A Simple Life Again (The Ferryman)

Oh Siddhartha, welcome back. We are finally back to our comfort zone. In this chapter of the book, we see Siddhartha coming back to his "true" Self. No more luxuries. No more gambling. No more desires. Just Siddhartha and the river. Siddhartha decided to stay at the river, the river that is always the same yet always different. The ferryman, who at first couldn't remember him, let him stay at his house just like that time in the past. While his stay, Siddhartha becomes the ferryman's apprentice. He wanted to learn how to "listen to the river", just like "the river taught Vasudeva to listen". Siddhartha page 86. Siddhartha and Vasudeva, the ferryman, bond over this listening to the river. They both know that not all can listen and understand the river. But they do. They can perfectly understand the river and live calmly next to it while working on it. Their lives were happy. They lived next to something they loved and at the same time worked on that same thing they loved. What a wonderful life, no? I would love to grow up and do something I love. Live in the perfect place. Maybe a city, with beaches, lots of people and traffic. Be surrounded by that active lifestyle all daylong. That would be lovely. Quite enjoyable.

Although he lived a peaceful and happy life, nothing perfect can last. It actually took quite a long time for his life to be disrupted. One day, news that Gotama was dying arrived to him. All he crossed over the river for days were groups of monks who wanted to visit their leader before he died. On one of those days, Kamala, who had left her past life behind, started following Gotama and had Siddhartha's son, rests near the riverbank with her son and gets bitten by a snake. It is up to Siddhartha and Vasudeva to try and save her life. They can't, for the bite was already far to poisoned and turning black. She dies on the same bed Vasudeva's wife died on, and gets a pyre on the same hill she did. His son was then left on his care for now, and all the days that were to come.