Epiphany under the stars

(*Epiphany = a sudden revelation or realization.)

It was half past 7 that evening. The sun had already set by then. The night had engulfed the highway, there were no streetlights to be seen as far as the eyes could see, but cars, buses, and trucks sped away tearing through the cloak of darkness with their shiny headlights now and then.

Normally you would hardly think that someone would still be here walking this late and what does this mundane place have to offer anyway? But a spiraling turn of events changed my mind that day. By that highway all alone, kilometers away from home that night led me to discover something ordinary yet so amazing.

I had commuted out of town that day to visit my aunt's town and the plan was to be back at home before it got too late. I have been there a couple of times before, so it wasn't anything new for me.

I had left my aunt's place to catch a bus back home that evening. The bus took almost half an hour to reach the city and another almost half an hour ride from there to my home.

My aunt’s place was in a pretty secluded part of that town 'cause it took 20 minutes to walk to reach that area from the highway. But that town didn’t have a lot of people compared to other towns, so you wouldn’t see that many houses by the narrow patch of road that led to the. There was a canal on one side that was almost dry and fields of paddy and beans on the other side. That brought a certain calmness to that place.

I had to reach the highway first to catch the bus, so I found myself on that road on my way to the highway. Instead of walking, I took an electric rickshaw or three-wheeler(I guess it doesn't have a proper bookish name). I thought about walking but I thought if it got too dark I mightn't even find a bus. But the calmness of that place made me lost in my thoughts and I kind of felt at ease. I could be here forever, I thought.

By the time I reached the highway, the sun had already set by then. And I had already made up my mind to not wait there for a bus (if I became lucky enough to find one!). Therefore I thought about walking to the city from there. It was only a couple of kilometers away ( four kilometers to the city and almost five kilometers to my home from there, I kind of Googled it later)

So, I started walking along the highway. I had never roamed around this part this late, outside of the city. I've commuted past this area by bus during the day a lot before, but never thought about paying much attention to it.

It turns into something else by the time the night takes over. The highway became pretty slanted on the side I was walking by, creating a chasm, separating the highway and the forest that lay beside the highway.

Darkness shrouded the forest in such a mystery that brought a chill up my spine. During the day, I have seen this normal, nothing out-of-the-ordinary kind of forest a couple of dozen times. It didn't seem like anything interesting but that night it seemed that even the ordinary had something to say in my mind's eye.

I don't remember seeing the moon that night, maybe it was tucked away in some part of the sky. The sky above the highway was sparkling with an infinite amount of stars as if they were there to keep a lonely passer-by company.

You wouldn't get this view from the city, 'cause there is too much light illuminating the city nowadays so it kind of never sleeps. And all you can see is an empty sky devoid of stars.

Cars, trucks, and lorries would zip past me now and then. The headlights seemed like flickering fireflies illuminating that pitch-black highway. I walked and walked for hours until I reached the bridge connecting the city to this part of the town.

I never had crossed that bridge that late at night. So I thought about seeing what the city looks like from up the bridge at night.

The River intersected with the sea not long from there, so the river had a strong current under the bridge all the time and it always brought a strong gust of wind with it.

When I reached the top of the bridge there was a fear that I might get toppled from the bridge and into the raging water. But once I noticed the city flickering at a distance I completely forgot about that fear. It was like something out of a storybook. I could see the shoreline fading away into the horizon, boats swaying in the current, ships anchored along the shoreline, waves crashing into the shore, and the city, busy as it always was.

It made me realize something. You can always find something amazing even in the most mundane things. You just have to look at it from the right angle.

I don't know how long I had kept staring at it. I came to my senses when my mom called to check on me. So after giving the view one last look, I crossed the bridge, went to the nearest vehicle stand, got on a three-wheeler, and took the nearest way home.