B(e)arely surviving

Layers Of Fluid Embark On A Viscous Journey

Prisha Gangwar
AIS Noida, Alumna

“For God’s sake, Bee, move your feet faster. We are lost in the middle of a forest,” Crystal huffed angrily. “If I walk any faster, I’ll faceplant on the ground,” Bee panted. Flow chimed in, “Wasn’t it your plan to come for this trek?”
For Crystal, Flow, and Bee, what had begun as an exciting adventure away from The Honey House, had now become somewhat of a disaster. Crystal hated being slowed down by the turtle-like pace of her friends. Bee was a petite figure and had to make conscious efforts to not faint. But despite her slow demeanour, the other two loved her for she was ‘glue’ of their friendship. Flow had always been the middle ground, but honestly, she knew that she favoured Crystal more.
Looking at Bee’s trembling legs, they decided to rest for a while. As they settled down, Bee began unpacking her bag. “Bee, how much stuff did you pack?” Flow asked. “Oh, just essentials,” Bee said.
“Yeah, five types of crackers count as essentials,” Crystal deadpanned, sending the other two into a fit of laughter. Just then, Crystal began narrating one of her anecdotes, which made Bee laugh. Flow grinned, seeing how involved Bee was. Typical Bee, for she always got attached very easily while Flow’s reactions were heavily dependent on Crystal’s mood and was always content with following Crystal. But Crystal got rarely attached to anything.
“The funniest part was…” Crystal paused suddenly while narrating the incident. She felt it a second before Flow and Bee. All three of them looked around warily and collectively gasped as their eyes landed on the Black Cohesian Bear that stood about 20 feet away from them. Everything came at a standstill. And then everything happened all at once. The mighty Bear made a run towards them. Crystal was the quickest to react and took off on her feet into the forest, without a care for her friends. Flow screamed out, “Bee, run!” but did not wait for her and followed Crystal into the forest. As the Bear advanced, Bee knew she had to run, but she couldn’t leave her belongings behind. Subduing the panic, she lay down on the ground. She held her breath, her heart thudding as the Bear sniffed her, but she did not move. The Bear, satisfied with his examination, believed that she was dead and went about its own way.
(Prisha is currently pursuing BTech EE-VLSI from
Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida.)