Moving On

The car made a squeaking sound and suddenly stopped. Craig and Bernard, along with their troop, were stranded in the middle of an endless rocky desert. They had set out to witness the largest mirror on Earth,the surreal reflection on the salt flats of Salar de Uyuni. They had arrived in Uyuni the previous day to acclimatize to the high altitude and had started early that morning. They had hired a jeep for self-drive, with a local tour guide following in another vehicle. The terrain was rugged, but the local drivers were known for fixing breakdowns quickly.

Bernard, a middle-aged man, had been running a travel company in New York City for over a decade,sqone he had built with Craig. Craig was from Italy, and the two had met years ago on an adventure trip to Iceland.

Bernard had never wanted to come to Uyuni; he had preferred heading straight to Chile. But Craig had convinced him at the last minute to squeeze this into their already packed itinerary.

Frustrated, Bernard suggested to the guide that they skip the main spot if it was too far and head back to the hotel. It had already been a long day. Craig, meanwhile, sat quietly in the car.

Bernard stepped out with his camera equipment, drawn despite himself to the stark beauty around him. He walked a few meters, set up his tripod, and adjusted the frame. A light tap on his shoulder made him turn.

'Ben, lower the aperture', Craig said, smiling faintly.

Bernard didn’t look at him. 'I know what I’m doing'.

Craig chuckled softly. 'I’m sure you do. Still, you saw the train cemetery, the colored volcanoes, the lagoons, the cacti islands. Not all bad, right?'

Bernard kept his eye on the lens. 'If you call breathing sulphur fumes fun, sure'.

'Give it a few more hours',Craig said, his voice quieter now. 'You might see something worth it. Don’t just look at the potholes, Ben. Look at the journey'.

Bernard exhaled sharply. 'It’s always been about your journey. Your plans, your detours. If we hadn’t followed all that, we’d still be running the company together'.

Craig didn’t react immediately. Then, gently, 'We started it to travel. To see things. That hasn’t changed'.

Bernard walked ahead without replying. A little further on, he noticed a shallow patch of water, a flock of flamingos standing still against the vast emptiness. Uyuni, barren as it seemed, still held life in quiet corners.

Craig’s voice followed, softer this time.

'It has been a long time since the deadly disease has ripped off my life. Ben, please make the best use of your life till you have it'.

An eerie silence prevailed.

Bernard stopped.

But when he turned,

there was no one behind him. Only the wind, stretching endlessly across the white expanse.

Sometime later, the driver called out,the car was fixed. They resumed their journey.

By the time they reached the destination, the sun had dipped below the horizon. Night unfolded slowly, and then all at once,the sky opened. The Milky Way stretched endlessly above, and beneath it and the salt flats reflected every star with perfect clarity. Earth and sky dissolved into one infinite expanse.

Bernard stood still, his camera forgotten at his side.

For the first time in years, he wasn’t looking through a lens.

And in that quiet, boundless reflection,

where the heavens met the earth,Bernard realized it was truly the best experience of his life.