|~WILD LOVE~| - SanDhir SS {CHAPTER 2 - DAY 1; UPDATED @PG18} - Page 11

Originally posted by: amulbaby06

Yaar its very interesting... pls update soon...

Originally posted by: Sush94

RES

UNRES

I love it! Great concept!

Please update soon, and don't forget to PM me. I want to know what happens next😳

Sush

Originally posted by: suumi

nyc strt cont soon

Originally posted by: christene

plzz update soon

Originally posted by: AMadhuri

Interesting story,update next part soon😊

Originally posted by: -Haju-

Interesting

Okay, before you all shoot me death glares... really guys, I'm very, very sorry for the late update! I hope some of you here remember me and this story. Besides, I have an excuse. This laptop of mine wasn't functioning well and I had to send it away. My chapter was saved in this and I had to keep waiting for it to return into my arms so I could update here.
Lost a lot of sleep for this... hopefully you all wont be disappointed.
I won't delay the update further with my ranting... here's Sanyukta and Randhir's Day 1 in the Wilderness.
(For further updates please Buddy!)

- Somya

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Day 1 - Silent Conversations
"Silence speaks when words cant."

It took me a moment to actually make sense of his words. We are lost. We are lost? How can this be possible? No we aren't lost. We can't be. There's definitely a catch there.

"What do you mean we are lost?" I ask him, the panic making my voice rise an octave higher.

He looks at me for a second and then harshly answers me. "You heard me. It means we don't know where we are and we have no idea how we are going to make it out of-"

"I know what the word lost means!" I answer him matching his harsh tone. "But... I mean, I thought you knew the way!"

"And what made you think that?" he questions me blankly.

What made me think that? Now, well... I just... assumed. He had a backpack on his shoulder and looked so much at ease. Like he was on a camping trip or something.
I looked up again and my eyes met his. No... no this couldn't be happening!

"Where's your cell phone?" I ask him. From the pocket of his jeans he takes out his mobile. It's a shiny black Nokia Lumia. I would have called it nice, except that its out. The screen is blank. "Its dead." He tells me. "Ran out of charge an hour back."
"Have you ever wondered why mobiles have portable chargers with them? So you can carry them with you and charge your phone!" How could this guy be so stupid!
"Yeah, because plugins are so common in forests!" he retorts, his voice laced with sarcasm. "Besides, even if the phone was charged, there wouldn't be any signal here." He looks at me.

And finally what he had said actually hits me. I am lost. In a jungle. In Kashmir.
Oh. My. God.

"How-" My voice shook as I try speaking. "How are we going to get out of here?" I ask him.

"We will try and find a way out." His voice is calm and his face shows no emotion of worry whatsoever. It should calm me, give me hope. Instead my body shivers and terror takes over my brain. I want to scream and shout and ask why this is happening to me. But I do none of it. I don't think I could. I couldn't find my voice.

After just standing there and looking at him for God knows how many minutes I finally croak out. "How?" I ask him. Maybe he has a plan.

"We can walk." He says.

Wow. Couldn't have figured that out myself.

He glares at me. Did I say that out loud?

"Well, if you have a brighter idea... care to enlighten me?" He is angry now.

"No. I- fine. Lets walk then." I have no other option now do I? What worse can happen anyway? A series of possible worse things flash across my mind. No. I refuse to go there... At least I have company. And then immediately my mind goes back to last night's incident. That's what I had thought before those men...

I gulped.

No, this guy didn't seem dangerous. But then... they hadn't either...

I start walking towards my left when suddenly his hand reaches out and grasps my wrist, tugging softly.

"No. This way." He says. I immediately yank my hand back, alarmed.

"Excuse me!" I narrow my eyes trying to look brave. He backs away from me. "We should go this way." He tells again pointing to the right.

"And why should I listen to a random stranger I just met? I am not going to follow an unknown guy into the forest." I tell him taking a step away, my hand still on my wrist. The place he had touched me felt weird. Like a minor electric shock had hit me

He huffs angrily. "In case you haven't noticed, we are already in the forest. And I have been here before. I camped in this forest a couple of times. That clearly makes my judgement a lot more trustworthy."

