A Suitor for the Princess - Chapter 6

              When Juan reached the hut at the base of the hill on which the shrine was perched majestically, it was dark and cold. He shivered and gathered the edges of the coarse blanket that covered him, closer to his chest. He had worn tough, though battered jeans, gumboots with thick soles and a beret on his curls. There was a spring in his step and fierce determination shone from his dark brown eyes and his chest held a steely resolve. The Princess Sara, the beautiful and charming girl would be his, his wife, exactly thirty days from now!

             He saw a huge retinue of armed guards, dressed in stiff and ornate uniforms, awaiting his arrival at the venue. He slightly smiled as it struck him that he already felt like a king, what with dozens of guards waiting to receive him. Then he saw a carriage driven by four stallions arriving in a huge cloud of dust there. He was astonished to see the King himself. His faithful Minister was by his side. Both of them made no attempt to alight from their mount. The King said, “Good. You’re punctual. You’ve arrived 10 minutes before time. We’ll not take any more of your time. The test will start in 10 minutes. We wish you all the very best and sincerely hope that you emerge as the winner in flying colors. We’ll meet after 30 days or never! Then they were gone in another cloud of dust.

               Juan crossed his heart and took a deep breath of the crisp air blowing from the hillside. The hill would be his home for 30 days. He looked at it fondly and then stuck his neck up to see the shrine. His neck ached with the effort, for the hill was very steep and nearly vertical. In the dark, he could only barely make out the rough stone steps. He’d have to be careful. At the appointed time, two guards struck a gong to announce the start of his odyssey. Little did he know then, that the beautiful Princess was up in her huge, ornate bed covered by richly embroidered, soft quilts; praying fervently for his success! He bowed to his mother mentally and stepped on the first step on the Eastern flight of stairs. It was exactly 4 a.m.

                 He felt cheerful as he leisurely and effortlessly climbed the steps in powerful strides.  He was in the pink of his health and his mother’s rigorous training in physical supremacy throughout all his growing years, would ensure that he’d maintain that pace and never allows his spirits to flag! Besides, the memory of his beloved would also gently prod him towards his goal. Then he realized with a start, that in his over-enthusiasm, he had forgotten to pack food for the day and water too! He cursed himself for this false start. Anyway, he shrugged; he’d remember the next day. He had 29 more days to go! He chuckled and then became crest-fallen as he realized that he had also forgotten to count the number of steps that he was climbing.

 

               When he looked back, he saw that he had come a long way up, but it was futile. He’d have to retrace his steps and start counting and climbing. With a heavy heart and cursing himself for his stupidity, he started climbing down again, then halted and sat down on the step. There was not a single soul around. How would anyone ever know whether he had really climbed 100 steps or not? Unless the King and his wise Minister had already made someone climb a flight of stairs and seen how long it took that person to climb down again! Of course, that would depend on the speed of that person. He made some quick mental calculations based on an assumed average speed and concluded that it could take a person, say about 30 minutes (with breaks for water or to combat fatigue) to climb up and down 100 steps.

             Just as he was taxing his brain with complex arithmetical calculations, he realized that the total number of steps to the monastery on each flight was 100 in number and he didn’t really need to count each step that he climbed! Sheepish, but greatly relieved he decided to continue his upward trek and also resolved to focus on his goal and not think about anyone or anything. No distractions, he promised himself. He was very sorry that he had wasted so much time. Dawn was already breaking and the golden streaks were getting fiery by the minute. He hastened to the summit where a guard was waiting to note his first 100 of the day. Though he had dropped out of the village school, early in life, he knew what it was like to be monitored by a strict and unrelenting teacher. Now that conscientious guard reminded him of one of his particularly strict masters! His expression was the same too. Surly and unsmiling!

         After waving cheerfully to that guard, Juan retraced his steps downwards, softly whistling. This was going to be a breeze, he thought. When he reached the foothill, the guard posted there, wrote 200 in his register. He went up and down, 4 more times. Thus he completed 1000 steps by about 8 a.m. Pleased with his progress, he sat on the first step at the foothill for a breather. He was ravenously hungry. He asked he guard there for some food and the much needed water. The guard ignored him and kept mum. Juan surmised that they had been asked to be silent and forbidden from helping him in any way apart from showing him the step-count! Thank Heavens for that, thought Juan as he involuntarily shuddered at what could happen, were he not even shown that! He’d go mad trying to keep track of the number of steps that he had ascended or descended and probably never complete his odyssey.

          Again cursing himself for his foolishness at not bringing his food and water along, from the well-stocked hut at the base of the hill, he suddenly brightened as it struck him that he could rush to that hut and fortify himself if he so chose, as the rules of the ‘task’ hadn’t mentioned anything about not going to the hut throughout the day. He concluded that as long as he completed the ‘5000 step a day’ routine, he was safe. He ignored the surprised look of the guard and ran inside ‘his’ hut. First, he relieved himself behind the hut, on the shrubs; then attacked the soft bread and meat and fruits with gusto. Then he drank deeply from the pitcher of clear water. After he finished, he belched loudly, feeling ridiculously happy. It was 9 a.m.

To be continued... 

The copyright of this story is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.