Heart of the inferno

It was the season of summer, and it was hotter than the usual summer that I was accustomed to. I was in my hometown (Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India), enjoying the hot summer at my parents’ home and spending quality, fun family time away from the hectic, jumbled urban surroundings. On one beautiful and scorching afternoon, I had gone to the nearby well so that I could fetch some water to have a refreshing bath. On my way to the well, I saw another well not too far away from the one I had intended to go to, and it was within my sight. As a curious person, I decided to go and have a look at the well to see its condition and whether there was any water in it or not. After reaching the well, I noticed that the well was much bigger than I had anticipated and had stairs to go down to the bottom of it. I took the stairs and found myself standing metres deep, at the bottom of the well. It was quite terrifying because the feeling of being alone in a dark place had engulfed me, but being in a small space that was a little warm was quite comforting, ignoring the humidity and dust-filled air. I looked here and there until eventually my eyes wandered to the opening of the well. I was mesmerised; it was beautiful. The sun stood just at the right position so that it could direct its rays at the brick walls that were covered in dust and dirt. The sun shone so brightly that the whole well had lit up like an earthen lamp, and the walls had taken the colour of the sun for themselves, while the dust and dirt complemented the whole scenery. I could feel the heat, the beauty, the marvel, and the flames that were engulfing my whole body, all while my eyes bore witness to the absolutely glorious masterpiece that had come before me by nature’s will. And right then it came to me that the best way to describe how I felt was simple: I stood right at the “Heart of the Inferno”, a pillar lit in fire that stole my heart in its beauty and flames.