Zara had spent the whole day swimming and was now beginning to tire.
‘It’s been a long swim for you,’ the mahseer remarked.
‘Yes, and I am beginning to feel the strain. My muscles are pulling,’ Zara said.
‘Hehe!’ the river laughed. ‘When you swim, you mustn’t talk; when you talk, you mustn’t swim, Zara. That’s the first lesson about negotiating a river. The next, of course, is to keep it simple and straight. If you are here for fun, just splash around in my water. Nothing comes from getting too smart.’
‘Why do you say that?’ Zara protested.
‘It’s not for you alone, Zara,’ the river said. ‘I speak to all. By now, you would have met several creatures by my bank. If you observe them carefully, Zara, first, there are those who come here to bathe and move on. And then, there are others who rinse their mouths and spit out the water. Those who are really smart, drink my water and leave nothing to waste. Those who use my water just for a wash or a quick rinse by my bank hardly take anything away, feeling nice and clean for the moment, and polluting my water instead. It’s only the wise, like that giant banyan by my western bank, who actually soaks my water and give comfort to one and all.’
That night as darkness fell and Zara prepared to sleep, the frog silently hopped on to her lap.
‘How’s it going so far, Zara?’ he asked.
‘It’s been good. I like Rivah!’
Then, looking conspiratorially at her, the frog said in a hushed voice, ‘You know what, Zara? In the end, there’s nothing in the river. No fish, no worm, no creature. There’s even no water, no air. There’s nothing at all. It’s just a big hoax for the river to keep going on and on.’
‘Just watch her flow from earth to sky. And it’s the same with all of us. Our desperate need to survive in this harsh world makes us go around in circles, building one dream after chasing another, to stay in constant joy. That, and that alone, is real.’
Zara was dumbstruck.