First of all thank you sooo sooo much for liking the silly little poem I wrote hehe😆 It was something from the heart and I am sooo glad that you liked it😃
Chapter 6 - An Unforgettable Journey
"I haven't done this in a while." He stood there, hesitating to follow her.
"You'll love it."
"And I shouldn't even be asking where we are going right?"
"Of course," she flicked her hair back and flashed him her trademark smile.
The sun was out again, playing hide and seek between the puffy white clouds that floated by in the clear blue sky. The slight morning breeze that blew was crisp, fresh and had a bit of a chill to it. And yet, he wasn't cold. Because the sunlight warmed his exposed skin the moment the breeze chilled it. It was one of those rare and beautiful days that made him fall in love with life.
She had promised him a day he would never forget and they had ventured out that sunny winter's morning on their bicycles. Well, it wasn't his bicycle to be precise. It belonged to a geeky looking guy called Shree that Sakshi had introduced him to when he had come to their apartment that morning. He hadn't really been keen on wanting to meet her friends, but of course, she hadn't listened to him.
And now, he felt glad to have met her best friend Aisha, her other room-mate, the funky looking curly haired girl called Liza and her geeky friend, Shree. Even though he were meeting them for the first time, he felt as if he had known them for years.
"Come on," she ushered him to follow her.
The smooth grey road stretched out before them, long and wide. It went on forever as far as he could see. There was a comforting silence that surrounded them, interrupted now and then by a quiet chirping of birds. The road ahead was mostly empty, save for the few cars that whizzed by now and then, punctuating their silence. As far as his eyes could see, miles and miles of green fields stretched out on either side of the rode, stretching all the way to the horizon where it disappeared into nothingness.
He stood for a moment, his hands on the handlebars of his bike and breathed in. There was a slight fragrance of pine trees that lingered in the crisp winter breeze that blew past them. And a hint of freedom drifted by in the air.
He looked at her smile, a few feet away from him and he breathed out. He felt peaceful. And free.
He wondered if it was her presence which always did that or whether it was the fact that he was away from his home in a strange place, with a girl who was completely unaware of his past.
A car whizzed past them, sending off a sudden gust of wind towards them and pulling him out of the whirlpool of memories that he was about to plunge into.
He swung his leg around the bicycle and said, "Let's go."
***
The road sloped downhill and she let go of her bicycle pedals for a while, allowing it to speed down the sloping road. She let out a squeal as the wind blew through her hair, leaving it in a tangled mess. She loved how her coat and her scarf flapped in the wind. It made her feel as if she had wings and she could fly wherever she wanted to. She glanced at Arjun at her side and smiled. He had his eyes closed and his arms stretched out on either sides of him as he slid downhill on his bike.
When she had met him for the first time, she had seen a distant look in his eyes. A tinge of pain that he failed to disguise when she was around. But these days, she had seen that distant look disappearing a little. Bit by bit. As if it were fading. As if her presence were somehow dissipating the restlessness that he held within him. She thought she had seen a hint of that restlessness again when they were about to start their journey down this road. But it had disappeared as quickly as it had initiated. He had smiled.
And so had she.
She glanced ahead and saw a sudden rise in the slope. The road ahead stretched out to meet the sky, disappearing into the vast expanse of blue.
She grinned at him and called out, "Let's shoot for the sky, stranger."
He followed her gaze and grinned back.
They both pedalled hard as they made their way up the slope, glancing at each other now and then. She felt like a teenager even though she had long crossed that stage. There was just the road ahead. It was just the two of them. No one else. Nothing else mattered.
"On the count of three," she shouted, her voice failing to hide the excitement she felt as she pedalled up the slope. "When we reach the top of the slope, we let go of our pedals and shout!"
"What?" He looked at her, his face flushed from the rapid pedalling.
"Yes! What, no one knows you here! What are you afraid of?" She shouted at the top of her voice.
He laughed out loud and shouted, "Nothing!"
She raised her face towards the sky staring at the white clouds that floated above. Everything seemed so different to her today. Everything seemed a hundred times more exciting and breath-taking than usual. And she had been on this road quite a number of times.
"One," she shouted.
There were nearly at the top of the slope, closer to the sky than they had ever been.
"Two," he laughed.
"Three!" She shouted out to the world as they reached the top.
They let go of their handlebars, stretching their arms out on both sides and squealed at the tops of their voices as their bikes sped down the sloping road. Pine trees brushed past them as dark green blurs on either sides. Dark, beautiful and soothing shades of green.
