Not every voyage is about reaching a destination. Some are meant to rediscover the self — in solitude, in silence, in the quiet company of the unseen.
The Land of the Green Sapphire was one such beginning.
Suddenly the dark clouds started gathering around the flight. The seat belt sign was lit up above our heads. The elegant flight attendants dressed in their customary Ethiopian attire had taken their seats after checking safety status of all passengers, ensuring all were fastened safe and the window shutters were up. They had refreshed us with snacks, lunch, drinks, cushions and fleece all along the travel path that we crossed for seven long hours from the land of Sheba and Solomon. They had taken care of the kids and mums, the elderly and the sick with all expertise of compassion and care they were trained with.
The Airlines had already flown me to Addis from my motherland the previous night when stars lit up the sky and as moon descended. This journey was an extension of the one before — a passage meant to lead me into a wilderness unknown.
A sudden calm prevailed inside the flight which was buzzing a few moments ago. The rustle of food packets and plastic water bottles being disposed off into the waste bag which the attendants carried along the alley, had subsided. Now, all quiet as the flight started plunging inside the dense grey mass that hovered below. The wing flaps groaned as the bird swayed from left to right. The bright red blinks popped off and on from the far ends of the wings which was piercing its way through the heavy surroundings. Many a times the aircraft shook, jolted and trembled sending chillers down every spine. Soon the wings settled, and the flyer calmed, as the thick fog thinned and the emerald coastline emerged beneath – serene, vast and alive. The vast Atlantic could be seen to gently wash the shores of the Land of the Green Saphire, as we lowered down through gusty air at great speed over the huts and buildings of the city of Libreville.
Within the next few moments, the gears found ground as we touched foreign soil. It was alien land for me as each of us alighted along the canopy of the boarding stairs and walked along the tarmac for a few yards to enter the immigration zone. Shortly after, I found myself engulfed amongst people all around who spoke differently, wore differently and behaved in much different way than that I was accustomed to. I had reached an Africa far removed from the romantic notions the world often imagines.
Though the immigration checks went on smoothly, the baggage section at the Airport was a bit chaotic, unprofessional and found wanting to handle international passengers who have travelled long hours to reach a country which is often unknown in the world map.
Leaving the airport, the colonial charm of French architecture quickly gave way to shuttered shops and deserted streets that spoke of hardship and unrest. Soon the Toyota found better tracks and sped along the highway through a forest-green hilly terrain. The trees on the slopes rose tall – very tall – broad trunked giants cloaked in deafening green silence. Very typical of the forests of this region, shorter trees formed a canopy to cover the blazing rays that otherwise could have easily reached the floor of the hilly slopes. ( Inset : NKOK Roads, Gabon)
Slowly, as reality struck and excitement within subsided, the pain of separation engulfed the soul. The sense of getting marooned started getting overwhelmingly heavy. None was my own, I thought. The air around, the breeze that blew over my face and neck, the water I drank, the stone that crossed the path, the jazzy number on the infotainment, the folks around in joyful numbers- stood in silence and betrayal. I found them everywhere around me but never was I able to find myself among them. I was once again alone in this wide world – marooned again after 28 long years in a Land of the Green Sapphire – separated by days and perhaps years, I contemplated. ( Inset : Immigration Centre , NKOK, Gabon)
The fatigued spirit kept lingering on the memories of my past- my motherland, my lovely family who were by now the entire world to me , my dad and mum who cradled me once , my friends and relatives with whom I grew and who helped me position myself in a society I cherished and everything that I had to leave behind not by choice, but by a turn of fate and events, was all over me. Their inseparable presence was slowly getting overwhelmed by the inconsolable sense of seclusion. After about a while my vision stopped in a numb slumber that explored the memories left behind
Quite oblivious of the surroundings, I was not sure when I found myself inside the compound of a complex surrounded by some unknown familiar faces, who welcomed me in a dialect that I could easier understand. The voice sounded like a relief after a horrendous two hour of emotional squall that ripped me apart in spirit and mind. The stakes were high and the voice and company of the ordinary was the straw that I needed so dearly.
In time, as dusks gave way to nights and twilights to dawns, life stirred again—like a tender seedling pushing through the warmth of earth, reaching for light and shadow alike, learning once more to stand, to bloom and to give, in the Land of The Green Sapphire !
The Land of the Green Sapphire
Excellent writing. I must congratulate you.
Great. Please keep on writing and update me by sending links.
Many thanks for the words of praise. Will surely do as you say.