DEAD MAN TALKING...MOURNING TOO

It was a great day, bright and clear. The night before, me and my two friends Srutin and Srikanth had gone out on my bike and returned late. It was late by the time we slept, almost 1 am. We'd planned to spend the next day at the nearby beach enjoying the cold water of the Bay of Bengal. A beautiful holiday, at least that was what we thought. We got up early, around 7am and Srutin made noodles for the trip. We packed it in a box and took off on my motorbike, three of us on the same bike. The beach was about 30 kms away from my house, so it was a long journey. We reached the beach around 10am and got into the cool water. The waves stroked our bodies and we went in till the water reached our mid section. It was awesome playing around with the waves, jumping up as they crashed against us and an occasional wave catching us off guard, drenching us completely with salt and sand. An hour passed uneventfully and we were still in the water enjoying ourselves thoroughly. It was at that moment Fate intervened. A huge wave almost 4-5 feet above the surface of the water came rushing at us and consumed us whole. For a couple of seconds my breath was taken away and I didn't know where I was. Once I caught my composure, I realized I was underwater. I came to the surface and saw my two friends one in front of me nearer to the shore, and one a couple of yards behind me. By this time, we were about 20 feet out into the sea. Srutin and Srikanth panicked and started yelling my name. I shouted for them to try and swim to the shore. Srikanth was ahead of me, about 15 feet from the shore. Srutin was 2 feet behind me and started yelling frantically. I yelled at him to start swimming towards shore. The saddest thing is that, I don't know much of swimming and I think those two knew a bit about swimming having swum in the local lakes and ponds. But the sea is an entirely different issue altogether. I yelled at Srutin to start swimming. I started swimming myself. By the time I was a couple of feet forward, I saw that Srutin was still behind me, HE WASN'T SWIMMING, HE WASN'T EVEN TRYING. I yelled at him to start swimming. He was fully panicked and didn't even try swimming. By this time, my arms were tired of swimming. I was nowhere near the shore. The calm sea had turned into a furious wrath. Srikanth was nowhere in my sights. This wasn't working. I decided that it was futile trying to get him to swim or carry him to shore, since I myself didn't know swimming properly. I started swimming towards the shore more furiously now, ignoring the rushing sound of waves in my ears. The shore was about 20 feet in front of me. I paddled furiously battling for life but my efforts seemed to be in vain. For every few feet I swam towards the shore, the waves pulled me back into the sea a couple of feet. My arms and legs were tired. I willed myself not to stop my effort and kept battling away. Praying to God to stay by my side, I edged on, inch by inch closer to the shore. It was almost fifteen minutes of extreme swimming by the time I reached 5 feet near the shore. I was too scared to put my feet down and check for ground. So I kept swimming while simultaneously calling out to a couple of men who were on shore. They didn't understand me. Apparently they thought I was swimming comfortably. I was about 3 feet near the shore when finally they realized I was in trouble. By that time, I had my feet on the ground, back to waist deep water. They came running towards me and helped me out of the water. I slumped down on the shore breathless. Catching myself for a moment, I told them that a couple of my friends had been pulled into the water too. They alerted a few fishermen on the shore and started scanning the waters for signs of them. Ten minutes went by. There was still no sign of my friends. The fishermen told me that they must have drowned. My heart stopped for a moment. I had not imagined this possibility. Then they saw that I was quite breathless. By this time, two more friends of mine from VIT who'd come to Nellore, came to the beach. Coincidentally, they had planned to spend the day at the beach too. One of them, seeing my appearance came running towards me. I told him what had happened. The nearby fishermen asked me to return home immediately and change into some dry clothes. I rang up my dad and told him the situation. With my friend, I started back to Nellore. All the way back, my thoughts were on Srutin and Srikanth, praying that they be alive, somehow. I reached my home and saw that Dad, Mom and my sister were there. Coincidentally they had come to Nellore on the same day. I changed into some dry clothes. Dad told me that we needed to inform the local police about the issue. We drove to the police station near the beach. By this time, the police had heard from the local fishermen about the incident. We informed the police and together, we drove to the beach. It was two o clock by then. As we reached the beach around 2.30, the local people had found Srutin's body driven ashore by the waters. He was dead. They had placed him a little distance from the shore. By this time, his relatives had reached the place and were distraught. Srikanth's parents were still frantically searching the waters for their son. An hour later, Srikanth's body came to the shore too. The next few hours were consumed in a sea of lament as relatives near and dear to the deceased were bereft with tears. The police took an official statement from me regarding the incident and by the time it was over, the time was 8.30. We dropped the policemen at the station and went back to Nellore. On our way home, we stopped at a local hotel for dinner. I hadn't eaten anything since morning, but my appetite was gone. The sight of my friends lying dead, their mouths frothing, was nauseating and I didn't feel like eating. I ate little and we returned home. My limbs were exhausted to the point of getting out of my control and my throat was sore from yelling. Dad gave me a couple of pills and asked me to sleep. I fell on the bed and was asleep instantly.

What had started out to be an enjoyable trip ended in disaster. I felt disgusted at Nellore and the sea, that had robbed these people away from me. Srutin was my friend since I was in 2nd standard. He was more a brother to me than a friend, spending more time at my place than his. Srikanth was dear to me too, the three of us were so close. These two were about the closest friends I had ever had, and would probably have.