Lost in Kista
As I stepped out of the main gate of the hotel, a very cold wind struck me on the face. I quickly pulled the hood of my cap over my head, but could feel the tingling sensation on my earlobes and the nose. The temperature must have been subzero and the visibility was quite low. I was about to commence my ritual morning run in the wee hour. I could not see anyone on the road except a few cars parked in the neighborhood. The overnight snow on the pavement glistened in the street light as if silver was spread all over. I started to jog and near the intersection, I stopped for the traffic light to turn green.
I had jogged barely for half a kilometer when I could feel the pounding of my heart grow stronger due to extreme cold, which I was not accustomed to. The labored breathing was making it difficult to gather pace so I slowed down and then decided to walk briskly instead. On my right was thick foliage of forest through which I found a long winding road covered with fresh snow. The sight took me off my feet with stillness, and pristine beauty. I turned in the direction and looked at my watch. There was plenty of time before breakfast, so I decided to explore the place. After walking a little distance, I found there was a huge expanse of a field. I kept walking but did not come across any human but the stillness and quiet all around now started appearing a little scary. I must have walked for about forty five minutes and decided to turn back. I kept walking back in the direction I came from but after walking for a considerable time the wooded area was still nowhere in sight. The footsteps that were visible a little while ago had vanished under the fresh snowfall. I was hungry and restless now and had lost my all sense of bearings.
Previous evening I had checked into the hotel, in the small township of Kista , a small suburb North West of Stockholm in Sweden. The place is an IT hub with offices of major global IT companies. The population of the place is around 30000 but during the day many people traverse to the place by metro and cars to attend the offices.
As my fear continued to grow I felt hungry and wanted to kick myself for the venture. I sat down on a nearby rock and tried to play back the route in my mind. The sky was turning blue and the streaks of daylight were reassuring. In the stillness around, I could hear the muffled noise of some passing cars. Maybe, I was close to the highway, so I got up and slowly trudged in the direction. After about ten minutes of walk I could see a road about a kilometer away where a car passed occasionally. When I reached the end, I heaved a sigh of relief to be back with the humans. I had strayed almost two kilometers away from the hotel and with remaining strength walked back to the hotel. It was almost two and a half hour since I had left. I learnt a lesson that it is foolish to undermine nature and we need to prepare ourselves well, especially when in a new isolated place.