Picture prompt by Sonya of ‘Only 100 Words’

Primal Instincts

This was the last leg of our journey.  Soon we departed from the hustle and bustle of Port Blair and cruised nearer and nearer to the isolated island of Nicobar – ‘the land of naked people.’

But a short distance away from Nicobar Islands, our ship stopped. Emerging out from their whereabouts, people gathered on the podium and looked questioningly. The ship captain announced, “We shall not go any further. The Nicobarese tribals are paranoid about strangers. Spears have been thrown in the past at those who dared to venture any farther than this. People have been killed!”

We listened with our mouths agog. Lazily positioned close to the side deck, suddenly I felt as if I saw a huge spearhead peeping from the smooth waters below. An angry tribal throwing darts at me – now that won’t be the best way to breathe one’s last, esp. if one has left one’s little children behind. Shivers ran up my spine as I quietly budged away to a securer place.  At that moment I felt, we are just two different type of humans scared of each other; or should I say animals.

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Information on Andaman and Nicobar Islands

That was my flash fiction/short story for  Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers hosted by Priceless Joy.

Copyright © 2015 Alka Girdhar