for you to find all of us here,’ Dr Prakash clarified, ‘now that you can fly.’
I laughed, ‘Now I can understand how a woman like Rayhana, who has never climbed a tree, could climb the mountain so swiftly. She didn’t realise that she was not inside a human body.’
‘As long as you think you have limitations, you remain imprisoned in your imaginary prison.’ Dr Prakash revealed, ‘All of us were looking helplessly at her when she was climbing the steep hill like a pro because we thought that we can’t do that.’
Now it was Rayhana’s
