Page 63 - ELITE PLUS MAGAZINE VOL5

guides who had gone after our errant friend managed to return to us and all faces in the group brightened once again. Even though we had wasted a lot of time, we knew we weren’t very far from the place where the boat was waiting, and going down the mountain we should reach it within the hour.But then, soon after we lined up again and got going, dismay appeared on the faces of our two guides. They led us this way and then that way and each time after a short walk had us go back to the starting point.In short, our group had lost its way just as the last rays of daylight were dying.I observed the behaviour of the people in the group and found that most of them were still calm even though the expression in their eves had changed, so I thought we should perk up before our guides took us into another confusing runaround. In a situation like this the first thing to be done is to stop believing in those who lead you astray.“Never mind that you can’t remember the way. That’s enough. From now on I take the lead,” I told the young fellows who were so nervous they could hardly control themselves.They stared at me in puzzlement and must have wondered how I could possibly show the way since I had never been here before. As for me, I didn’t know how to make them understand that leading is not just a question of remembering but a matter of judgement and a way of making decisions rather than anything else.After that I walked away to the crossing by myself, telling the group to stay put. I wanted to see whether any of the small trails that branched out of the main path was likely to lead us to the mouth of the Kum stream or not. When I found that they vanishedinto dense growth, I turned back.In the darkness that surrounded us like this, I thought that the best way for us was to stick to the main trail on the ridge because going down the slope of the mountain with no idea of what awaited us might mean death by falling into some precipice or walking around in circles without any sense ofdirection.Losing your way in the jungle...Actually it’s no different from drifting through the vagaries of life. Even if the aim disappears, each step you take in choosing the way is important.At this juncture, I didn’t think that we would go anywhere. I merely hoped that getting out of there wouldn’t worsen our mistake.But while there was only a faint hope left that we would find the way to our meeting point, there came the sound of a boat engine from the valley to the right of the path we were treading. Everyone in the group brightened up and several understood that it was a signal sent by the boat pilot who saw that much time had elapsed and we still hadn’t shown up.Nevertheless, the guides insisted stubbornly that the way down the mountain was to the left, not to the right, therefore we should walk a little further and would meet the trail down. The sound of the boat engine told us that we weren’t very far from the meeting point.Even though the guides had been relieved of their duty their opinion couldn’t be ignored. At least they were local guys familiar with the local landscape. As for me, even though I knew how to assess things, right now I had no evidence to put forward. The mountain ahead might turn on itself to the point that the trail to the left could change to the same direction as where the sound came from.For this reason, even though it went against my instincts, I decidednot to go down to the right at once but keep on walking along the ridge in the hope that the guides were right for once.Showing the way to people, every- thing considered, is something strange. Even when the leader makes an obvious mistake, it is very hard for his followers to withdraw their belief in him and even more difficult for them to begin to decide everything by themselves.To be continued in the next issue.About the AuthorSeksan Prasertkul was born in 1949 in the eastern part of Thailand. He received a PhD in political science from Cornell University, USA, and apart from writing, he has served as a lecturer at Thammasat University, Bangkok, during the past 20 years. Seksan rose to prominence in Thailand as both a writer and public figure, and his literary works are considered unique because of their consistency, original style and inspiring thoughts drawn from his direct experiences.Seksan Prasertkul was honoured as a Thai National Artist in the field of literature in 2009.Elite+ 61