When they raised their faces to the sky, the white clouds beamed back at them from the pastel blue sky. Sunshine filtered through the pine trees and rippled on their faces.
His laughter mingled with hers and echoed through the pines around them. And then it bound back and surrounded them with invisible waves of happiness. The roads were quiet; the only sound around them, was the sound of their laughter.
The roads were empty, as if it only belonged to them.
It was their road. It was their journey. It was their moment.
***
They had left the road behind and turned into a gravel path that seemed to wind its way through the pines. Where the path led to, he had no idea. And perhaps, he liked the mystery of not knowing.
They had slowed down their bikes and he could hear the rhythmic crunch of the gravel under their cycle tyres as they pedalled through the road.
She was humming alongside him; a tune he had never heard before. Sometimes, she looked at him, straight into his eyes. He didn't know why, but he felt like an open book every time she did that. And the feeling wasn't unsettling. Sometimes he felt as if she knew him more than he knew himself. Because she glanced at him whenever he felt the need to look into her eyes.
Lately, he had come to realise that he could spend hours with this strange girl and yet, they didn't seem enough.
It was a strange feeling. It left him feeling light inside, as if, a heavy weight had been lifted off his heart. He looked at her again, cycling by his side. The sunshine filtered through her long hair which blew in the wind, making it appear golden and bright. A few loose strands blew into her eyes and she pushed them away now and then. She had a faint smile on her face, as if she were living one of her stories.
And then she braked suddenly in the middle of the path. He braked too, and asked her in surprise, "What happened?"
She leaned on her handlebars and said, "Let's walk."
"Our bicycles?" He asked in surprise.
"Leave them here. No one comes here. It should be fine." She grinned.
***
The trees around them were bare. Winter had stripped them of the green leaves. The bare branches twisted and turned, making their way towards the sky. The sun filtered easily through the bare trees and onto the forest floor. It was now close to the end of its journey through the sky. The rays were already growing golden, indicating the last rays of sunshine until night shrouded the forest in its blanket of black.
He kept quiet as she rambled on and on beside him, talking about the trees during summer.
She said that she loved the trees in the winter as she could see all the branches ever so clearly. She could make out their shape as they twisted and turned. The little branches that protruded out of the bigger ones and formed a mesh of brown in set against the pastel blue sky. And then she went on to talk about spring. The way the little green leaves grew out of the dark, twisty branches and slowly enveloped the trees with a blanket of green. The forest looked different then, she said. Less sunlight filtered through, but then everything looked so peaceful, so soothing that she would spend hours sitting on the green forest floor reading a book.
The sound of her easy banter blended in with the soft crunch of dry leaves beneath their feet. Birds chirped in the trees here and there, their sweet voices echoing through the silent forest. The sounds intermingled with each other and resulting into a sweet melody that felt almost like a lullaby. Soft and calming. He wished the journey would never end.
He wished to listen to the continuous sound of her voice, echoing through the silent forest.
All of a sudden, she went quiet. Silence surrounded them once more. But it wasn't one of those awkward silences that he felt around the people he knew. It was a comfortable one.
She looked at him then, her eyes holding an unreadable expression and he felt himself wishing he could read her mind.
And then she smiled.
He didn't know how it happened. Maybe he did read her mind unknowingly. Because, he reached for her hands the same time she reached for his. Their fingers intertwined and she squeezed his hand.
It felt like an assurance. Like a promise of a friendship. Or perhaps, something more. The promise of never letting go.
***
They had left the bare trees behind. This part of the forest was greener, thicker. Pine trees surrounded them on all sides, dark, green and mysterious. If she looked up, she could see the tall trees towering above them, rising into the eternity towards the vast blue sky.
She was walking on a fallen tree trunk, her hands stretched out on either sides to keep balance. He walked by her side, his gaze shifting towards her now and then. The sun's slanting rays reached her through the trees and she knew, very soon it would disappear behind the horizon. She walked along the logs, jumping from one to another. She loved doing this every time she came here. It was a place she could be herself. No one would judge her for what she did.
She tucked her loose hair behind her ears and glanced at him walking beside her from the corner of her eye. Never leaving her side. Never questioning her.
He somehow fitted into her life perfectly; the sunny bright bit that always shimmered and made her happy.
Her constant gaze on him made her loose her footing on the log, and she fumbled, her hands searching for something to hold on to.
