A Wet Moment of Loss

It’s been more than 10 months now that I am in the US. In between school work, internship, and the primeval struggle to survive, I haven’t really had a chance to do what I love the most— travel. So when my childhood friends came to visit, we knew it was the perfect opportunity to gallivant and get out of my shell.

 

After a short but strenuous five-day East Coast trip, we arrived at Buffalo for the last leg of the trip- the Niagara Falls. The most striking and probably stupendously exciting thing was that my service provider changed to some name from Canada. And so did my location. Technically, we were still in the US, ‘coz you know visa and shit, but virtually, we were in the Great White North or popularly known as Trudeau-land!

 

Places like Niagara that are over-hyped are usually disappointing. One is mired in expecting something so extraordinary that what otherwise could have been labeled as beauteous suddenly falls short. So, I was wary at first but my apprehension was soon dispelled.

 

We did an in-depth tour at first and then sauntered around. Its quaint beauty was enthralling. I was lucky to share this soothing experience with two of my closest friends. We went to Whirlpool State Park and climbed down a picturesque slope to reach a point from where you can see the valley and the waterspout formation in the river. No number of pictures are enough. We spent half a day sitting in the State Park where you can also walk by the river, see the falls, spend a lazy afternoon among squirrels and birds, and indulge in some sumptuous serenity.

The following day, we had to take the first Maid of the Mist of the day at 9 am. The boats leave every 15 to 30 minutes depending on the crowd size. But it’s advisable to do an early morning to skip long lines and experience a new kind of freshness.

At first you might think there are too many people on the boat but once it begins to move, you’re overcome by an entirely different sensation. You can see the Rainbow Bridge as soon as you are afloat and it is a sight to behold. It’s breathtaking even before the boat begins to rattle. In about twelve minutes you see the marvelous might of nature— an incomparable miracle.

Fun fact- the Niagara falls are actually comprised of three waterfalls that straddle the border between USA and Canada. The three falls are Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls, and the Bridal Veil Falls.

The boat battled the winds and the force of the falls and maneuvered to approach what I call the epicenter. Epicenter because this is where the immense falls converge; the strength of the flow that hits the water creates a vortex that’s bloodcurdling and mesmerizing at the same time. A whirlwind of emotions passed over me. It seemed like I was spiraling in a time-lapse, my mind nervously numb. The water splashed and the waves that completed resembled neither rain nor ocean embraced us in a bear hug.

In an instant we were drenched. My clothes were soaked and my mind aimlessly wandered with the weight of the moisture it now contained. My eyes shut and I was overcome by a sense of loss, not the grieving kind, but a loss of the burden of thoughts that we impose on ourselves. In that moment, somewhere whirling and winding against the force of the Niagara Falls, my mind floated in a vacuum that was devoid of emotions. It felt good to ditch our thinking, to be alone in a sense I had never even imagined was possible.

Some people claim to have lived an otherworldly experience. I can assert that I floated through one with a faint but glittering memory that lives on. The boat turned and we were blessed to see a full arc of a rainbow, a rainbow in all its glory. It felt like someone had cut out a picture from a children’s book and pasted it here before us.

It was indeed one of those rare moments when you lose a sense of time and space and you can only recuperate partial pieces in retrospect. Sometimes, it is in memory that we really live, more than we live in reality. I went blank, absolutely and blissfully floating in nothingness.

I can immodestly say I’ve seen quite a lot. However, very few things can match the glory of Niagara Falls. If you haven’t been, you’re really missing something. I’ll be forever cross with those who decided to not include it in the seven wonders of the world. Include Niagara in your next east coast trip and you won’t regret it.

The time I spent on the Maid of the Mist now lives on as a vague, almost blurry memory. It’s paradoxically vivid in parts and absolutely hazy otherwise. It wouldn’t be terribly inappropriate to deem this a moment of loss. But a moment well worth the loss.