Crowds were not my best friend. It was my biggest foe. Any path that veers away from sweaty and noisy people was always in sight for me. If I found no such path, you just make a U-turn. And this festive season, my inner-Grinch took control.
Hoards of people had used the holiday for fun and raucous in my opinion. So past the foliage and through the berry bush, I saw what I wanted. A people-free zone. So I mowed down the bush and shrugged off the pain of my leg getting bruised by the brier that stood in my path. But now that I had taken the detour, I had to think twice about making the next turn.
And this thought was not just because of my eneclophobia but also because, I had no hint of where I was. Suddenly it became a wild goose chase without the goose. I am not sure whether that is possible but I hope you get the point. Then I realized my train of thought and my body’s emergency response system had made me overlook the fact that I was far from civilization.
I was in a desolate area with thick wilderness. I felt at home with the surroundings all to myself. I could hear the faint gush of the stream and hear the crunch of leaves below me. I would have stayed here for hours. But amidst this utopia, I heard something unnatural. Sounds of screaming and pounding. For a kid like me, utopia suddenly became dystopia with this minor change.
I rapidly switched on my flight force and took off faster than a Grinch running from Christmas. But now that I realize I had referred to myself as the Grinch earlier, maybe this simile does not really explain my situation adequately.
But all the same, every muscle moved and every limb activated. I clocked massive speed and soon I was on the search for a crowd of people where I could be safe from the sounds behind me. Even sweat and hullabaloo seemed glorious to me.
During this auspicious occasion, people were easy to find. So, I blended into the crowd and for that moment, me and crowds could never have been more distant.
Crowds were still not my best friend. But sometimes, your biggest foe becomes your safest shield.
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Credits for “The Crowd and the Void”
Cover Image Credits: https://www.istockphoto.com/photos/crowd-of-people
Inside Image Credits: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/travel/destinations/green-getaways-5-forest-trails-to-unwind-unplug-and-breathe-again/articleshow/122228208.cms
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