" Get the water out !" was the only thought in Satya ' s mind . The boat was over flowing by the second and he was praying that it didn ' t spoil any of the food ! Everyone was terrified , and they had every right to be . The day had been beautiful until a storm came out of the blue , bringing monstrous waves to hammer at the boat for hours ! Nobody knew what to do apart from trust their instincts to survive . Satya was feeling so alone , like he was the only one in the dhow , swirling in the whirlpool .
After what felt like days , the roaring of the wind and the banging of the thunder were left behind . So much damage had been done . The wooden dhow was beginning to rot , most of the luggage had disappeared and nearly all of the damp food had become the nesting place for some sort of insect . How were so many people supposed to survive on such little food , on a half destroyed boat ? This was going to be the hardest , toughest part of this already troublesome journey .
Finally , after what felt like an eternity of food and water rationing , the journey that was supposed take 90 days , took over 100 ! The last ten days were the hardest of Satya ' s life . There was virtually nothing to eat and it felt like every internal and external part of his body had stopped functioning . His head pounded from dehydration . He crawled onto solid ground for the first time in over 3 months . His father ' s friends were at the port to meet him and took care of him for a few days before the train journey through the Tsavo to Nairobi . Satya would constantly choke up the food he was given and there was nothing anyone could do to help him .
While he was still quite fragile , he was sent on an overnight train journey to the capital Nairobi , which paused in the Tsavo overnight to refuel on coal and for the train driver to rest .
As the sun set in the Tsavo , Satya could see a herd of majestic of elephants drinking from a river . His grandfather who had come to Africa to work some 30 years ago had told him stories of what it was like to see such a sight . It was gorgeous . However , while the train was at a standstill , there was a large risk of lions entering the carriages . Satya remembered his grandfather ' s stories of the man-eating lions of Tsavo and how he had lost a dear friend . But , Satya was determined to get to Nairobi . Not even man-eating lions would get in the way of his dreams .
" ROAR !" Satya woke , startled by the sinister sounds of the dark , black African night . He heard the pattering footsteps of lions outside the carriage in which he was sleeping . A hyena ' s evil laugh echoed in the dark night . Barbaric baboons barked in the distance while warthogs snorted in fear . The dangers of the African night were ringing in his ears and fear gripped him tightly as he curled up in to a ball , scared of the dark and sounds . Alone .
The morning sunlight streamed through the windows of the carriage . Satya awoke with his fear of the sounds of the dark night still gripping him . He was sure that he would always despise this dreadful , deplorable place . However , when he gazed out of the window , he was in a trance . The Tsavo provided the most spectacular view he had ever seen . The ground was red like Mars , and gigantic , thick baobab trees were littered around in the horizon . Satya admired the abundant , unique wildlife roaming the plains , and the queer baobab trees , that looked as if they were upside down . He opened the window and smelled the freshness of the grass and tasted the nature in the air . He adored it . Little did he know that his ashes would be spread here in 56 years time .
The train chugged out of the boundaries of the Tsavo national park and into the rolling hills that bordered Nairobi , weaving in and out of them like a snake . Satya was breath taken by the beauty of the expansive African savannah , the teaming wildlife and spent the rest of his journey staring out of the window in awe . Suddenly all his hardships and trials now seemed a distant memory . He felt free .
Eventually , the train stopped in the Kenyan capital . Satya was ecstatic . He had completed the greatest journey he had ever , and possibly would ever , undertake in his life . He spotted his father in the sea of people on the platform that all had friends and family on the train , each one praying that they had made it safely . His father had changed so much in his time away . He looked like a new man , with a new life , but older and wiser . It was now time for Satya to become that too .