"But how do you know that way is gonna get us out of here?"

"Of course I don't know anything. My instinct is telling me to follow this way."

"Instinct? Well then why shouldn't I listen to my instinct? I think this is the right way." I say pointing to my left. "Anyways, if you want, you can go that way... without me. " Even as I say those words, every voice in my head is begging this man not to listen to me.

"I can't leave you here, alone." He says in a blank voice. I look up into his eyes to see some kind of restrained emotion. He continues looking at me, though I feel like he's searching my face trying to find out what I'm thinking. The nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach is sending alarms to my brain. I feel like something isn't right.

His features though sharp with the evident tension and annoyance, are oddly soft and sincere. His gaze is still cold, but not necessarily frightening. I bite my lip and search his eyes back for any predatory gleam in them but find none. Nevertheless, the voice in my head tells me that it wouldn't be right for me to let him lead me into complete isolation.

"Fine. Stay here if that's what you want or go the other way. I don't care. I'm going this way." He tells me and begins moving away.

The conflict raging in my mind isn't resolved... but watching him go, walk away from me... I finally concede.
"Wait!" I argue with the voice in my head that the chances of me making out of here alone were pretty thin.
He immediately stops as if he was expecting this outcome all the while.

I walk towards him adjusting the strap of my bag. I faintly remember Sameer giving me a key knife to carry with me to India as he had feared for my safety. If only I had feared then too. I wouldn't be in such a frightful situation now. I can clearly imagine his disapproving expression if he was watching me right now following a strange guy deeper into this forest. I try remembering where exactly I had kept the knife in my bag last evening. It looked like a harmless locket, but even the security officials in the airport didn't really identify it for what it was. I try thinking of the easiest and quickest way to open it... in case the need arises.

Because I was thinking about various ways of combat and picturing myself using my knife, I didn't really watch my step and stumble across what seems to be a tree root. He is instantly closer at my side, grasping my elbow and helping me remain upright and not falling face first on the ground. As soon as I find my balance I tug my hand away from his. It's annoying that I need assistance in walking and I am still uncomfortable for relying on this complete stranger. It doesn't help when my skin experiences the same shock at his touch, just like the last time. He looks at me once and then begins walking ahead.
And even with Sameer's voice ringing in my ears asking me not to follow him - I do.

As we walk and stumble across the cold forest, none of us speak. I try and match my pace to his. Not once does he glance at me. He keeps staring ahead or sometimes the ground he's walking on. He seems to be in deep thought.

Suddenly he stops, turns and takes a step closer to me. My hand dips inside the bag in panic, searching the knife.

"You are bleeding." He breaks the silence. Alarmed, I stop and look down my body for what seems like the first time in ages. At first I notice nothing except that my clothes are now filthy and dirty, and then my gaze falls on the side of my right thigh. I'm wearing a skirt which reaches the top of my knees. There are blood tracks leading the now thick and matted blood from somewhere inside my skirt to the top of my boots. That means the wound is old... Last night's, I realize.

"Oh." I say as I touch the blood. It isn't even liquid anymore. It's now dry and sticks to my skin. I hadn't seen it even once. Must have got hurt while running.

"Sit there." He tells me, pointing to a nearby raised tree root.

"It's probably nothing... I-"
One look at his face and I am moving to the place he has indicated and sit down. He shrugs his bag from his shoulders and kneels next to me. He zips out his bag and takes out a bottle.
"Water!" I hadn't even realized how thirsty I was.
"You need to clean the wound first." His gaze never wanders to my legs.

"We can't waste water-"

"I don't want you to develop any sort of chronic infection while we are stuck here in the middle of nowhere." He says in a final tone and thrusts the bottle in my hand.

I open the cap and pull my skirt up to find the wound. All I see is blood tracks. Perhaps the wound is far above inside as I see a blood stain on my skirt below my hip. Slowly I hitch my skirt up further as my hands shake in mortification that I have to do this in front of this guy I know nothing about. As if reading my mind, he quickly shuffles up and moves away. I look up and find him fidgeting with his bag at a distance, his back facing me. I turn the opposite direction too and pull at my skirt. The wound is at the beginning of my thigh... it's not a cut. The friction from some sharp object has removed the skin there. It doesn't hurt... just a burn when I wet it. I wince as I touch the wound to clean it.

