Dawn did not come gently in the mountains.
It arrived like a blade.
Cold air cut into Ganesh's lungs as he opened his eyes, the faint blue light of early morning filtering through the cave mouth. The fire had burned down to glowing embers. Frost clung to the stone walls.
For a moment, he did not remember where he was.
Then he felt it.
The presence.
He sat up at once.
Mahadev stood near the cave entrance, facing the rising light, ash-smeared body bare to the cold, matted locks falling down his back. Snowflakes drifted around him, yet none touched him.
Ganesh hurried to his feet and bowed deeply.
"Gurudev."
Shiva did not turn.
"Come," he said.
Ganesh followed.
Outside, the mountain stretched in every direction—jagged stone, ice, and endless sky. Wind roared through the peaks, carrying the promise of more storms.
Shiva walked forward, barefoot on ice, leaving no footprints.
Ganesh followed, each step biting cold into his soles.
They stopped at the edge of a steep ridge overlooking a vast drop.
Shiva finally turned.
His eyes were calm.
"Your first lesson begins here."
Ganesh swallowed. "What must I do, Gurudev?"
Shiva pointed toward the ridge.
"Stand."
Ganesh obeyed, stepping to the edge. The wind howled around him, threatening to throw him off balance.
"Do not move," Shiva said.
"Do not protect yourself."
"Do not pray."
Ganesh's heart pounded.
"Gurudev… for how long?"
Shiva's gaze pierced him.
"Until you forget that you are standing."
Then Mahadev stepped back.
And vanished.
Ganesh stood alone on the ridge.
At first, fear ruled him.
Every gust of wind felt like a hand trying to push him into the abyss. His legs trembled. His breath came fast.
He left me, Ganesh thought. What if I fall?
He clenched his fists.
No. He is testing me.
He closed his eyes.
Do not protect yourself. Do not pray.
He tried to steady his breath.
Cold bit into his skin. Snow dusted his hair and shoulders. His feet grew numb.
Minutes passed.
Then more.
Time stretched.
Thoughts rose.
Why am I doing this?
What if this is foolish?
What if he never comes back?
Each thought shook his resolve.
But he remembered Shiva's words:
Until you forget that you are standing.
Slowly, he let the thoughts fade.
He focused on breath.
On the feeling of wind.
On simply being.
The fear softened.
Then even the sense of the cliff faded.
He no longer felt like he was standing at the edge of death.
He was simply standing.
A sudden gust tore at him.
Ganesh's body swayed violently.
His eyes flew open.
He flailed, barely catching himself, heart racing.
Panic surged.
"I'm going to fall!"
Then Shiva's voice thundered behind him.
"Who is going to fall?"
The words struck like lightning.
Ganesh froze.
Who was going to fall?
His body?
His name?
His fear?
He stood still.
The wind passed.
When he turned, Shiva was there, standing as if he had never left.
Mahadev nodded once.
"You learned your first lesson."
Ganesh bowed, breath ragged. "What was it, Gurudev?"
Shiva looked at him.
"Fear belongs to what you think you are."
"When that thought loosens, fear loosens with it."
Ganesh absorbed the words, heart still pounding.
The next trial came without warning.
Shiva led him higher into the peaks, to a frozen waterfall cascading down a cliff, its surface coated in thick ice.
The roar of water echoed through the mountains.
Shiva pointed to the icy wall.
"Climb."
Ganesh stared. "With what, Gurudev? There is no path."
Shiva picked up a small stone and tossed it against the ice. It shattered.
"With nothing but your will."
Ganesh swallowed.
But he stepped forward.
The ice was slick, biting cold. His fingers slipped again and again, scraping skin raw. His feet found little purchase. Each movement burned.
He climbed.
He fell.
He climbed again.
Blood stained the ice where his hands tore open.
Cold numbed the pain, then pain cut through the numbness.
Hours passed.
Ganesh's arms shook violently.
At one point, he lost his grip and slid down hard, crashing against stone.
He lay there, gasping, body screaming.
I can't, a voice whispered.
Then he remembered Shiva's calm eyes.
Become nothing.
He pushed himself up.
And climbed again.
At last, with a final desperate surge, he hauled himself over the edge and collapsed at the top.
Shiva stood there, waiting.
Not a hair out of place.
Ganesh lay on his back, chest heaving.
Shiva looked down at him.
"Why did you keep climbing?"
Ganesh whispered, "Because… stopping felt like dying."
Shiva nodded.
"Good."
"Now learn this: sometimes dying is easier than continuing."
"But only continuing shows what still lives within you."
Ganesh closed his eyes, exhausted.
They did not rest long.
Shiva led him into a narrow ravine where icy water rushed between jagged stones.
The stream was fed by melting snow, its cold sharper than any blade.
Shiva stepped into it without hesitation.
The water did not even ripple around him.
He looked back at Ganesh.
"Enter."
Ganesh hesitated.
The water looked like death.
But he stepped in.
The cold hit him like fire.
He gasped, nearly losing his footing as pain exploded through his legs.
Every instinct screamed to get out.
Shiva stood in the middle, unmoved.
"Sit," he said.
Ganesh forced himself to move deeper and sat in the rushing water.
Cold tore at his body.
His teeth chattered uncontrollably.
"I can't feel my legs," he cried.
Shiva's voice was steady.
"Feel the one who knows you cannot feel."
Ganesh squeezed his eyes shut.
He focused inward.
On breath.
On awareness.
Slowly, something shifted.
The cold was still there.
But it no longer ruled him.
Minutes passed.
Then more.
At last, Shiva said, "Rise."
Ganesh staggered out, collapsing on the rocks, body shaking violently.
Shiva placed his hand on Ganesh's shoulder.
Warmth flooded through him, easing the worst of the cold.
Ganesh gasped.
"Thank you, Gurudev."
Shiva looked at him.
"Do not thank me."
"Thank the one within you who did not run."
As the sun dipped low, Shiva finally led Ganesh back toward the cave.
Ganesh walked slowly, every muscle aching, hands raw, feet numb, ribs burning.
Yet something else burned too.
A quiet fire.
Not of pride.
Of resolve.
Inside the cave, Shiva sat once more before the fire.
Ganesh collapsed opposite him.
"Today," Shiva said,
"you learned how the body lies."
"It tells you when to stop long before you truly must."
Ganesh nodded weakly.
Shiva's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Tomorrow, you will learn how the mind lies."
Ganesh looked up.
"How, Gurudev?"
A faint, dangerous smile touched Mahadev's lips.
"By showing you who you think you are… and tearing it apart."
Ganesh felt a chill that had nothing to do with the cold.
He bowed deeply.
"I am ready."
Shiva nodded.
"Rest."
Ganesh lay down near the fire, every part of him aching.
Yet as sleep took him, he realized something.
For the first time since leaving the hermitage…
He was not alone on the road.
And that changed everything.