A story long ago...

This came as a small surprise. Apparently, I wrote a short story 3-4 years ago and I suddenly found it online as an unofficial undergrad magazine pdf. Anyway, I don't exactly recall writing it but it certainly sounds like me. Check it out below. Please note: I have left the grammatical errors untouched.

FOOTSTEPS:
Everything was blank; black and plain; without any patterns. She closed her eyes and tried to open them again. Perhaps, they would accustom themselves to the dark abyss she now experienced and then, show her the path. But her lids were heavy and her legs reluctant. What on Earth was she experiencing!!!

It was a matter of time and a mountain of patience that the influence of sense overpowered the void and her eyes opened through slits. Some more time and she finally saw her body as it lay within the dense bushes she had passed only 15minutes ago. And yet it seemed like eons!!!

What had happened??? Why was she here??? And How??

She had known all along; it had seemed too good to be true. But this???

A tear rolled down her numb cheek. She remembered being happy, exuberant, smiling, laughing, dancing, but above all, experiencing a feeling of completeness. All this, as they rose a toast to her promising future at a campsite about 5km away.

Was it all going to end??? Would she die, her body intertwined in a bush because no one found her???

She would not let that happen. NEVER. She was a fighter, a survivor.

She had come down to the countryside for a camp 2 days ago, to feel close to nature and its plenitude of miracles. There was also another reason. After years of struggle and non-stop hard work, her determined stance had earned her a place of prestige in the technical circle at work.

But then she had felt an uncanny dejection within. She had lost herself along the way. Somewhere, peace had vanished and an unease had seeped in. Life’s goals had gone astray and all her dreams had been forgotten in carving out an identity for herself. She wanted to find herself; look inside the lady of poise she projected herself to be.

After a party celebrating her successes, she had taken the time she needed, with no one but herself. So, accompanied by a flashlight, she had strolled away from human life; away from camp; away from the chaos…

As she had strode along the dirt-path, for the first time in a decade, she could feel the existence of tranquility. It was everywhere; in the rhythmic stir of the leaves, in the harmony that was suspended in the air, in the continuous hum of the night, in the proof of reality…

Right then, something had disturbed the train of emotions, something behind the trees did not seem to fit the canvas. Alert yourself… look, think, act… do not panic… she had told herself…

Words came easy, but panic didn’t. She was not among those who lost their sobriety in danger. She continued to be clear-headed. Until…

It was a wild animal. Not small enough to be taken lightly but dangerous enough to tell her to run. The sudden bedlam had been enough to make her drop the flashlight that could have guided her or perhaps, scared the animal away.

She turned and started running. As fast as her legs could!!! Maybe she should have given more attention to fitness and sports!!! She turned just in time to make out an outline of a creature and in that millisecond, she couldn’t remember its name but calculate the speed at which it was chasing her and soon would catch up… she had very little time…

All thoughts came flashing down at once. Her childhood and the urge to find out how everything around her functioned… her school friends; how long had it been since she had seen them!!! her constant fights with her parents, the day she walked out of the house promising herself never to return again; how she wished she could tell them how much she had missed them all these years… her foray into biotechnology, her first published paper, the applause she had received as she walked onto the stage to collect the ‘most promising researcher of the year’ award… her first love, her only love and
how she had ruined it because of her thirst to reach the top; had it even been
worth it???

She tried to collect herself. There was nothing ahead but the same deserted dirt road she had come by. Campsite was far away. Following her instincts, she took a left and jumped into the chasm, hoping it would save her life.

She felt her leg twist; did she hear her bone crack? She didn’t know. It had suddenly got silent… and she had passed out…

Now, after coming back to consciousness, and her senses loading, she felt pain go through her body. She could not move. Something had happened. She had broken some bones and half her body had gone numb. The animal had probably given up.

Now all she had to do was wait… for life or death…

Life is funny, isn’t it? All our lives we want something, and when we get it, we discover it wasn’t what we really wanted in the first place. But then, maybe it isn’t life. It is we, the people that live them…

I know it sounds too philosophical but that is how we humans are. In reality, we don’t know what we want or need. All we know is that there is something out there that will make us content and someday, we’ll find it. In the process, we set so-called ‘goals’ and strive one-at-a-time to achieve them, hoping it will give us the satisfaction that will please destiny.

When the veracity hits us, it gets too difficult to digest and the best way to flee it is rejection…

With all thoughts clouding her consciousness again, she closed her eyes, as if the darkness would answer some questions…

After another decade she opened her eyes, a pain now neutralized by numbness. There was light. Maybe it was heaven. And there was a figure in it too, having the form of a human.

‘Miss? Can you hear me? Give me your hand.’ They had finally found her…

It had taken 32 years but life had changed in the past few hours. But isn’t that why we call it life???