Standing up, I clear my throat to indicate that I'm done. He turns and looks at me.

"You okay?" his voice is the softest I have heard yet and his eyes have warmth, concern. I don't know why but the look surprises me so much that I almost feel my knees giving away. He is looking at me in a way no one has ever looked at. The profound sensation of it summons the hollow of my chest. Concern, warmth, care... the emotions that I had searched in the eyes of each member of my family all my life... I could see them clearly, right now, in the eyes of this stranger.

I bob my head in order to answer him. He nods and then starts moving ahead again. I follow him. For some reason my heart aches and I want to cry. But I don't. I never cry in front of people... even when they didn't really know me and were perfect strangers. Realizing that I didn't even know his name, I speak up.

"I'm Sanyukta. What's your name?"

"Randhir." He answers without looking at me, "Randhir Singh Shekhawat."

It's a heavy name but I don't say that to him. We keep walking in silence. He seems calm in the eeriest fashion and appears to be fixed on some path that I don't know about. The nervousness in my mind is always there, questioning me, but I keep replaying that look in his eyes when he had asked me if I was okay. For some reason it comforts me. I pull out my hair band and then retie my hair.

I keep looking at my watch as the hours pass and we do nothing but move. He doesn't get tired, doesn't get thirsty, doesn't get hungry... and so I don't point out that I was all of it. Besides, the faster we move, the sooner we may get out of here. At around somewhere after noon his pace finally slows down and his steps become dull. But he doesn't stop. Not once.

I open my bag and look at the various candies and chocolates that I have stacked in. I loved chocolates and always had a wide collection at handy. I want to save them for later, but I was hungry... so finally I take out a Hershey's bar and pop it into my mouth. My stomach grumbles as I swallow it.

He drinks occasionally from his bottle and it pisses me that he doesn't offer me once.

I begin growing nervous as the hours pass and the sky grows darker. The silence of the forest is suffocating. I puff laboriously as my legs strain to keep pace with him. I keep questioning his motives in my mind. The voice in my head keeps throwing wild pictures of what could happen next if this guy that I have trusted and decided to follow, had any sort of ulterior motives.

"Umm... do you think we can make out of here soon?" My voice is strained from not speaking for long.

"Yeah... Maybe." He says with a glance at me.

I am somewhat convinced by his words. But I am still uncertain of what it is that's going on in his mind.

He stops suddenly and turns to me, after a pause he speaks in a bone chilling voice. "You know, you really shouldn't have followed me." I stop, the hair at the back of my neck standing. He has a rueful smile tugging at his lips. Is he finally admitting to something? I step back from him, my heart thudding in my ears. My hand instantly begins searching the inside of my bag for the knife.

"If that's what your pace is going to be... you should have really gone your own way." He says, mocking me for being tired and out of breath.

I exhale a breath I didn't know I was holding back and look up at him indignantly. After the relief, I feel a surge of anger. "Anyone would be tired if they walked for ten hours straight."

He raises his eyebrows, a smirk playing at his lips.

"Fine. I don't know how you do this... but anyone else couldn't. Besides, you seem to be... used to this. I mean... nothing about this situation bothers you." I try to explain. He doesn't answer me. He's no longer smiling and his eyes have regained the hard edge. With another jerk of his head he moves forward and continues walking.

I make a face at his retreating figure and with an annoyed shrug of my shoulders, follow him again.

I can barely make out the glow of the moon from above the thick canopy of trees. The cold air hits my face and numbs my body. I don't have a jacket with me and my top is made of a thin material. My skirt doesn't help much either. He keeps walking so fast that soon I'm infuriated as hell. Finally when I have trouble breathing I snap at him.

"What's the hurry?" I huff at him, bringing him to a halt.
He turns around as if he's surprised to see me this tired. I can't comprehend how my stumbling and panting hasn't tipped him off yet.

