Continued from last time (scroll below for Part 1)
Raghu looked into a hole in his room wall. “All I see in the hole is darkness Rasiya, nothing else.” Rasiya pondered – “The riddle also says people are scared of it and it makes children cry. ” Raghu thought for a moment then cried out “Rasiya, the answer is DARKNESS! It can neither be seen nor heard and can also be found in a mountain cave!” Raghu quickly looked at his watch and started to run towards the door. “So according to the clue I have to meet the chiefs minister at Tiger Hill as soon as it gets dark! Rasiya, I'm leaving. It's 4pm already, it’ll be dark soon." As Raghu started cycling away he shouted back out - "Rasiya, don't come behind me. This is my challenge and i'll face it on my own!"
Tiger Hill was at the southern end of the forest. It was a denser part of the forest with several varieties of trees and birds in the area. A river flowed at the base of the hill where animals came to drink water regularly.
Raghu parked his bike close to a rock near the river and stood there waiting for the minister. However, minutes turned into hours, dusk turned into the darkness of night time, but no one turned up.
Raghu wasn't sure whether to wait or go back home, but finally decided that he would wait for the minister even if it meant spending the whole night here.
The sky was twinkling with a million stars and the moon was standing in the sky as bright as it could be. However, it was starting to get chillier by the minute. Raghu decided it was time to make himself comfortable out here in the forest. He used his torch, that was always in his bag for emergencies and started looking on the ground for twigs and dried leaves that he could use to create a tinder nest to set up a fire. He then started gathering bigger pieces of wood, which he lay together on the ground, a little distance from a tree. An hour later, he was ready to start a fire. He made a hole in a branch, in which he inserted a stem and started vigorously rubbing to create a spark. After a few minutes of continuous rubbing, smoke started coming out of the hole and the tinder nest next to it caught fire.
He dropped the tinder nest into the pile of logs, and within a few minutes had a beautiful fire blazing in front of him. Raghu had learnt to make a fire at school and was happy that he could use this skill today!
Raghu sat near the fire and rubbed his hands together, enjoying the warmth.
His stomach rumbled. It was dinner time and he was really hungry. As he sat thinking of food, he looked up to see a rugged looking man walking towards him. With his muddy face and ragged clothes, yet strong built body, he seemed like he lived in the forest. The man didn't speak at all, but quickly opened a small sack he was carrying and took out two raw fishes from it. Raghu smiled. It was just what he needed right now! The man put a stick through each of the fishes and began to fry it on the fire. Thirty minutes later he took it off the fire, minced one of the fishes into pieces and handed it to Raghu on a leaf. Raghu hungrily fed on the fish. They were a bit bland but were soft and delicious. He really couldn't ask for more.
After eating, the man quickly got up and began to search for twigs, dried leaves and branches. Raghu joined him and they worked together to put up a small shelter for the night.
It was nearing 10pm. Raghu was tired after the whole day and quickly fell asleep in the small shelter the man and him had created. The man sat near the fire, watching Raghu fall off to sleep.
In the morning, Raghu found a note laying near him. It read -
"You have passed the second test of survival in the outdoors."
Raghu started laughing with joy. "Oh my god, that rugged looking man was the minister!!!" he shouted looking up to the sky. He picked up his bike and began cycling back home as he hummed a tune!
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