The three of us tread along. The fact that I don't know the other two - a guy and a middle-aged lady - might sound weird, but is true. I intermittently convey my excitement to the lady, but its a one-way affair, and I don't remember her responding to anything. Soon we reach a section where the trek apparently begins from - we can see the mountain path curving inwards to the left and going out of sight. The guy takes lead. I wait to scan the panorama for a keep, then join in, promising to reach the summit and return in record time. We seem to be doing an alpine run of sorts.
The route starts with a rocky, thorny patch. I notice that I have forgot my gloves behind. The thorns bruise me, but I decide to endure this suffering for once, and pace ahead to catch up with the guy, who walks in a world of his own; his intent, pace, and decision time tells that he's likely an experienced trekker. We are walking at the base of the hill to our left, which is a saturated green with grass, and sparsely decorated with few trees. It rises steeply, which makes any elevation gain an impossibility, which means that rather than a zigzag climb, we go deeper into the valley and either find a mountain pass, or skirt around it. Because I have a habit of hygiene during treks, I keep a kit at easy access. Now feels the right time to 'catch a brush'; I whip out my toothbrush and toothpaste and froth up a multitasking demo.
To our right, the chain of hills is further away, but because I'm in a haste, I don't give much attention to the details on my right anyways.
Soon, our feet start kicking up some water. We enter a submerged stretch. I can still make out green grass at the floor, so one can tell that its not been submerged for long; and that this kinda stuff keeps happening all the time. As we keep walking, we go deeper into water, and now I find my shoes submerged. There is something strange about the nature of this moment.
Then, the guy ahead stops dead for an ethereal moment, turns back, and walks past me in the same direction that we'd come from. Though startled, I still don't get it, but his body language does convey some alarm, and I also turn about to follow him again. Strangely, we are splashing through even more water than before now; it's a struggle. I briefly glimpse to my left, towards the farther chain of hills, and see the whole depression of the valley submerged in water, which still continues rising. It hits me.
The words "flash flood" rise in my head, followed with "swept away", followed with "drowning". I know this is the most serious situation I've ever been in. I follow close behind the guy. It is becoming more of a struggle. Holding a toothbrush in my mouth I splash ahead. Soon it becomes difficult to wade towards dry land; it seems a losing battle. I know that I cannot swim, and a single misstep would have me carried away and drowned. I try calling the guy for help, but can only mumble and froth even more.
But, as all good things go, the both of us are on dry land soon - whether I rigged my dream coz I own it, or that our feet won over the flooding, IDK.
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