He watches me with careful eyes "We can rest now... I think." He eventually says and leans back on a tree. He has a worried expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" I ask him without thinking as I sit down on the uneven ground, leaning at the bark of another tree. I can feel the fog form around my mouth as I speak.

"That's none of your concern." He snaps.
I don't want to admit how hurt I am by his coldness. And it's surprising because all this while he has been nothing but cold towards me... and yet I was expecting him to be... what? nice? I scoff internally.

We remain that way for a long time. Silence. I don't know what I mean when I say this but it was as if there was some sort of conversation going on in our heads. Both of us were very attentive to each other's every mood, every expression, every movement. I was very curious about him. Who is he? What did he do? I wanted to know all... Finally mustering the nerve I open my mouth and ask him a question I'm sure wouldn't piss him off.

"Do you live here? In Kashmir?"

"This isn't an effing camping trip where we sit around the fire and sing and bond." He responds in an irritated, cold voice. I cringe visibly. I might hate him a little, by now.

He sighs deeply, closes his eyes and brings two slender fingers to pinch the bridge of his nose.
"I'm sorry." He says. I look up in surprise.

"I shouldn't have..." he pauses for a moment, "Shouldn't have talked to you that way. I'm sorry."
Frankly I want to smack him across his cheek, because no one in my entire life had behaved so rudely with me. But instead I do not do anything and just look at him.

The cold has increased a lot in the past hour and I can feel my teeth begin to clatter. I check my watch. 12 hours since we began walking.

"Can you walk further?" he asks tentatively. I wince at the mere prospect of getting back on my feet.

"Fine then. We can call it a night." He says and comes and sits beside me, leaning on the same bark. Involuntarily, my cheek warms and my body tenses. But even I can't deny that having him close is driving out the cold. Reflexively I shift closer to him. My body shivers in pleasure at the sudden heat. I can feel that his body is tense too, but I really cannot care less. The cold was too much.

Suddenly he shifts away and I am scared. Did I do something wrong? Did I cross some sort of line?

It's too dark to make out anything as I hear faint shuffling from my right, from him. I can feel him removing his jacket and suddenly my body goes rigid. Why is he removing his jacket in this biting cold? What is he intending to do? The voice in my head throws several such questions at me and I do nothing but panic along with it. I quickly reach for my bag when I see his shadow. It doesn't seem harmful. He is holding up the jacket uncertainly. I can see his uncomfortable expression as he moves his jacket over me, protecting me from the cold.

"Randhir..." I murmur, my throat feeling tight. I am stunned at his abrupt act of chivalry and begin feeling guilty for what had gone through my mind only seconds ago. "You'll freeze." I tell him and yet unconsciously nuzzle closer to the fabric. It's huge for me and smells clean and masculine, with a hint of trees.

"I am not cold." He lies. But the slight tremor which goes through his spine betrays him.

His shirt is plain white cotton which is no way is going to be enough to keep him alive for the rest of the night. I figure the only thing left to do. I convince my mind by replaying what he had just done for me. We were strangers and yet he had cared enough...

I exhale a shaky breath and move my body close to him. I spread a half of the coat on his back. I can feel his body stiffen more than ever as my side pushes against his. "What- what are you doing?" He mumbles as the jacket covers him. It is large enough to accommodate both of us. I am annoyed that am being made to say the obvious, making things even more awkward. "Sharing the jacket" I inform him. "And body heat..." I add in a lower voice, embarrassed.

As we are huddled beneath the jacket all my shivers and trembling finally stop. I can feel the heat penetrate into my clothes, finally enveloping me. I wait for him to slacken against me and nuzzle closer, but he doesn't.

My body isn't as reluctant as his and keeps nuzzling closer into him. I am quite frankly embarrassed by my own behaviour... but as a sigh escapes me, I try and push every rational thought out of my mind. This is survival one-oh-one. This is necessary, I point out and let my head fall on his shoulder. I'm hazy with sleep but it doesn't escape my notice that his body grows impossibly stiffer as my face nuzzles into his shoulder. I ignore it. As I ease myself into the sweet release of slumber, I'm almost certain that I hear a faint whisper carried out in a velvet voice somewhere in the far distance...

"I really am sorry."
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