And just like that, he became her support. He gripped her hand tight in the air, reassurance flowing through his skin into hers, forming an invisible bond that felt as if it were unbreakable.
She regained her balance once more, her hand still in his, never letting go.
When he smiled up at her, she could almost see the promise in his eyes that he wouldn't let her fall. No matter where she was. No matter where he was.
And she continued her journey along the logs, her hand still in his. Together, not alone.
***
He watched her settle down on the soft green grass of the forest floor. They broke their journey where the forest thinned and opened onto a little clearing. The green forest floor sloped down before them blending in with the vast expanse of green, yellow and lavender of the moorland beyond. The tall yellowing grass swayed gently in the wind, their soft rustling sound whispering sweet little nothings to the air around them. He settled down on the lush green grass beside her and watched her brush her fingers along the smooth and damp blades of grass.
"I come here now and then," she spoke suddenly, her soft voice mellowing in with the faint sound of the wind and grass. "I watch the sun go down beyond the fields." She lifted her hand and pointed to the fields beyond.
She hugged her knees to her chest and rested her chin upon it. When he glanced at her, he could imagine her sitting here day after day, her knees hugged close to her chest and her eyes beholding that dreamy look. She looked into his eyes then, her face bathed in the golden glow of the last rays of the sun as it completed its journey across the sky, and held his gaze. Behind her, he could see the pine trees illuminated in the same shade of golden yellow.
"I always come alone," she continued, "This is the first time I have come here with someone. You are the first to see this place. To be a part of me. And for the first time, this place feels so special, so different." She absently plucked at a grass and threw it in the distance. He watched the little blade of grass being carried in the wind, its destination unknown.
"I like it here," he replied, his eyes not moving from the blade of grass until it became a small speck in the distance. He looked into her eyes which grew golden and sparkling in the rays of the setting sun and said, "It is the most beautiful sight my eyes have ever witnessed."
He could only think of one thing as he looked into her smiling face then. Just one thought ran through his mind. That he could spend his entire life here by her side on the damp grass, and watch the sun go down.
***
The warm sunshine had long departed from the forest, leaving behind a cold chill that froze her hands as she sat there with him. She blew into her cold palms and wrapped her coat tighter around herself. The sky was now a shade of midnight blue, interspersed by the few stars that were beginning to glitter. The moon had risen into the sky already and a few pale clouds drifted across it now and then, dimming the silvery light that emanated from it. She shifted a little closer to him then, trying to feel his warmth in the cold winter's night.
The wind had died down ever so slightly. But when it made its way through the labyrinth of the pine trees behind them, it initiated a soft whisper amongst them, making their surroundings seem even more mysterious. The crickets were beginning to chirp in the grass around them, sending off haunting echoes through the forest.
They were quiet. They had been for a while now, listening to the sweet sounds of nature and watching the fields bathed in the silvery glow of the moon. They had found solace in the soft conversation of nature.
She quietly glanced at the side of his face. Soft shadows of the pine branches played across it, forming dark and silvery blue patterns on it here and there. She felt a sudden desire to touch his face and trace the shadows as they played hide and seek on his cheeks.
He spoke abruptly, his voice soft and illusory, "I don't want to leave." His dark and intense gaze fell upon her once more, snapping her out of her trance. "I want to sit here with you and think about nothing. Why is it that I cannot do this with anyone else? Why is it that I don't feel as free and myself with anyone else?"
She laughed and said, "Well, if you felt free with everyone, then perhaps you wouldn't enjoy being as free as you are feeling now. And don't worry, you aren't the only one."
He smiled and shifted closer to her. Something had changed between them and she could feel it. If he were to leave her side then, she knew it would never be the same. There had been an unknown hole in her life which he had filled in. And if he were to leave now, he would leave the void behind. And no matter how much she tried, no one else would ever be able to fill up that hole again. It would remain hollow and empty.
The reality struck her hard as she realised that he was only here for just another week.
It was then that she rested her head gently upon his shoulder, breathing in his presence, his touch. She didn't want to think about the future. She wished for his shoulder to always remain by her side, so she could rest her head upon it whenever she wanted to.
Perhaps, he was thinking of the same thing.
For the next moment, he wrapped his arm around her slender form, bringing them closer than they had ever been before.
And that's how they stayed for the next few hours as the moon slid across the sky. Never letting go. Not for one second. For every second of togetherness counted.
If she were to think back to this day, sometime in the future, she knew that she would always remember this moment as the moment she had fallen in love with the stranger.
*********************
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