Ruki couldn't believe it. He had cursed at his father, the man who
had coddled him since birth, the man who had molded him for his entire
life. He felt horrible, His dad had let out a sound like the last whimper
of a deflating balloon and left his son to his own devices. Why did he
have to have said something so abrupt? It had only been a simple question
and he had blown up as if he had asked about Ruki's innermost thoughts.
Later he would learn of Saleem's clock-tower and washing chest but for now he found his own equivalent, he fled his house and his village home and ran into the forest to the ancient ruins of a temple devoted to a long-lost god. He huddled on the ruined altar and wept for the injustice carried out against his father by a confused and remorseful son. He cried for his bewilderment as to the cause of that morning's action on the school's playground. Soon though he felt well enough to explore the ruins, something he had been doing since early childhood, but an activity which never ceased to yield something new. The temple had been carved into a small cliff in the thick jungle. Myriads of dancing statues looked down upon the boy as he dried his eyes and looked up into the golden-moted sun as it filtered through the broad-leaved trees.
Ruki climbed behind the huge offering table to make sure that his small offering of leaves and nuts had been depleted enough to warrant replenishing. After he had refurbished the small store of Sal wood and Semul flowers he climbed up the steep part of the cliff that rose as a dramatic backdrop to animal sacrifices of old. When he was about half-way up, his foot slipped from the wet rock and in a wild attempt to balance itself, found the limb of a tree that sloped away from the cliff like a seagull taking flight. Encouraged by this good fortune he left the cliff to pursue his luck in the tree. It took him on a gently ascending path above the ruins, its strong limb providing an ample boulevard for his skilled feet. The branch ended, quite suddenly (abruptly as a sharp comment Ruki winced) on the lip of a small cave positioned on a lesser promontory across from the main cliff. When he stepped off the branch, Ruki felt the stone, cold and slimy beneath his feet, and felt the leafy branch whisper up his leg, catching his trousers at the last moment and flipping him onto his front. He hit his head on a rocky knob and lost consciousness at once and a good thing too, for the long slide down the cave would not have been any less terrifying had he been awake.
Later he would learn of Saleem's clock-tower and washing chest but for now he found his own equivalent, he fled his house and his village home and ran into the forest to the ancient ruins of a temple devoted to a long-lost god. He huddled on the ruined altar and wept for the injustice carried out against his father by a confused and remorseful son. He cried for his bewilderment as to the cause of that morning's action on the school's playground. Soon though he felt well enough to explore the ruins, something he had been doing since early childhood, but an activity which never ceased to yield something new. The temple had been carved into a small cliff in the thick jungle. Myriads of dancing statues looked down upon the boy as he dried his eyes and looked up into the golden-moted sun as it filtered through the broad-leaved trees.
Ruki climbed behind the huge offering table to make sure that his small offering of leaves and nuts had been depleted enough to warrant replenishing. After he had refurbished the small store of Sal wood and Semul flowers he climbed up the steep part of the cliff that rose as a dramatic backdrop to animal sacrifices of old. When he was about half-way up, his foot slipped from the wet rock and in a wild attempt to balance itself, found the limb of a tree that sloped away from the cliff like a seagull taking flight. Encouraged by this good fortune he left the cliff to pursue his luck in the tree. It took him on a gently ascending path above the ruins, its strong limb providing an ample boulevard for his skilled feet. The branch ended, quite suddenly (abruptly as a sharp comment Ruki winced) on the lip of a small cave positioned on a lesser promontory across from the main cliff. When he stepped off the branch, Ruki felt the stone, cold and slimy beneath his feet, and felt the leafy branch whisper up his leg, catching his trousers at the last moment and flipping him onto his front. He hit his head on a rocky knob and lost consciousness at once and a good thing too, for the long slide down the cave would not have been any less terrifying had he been awake.