It was a miracle that everyone made it into the boats, mid sea; all possessions intact. As the boatmen began rowing back to the port, one could hear the waves beating against the wooden boats, the ship raise its anchor, blow its foghorn in the dead silence of the night and slowly set sail away into the darkness.
Docking and disembarking as the boats beat against the stone steps at the base of the fort, one could only imagine how pirates, soldiers and spies of the past tried to make it to the fort through these waters in the dead of the night.
The electricity shortage, meant most village folk and travelers carried battery operated flash lights to find their way at night. This was a bit like navigating through the Blair Witch project. With the first phase of the adventurous journey done, we waited at the ST bus stop, half sleepy and absolutely silent as the frogs croaked in the background, us too scared to step out of the confines of the covered ticket counter until the first pre-dawn bus finally arrived. We dragged ourselves into the bus and began the next part of our journey, our third mode of transport within 24 hours. The bus meandered through the curvy bends of the road along the hills until it stopped, bang in the middle, with the plateau on one side and a large grassy field on another. After counting all the travelling members and our possessions for the fourth time, we set foot across this vast field illuminated by the full moon, starry sky and enthralled by a shooting star or two.
Walking across the field, the elders took turns carrying bags as we neared our final destination. Having reached the end of the field, we now walked down a spirally winding mud road, holding tight and taking careful steps as the bright moonlit night sky disappeared replaced by high canopy cover. A few minutes later, the squeaky gate opened and we were finally standing in front of our home, surrounded by 100 year old trees, except for a small patch in front of the house that allowed some moonlight to seep in.
The long journey across the sea, a bus ride through the hills and walk through the fields under a full moon starlit sky back home was now complete and new adventures set to begin.
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