Honestly I would say it was tiring. At first I was excited to go down more than 3000 steps to see the serene waterfalls and a double decker living root bridge because of which I set out in the morning alongside the others from our hotel by the not so bustling streets of Meghalaya when it was still a bit cold. To me, the slightly chilly October air felt like a good start to the day.

The sun was out and it was starting to get hot slowly. Getting out of the car, I pulled off the jumper which I wore when we set out early in the morning. The others walked ahead in a hurry, too excited to reach the scenic view at the end of the trail, but I took my precious time closely following them.
I didn't want to get worn out. We descended a lot of steps at this point. They sat down to replenish their energy. On one hand I wanted to go on descending down the stairs but honestly I was sweating so much. So I decided not to rush. While they took their sweet time chatting and replenishing themselves. I looked around a bit while gulping down the bottle of water. Squinting my eyes I could see it — the trail. It continued in the other mountain too. I glanced at my wristwatch.

10:15 a.m. it read.

Realizing that only half an hour passed, I started to loosen up. The tense muscles in me started to relax.

By the time my teammates finished their business, it was already half past ten. I ushered them to start walking down the steps again. Well, I realized that I was wrong about something. I thought that only climbing up the stairs was hard, but oh good Lord. Walking down these endless steps isn't better either. My legs were shaking. I stopped and looked around to find my teammates ask them to take a break but alas! I couldn't see them anywhere.

Panicking I pulled out my phone as other tourists passed by me. I was about to call them but oh well there was no available network in the area. I sighed.
"Well what did I even expect? Might as well venture alone while I still have the energy to do so." Talking to myself wasn't exactly fun but at least it was keeping me entertained. It took me another one hour to reach the single living root bridge. Though it was mostly supported by twigs and branches artificially, it still amazed me. Since a lot of people were gathering there, I took a few clicks of the root bridge after which I started walking down the trail again.
I walked down and I kept walking until I saw a clearing. A lot of people were resting there. Most refusing to go any further and somehow I found it funny. They came to see the mystery of how the nature managed to build a root bridge with the help of two trees without any human help, but they gave up so quickly. I decided to finish one of the bottles again, but one problem. I was sweating so much that the loss of salts from my body was making it weak. Fortunately there was a small food stand a few steps away. I walked to the stand and asked the lady if she can give me something to replenish my lost minerals. I tried to tip her for her kindness but she refused. Well bless the kind lady then I guess.

I resumed my journey. I had to cross a hanging bridge which was actually made with iron rods. It was shaking and the stream flowed down below and the splashing of water against the boulders was pleasing to the ear.

As I crossed the bridge, it felt thrilling with the wind blowing so strong that I could feel a lot of stray hair fall onto my face. I moved them away from my face and took out my phone to take pictures of the stream down below. Honestly it would be such a crime to miss a shot of this amazing view.

I kept walking and by then my wristwatch already showed that it was past noon. Well I think I can bear the pain in my legs for a little while. It was throbbing, bet it would be a real hassle to walk around the next morning. Well, about my teammates I still couldn't see any trace if them.

Assuming another half an hour passed I sat down on a step under a tree to rest a bit. I wouldn't have come here honestly if it wasn't for the beautiful waterfall along with the natural occurrence of the double decker living root bridge. Yes, I am a sucker for such scenic beauties.

The rest of the journey was a real pain, I didn't know how I would climb up so many steps AGAIN. Don't ask me I really don't know. But if you ask me if it was worth it, then I'd say that bearing the pain was worth it.

I climbed down the root bridge to the raised part of the land. I sat down and kept my shoes aside. Dipping my legs into the cold water felt so heavenly. It felt like the pain in my muscles vanished in a matter if seconds. The sound of the waterfall was so peaceful and pleasing to the ear. It was almost like a lullaby. Looking down at my feet I could see very tiny reddish fishes swimming in the water. I wanted to go in the water, except I forgot to bring along the spare clothes I took out from my luggage that morning. Well, we set out earlier than we were supposed to, so in a hurry it wasn't unnatural that I left it on the bed of my hotel room.

Back to where I was. I didn't wanna leave the place in all honesty. I splashed some water on my face and the slightly cold water made me feel refreshed. There were a lot if people swimming. They looked like they were having fun. Looking around I observed the double decker living root bridge. It's amusing how mysterious nature can be. I wonder how this even happened. How did it intertwine with each other just like that?  I was truly amazed. I asked a random stranger to click a few pictures of me with the root bridge in the background and well it didn't turn out bad. Feeling hungry I took out my snacks when I suddenly spotted one of my teammates. I was skeptical but I called her out. It was fortunately who I thought it was. She waved back and fetched her other teammates and headed towards the boulder I was sitting on.

We talked about how dreadful it was to get here but also how it was worth it. Well I just ignored the fact that they practically abandoned me in the middle of nowhere. The fun and excitement all came crashing down when reality hit us hard. WE HAVE TO CLIMB BACK UP!

Credits !
Author: AzxreMxxn [ TNC ]