Sunday, October 30, 2005
BCC
Your entire life just flashed before you. Ever had one of those days? (Probably not! Because if you had, you'd probably wouldn't be reading this! Unless you survived...)
Well, it happened to me. I was feeling a bit more adventurous today. So I went trekking near my usual haunt and was surprised to discover a tunnel.
Growing up in dark and damp environments helped reduce my fear of such places, and into the tube I went. No second thoughts about it. Death as a result of adventure beats death by boredom anytime.
Crawling on my hands and feet came naturally for me. Interestingly, there was a dim light at the end of the tunnel. So, the deeper in I went, the brighter it became. Before I realized it, I had already reached the end. I'd estimate I was about twenty-five meters* in to the tunnel.
There were only two ways to go: back or up. It felt like I was at a waterfall. The difference was the water coming down. It felt warm. And smelt funny. I remember an advice passed down from generation to generation: drink only fresh water. Since I didn't know the source, I refrained from even tasting it. Later, I proved it to be a life-saving advice.
Climbing up was not easy. Water flowed down around me at random. Sometimes it swept me off my feet. Sometimes it splashed directly on my head. Other times it just left me alone.
The higher I climbed, the brighter it became. It was so bright that I was temporarily blinded when I exited the top of the tunnel. When I regained my clear vision, I saw I was in a fairy-tale like world, the kind of world I only heard from our oral history.
Before I could gather my thoughts, a spray of warm water hit me directly. My self-preservation mechanism kicked into gear and I ran and hid behind a large red container. Silence followed for about thirty seconds.
Suddenly, a gust of fowl smelling air blowed to my left. I naturally turned away, but decided to take a quick peek to check out the source of the wind. It was a mistake. This time the life-threatening wind hit me.
I quickly ducked and ran away from there and found refuge under another large red container. As I was trying to catch my breath, two more blows of misty air came in my direction. I held on as best as I could.
Then, I heard a thunder-clap. Before I could figure out what caused that, I was almost flushed away by brief stream of water. As I tried to stand on my feet, it happened again. I knew I had to get away before it was too late.
I braced myself and ran into the open. It was the second mistake I made and turned out to be the most fatal. Waves and waves of water enveloped me. Not only was I having difficulty breathing, I had to fight against being drowned.
I began to slip into unconsciousness. While struggling to remain conscious, I realized I my life now hangs on a thread. I began losing complete control of my body. It's shutting down gradually but much faster than I thought.
I had been told that many of my friends, even relatives, have had similar experiences. Most lost their bodily functions very slowly after breathing in a similar foul smelling air. Only a few lived to tell the tale (depending on their exposure to it).
Death was certain. The difference was whether it was instantaneous**, or delayed with much suffering. It had never occurred to me that I would share the same experiences.
While lying on my back, I felt I was floating on water. Then I felt like I was floating in the air. Everything felt as though spinning around me. Then I hit rock bottom. With a glimpse, I saw the light at the end of the tunnel as when I started my climb upwards.
Now, all I could do was wait. Wait for death to take my life away. I hope it'll quickly to end my suffering. My instinct to survive has kept me alive till now. If only someone were to hear it before I go the way of my ancestors, I can tell them the moral of my story:
Never to go to brightly lit places. Stay in the dark where you live. If not, you will suffer (and hopefully, die!) like I did - after being sprayed with **BCC (Baygon Cockroach Control).
*Assuming the cockcroach was 2 inches long, 1 inch = 1 meter.
** I personally found it to be more effective against cockroaches than other brands. Its effect is more potent and lasts longer. Cockroaches sprayed with other brands appear to be still able to run a marathon compared to a 100m dash when sprayed with BCC. A good friend of mine would testify that she sprayed her bathroom to kill one cockroach only to discover the next morning a few lay dead. If you read the labels, BCC is now Class III (3). It used to be Class II (2) and was (probably still is) the only aerosol spray effective against leeches! Others, including BMC (Baygon Mosquito Control) is Class IV (4).
