Everything seemed blurry at first, but once Ibad got back to consciousness, he gasped, “We did it!”

He wiped the blood from his forehead and turned towards the captain, shook his shoulder and said, “Mr Amir, we survived the crash …” his voice faded as he realised that Mr Amir was gone.

Ibad swallowed and struggled as he got up and walked towards the cabin to check on everybody else. They were all slumped down, motionless. He checked the pulse of all ten people in the jet’s cabin, but no luck.

Frightened and confused, Ibad opened the gate of the smoky jet only to find himself in a clearing surrounded by a dense jungle. He couldn’t think of anything, but that all 11 people with him were dead. He was in deep guilt.

“Hello! Anyone here?” he yelled and got no response besides his own echo. He tried to use his phone, but there was no signal. Hence, he took a deep breath and gathered the courage to find help.

Ibad’s heart dropped after reading the incomplete message and soon he heard some voices. He peeked out the window and saw a band of ruthless men angrily marching toward the building through the bushes with dangerous weapons

He packed a bag with clothes, water and some food, then ventured into the scary jungle. He had never been in such a terrible terrain, and after hiking hundreds of metres away from the jet, he came across an abandoned three-story building. The dusty building was eaten up with vines and bushes. Ibad hoped to find a phone in it, so he went inside.

After minutes of search, Ibad found old telephones, but their wires were cut.

“Great! Now what?” he said, standing in the middle of a large hall. As he looked around for other options, in a corner he saw a skeleton wearing a lab coat which was covered in dirt. Ibad was shocked to see it and as he came closer, he saw that it was holding a book and a pen. He took the book and opened its first page. Some numbers were written with frequent dashes in between. Ibad figured out that they were references to certain words inside the book.

Ibad then sat on his knees and recorded what the dead scientist wanted to say. He took out his own pen and started writing in his pocket journal and what he found was something that wasn’t welcoming to a foreigner, “Remote Island — Escape towards East – Find the Negotiator of Land and Sea — don’t talk to…”

Ibad’s heart dropped after reading the incomplete message and soon he heard some voices. He peeked out the window and saw a band of ruthless men angrily marching toward the building through the bushes with dangerous weapons. They were growling and cursing in an unidentifiable language.

Ibad sought to get away through the back door. And as he made his escape, he found himself again in the dense jungle, facing enormous trees. Fast and heavy footsteps and shouts from the old building, so Ibad started to run.

After running for a while, he got tired and, while catching his breath, he decided to eat the delicious biryani he had brought from the jet.

After munching, he heard a weird noise that resembled the squawk of a parrot. He searched around and spotted a scarlet macaw that had its wing trapped under a rock that limited its flying ability. He came closer to the angelic creature to remove the rock.

“You are so beautiful!” he said and held the bird in his hands. It was in attractive shades of red, yellow, green and blue. “Perhaps that’s why I survived the crash, don’t worry friend, you are no longer chained.”

That said, the macaw flew away and camouflaged itself in one of the trees. Ibad smiled and got up. He remembered that the safe exit was towards the east, so he looked at the sun to see where it would set and walked in the opposite direction.

He walked for hours and it seemed as if the coast was never getting near. Evening came and went and the night approached, his ration was finished and he couldn’t spot any fruit trees or streams. Ibad was tired and very cold, so he eventually collapsed.

“If only, I was a better pilot ….” he said, still in guilt and sorrow, but then he saw the beautiful stars above and he got up. He knew he had to make a camp for the night, so he lit a fire using some sticks and rocks, pulled out his journal and began writing.

“I can fly for 1600 hours, but can’t hike to save my life? No, I am stronger than that — the galaxy of stars above me and the soft soil beneath give me hope — I miss you mum and Dad, and I’ll surely come back,” Ibad wrote and slept peacefully underneath the countless stars.

Ibad was interrupted after dawn by the squawk of the same macaw whose life had been saved by him. He got up and slowly went towards it, as if he was glad to meet it. However just before he came close, the macaw flew away through the leaves behind it. Curious, Ibad went towards the place behind the leaves and what he saw then was mesmerising.

He was on a cliff! On the ‘Negotiator of Land and Sea’, standing strong and tall with sandstones at its feet and Ibad standing on its head. He felt the carefree breeze of hope and viewed the most beautiful sunrise that lit the city across the sea. Ibad was smiling, on his right he could see some fresh banana trees, nearby a stream that dived down the cliff and straight ahead, his destiny.

“I can fly, I can hike! I’ve made it this far, and I can go further. Let’s swim!”

Published in Dawn, Young World, November 4TH, 2023