Arhi SS- Boomerang- THD 2- LINK PG1 - Page 24

Chapter 1B-

A/N- Thanks for appreciating the detailed research that has gone into writing this story. The names of the places, details of preparation, are all as close to reality as possible. And no, I'm not a mountaineer. I have acrophobia and stay away from anything to do with heights.

As soon as Arnav landed at Kathmandu International airport he took an earlier flight to Lukla from the domestic airport. The decision to join the expedition to scale the summit of Mt Everest was taken in short notice, more out of despondency than anything else. His father had remarked that every successful expedition require fool proof planning and preparations. So this time he was going against one of the basics of mountaineering his father had instilled in him. He had told Mark Brice that he would join them en-route to the hike to Naamchi Bazaar. He had already hiked to the base camp of the Everest many years ago. He had expressed his wish even back then to climb up to the summit, but his father who was a professional mountaineer himself had rubbished the idea right away. It was a well known fact that one should scale the summit of the Everest only in their thirties or forties, due to the duration of the trip, combined with the extreme weather conditions and the physical exhaustion that would all take a big toll on ones health and fitness. It was a thumb rule to not climb a difficult mountain a year before Everest or two years after that. So all his life, he had been waiting eagerly for this opportunity and would have taken this expedition earlier, if not for her.

He had been climbing mountains from a very early age, he was what some people called and 'adrenaline addict.' He had a strong liking for all sorts of adventure sports from scuba diving to sky diving. But it was mountaineering where he found his true calling. Since his father was a professional mountaineer, Arnav had learned the ropes of mountaineering at a very early age. He had already scaled many mountains that included, the usual suspects like The Eiger, The Matterhorn, Denali and to top it he had also successfully climbed The Kangchenjunga and the The Mt Vinson in Antartica, which professional mountaineers reckoned were more difficult than the Everest itself. He had even chosen a career that would allow him the luxury of indulging himself in his favorite activity from time to time. He knew that if he accepted a full time job he would make a lot more money that he already did. But by doing that he would never be able to do things he really to. He loved the adventure, craved for the excitement and thrill, it gave him a high, a joy like no other.

But three years ago his life had changed, he had given up mountaineering temporarily, but as they say its difficult to keep a man away from his true calling and he eventually found himself on this trip.

'Arnav can you promise me something?'

'Will you promise not to climb dangerous mountains anymore? I'm scared for your safety. I love you and I can't lose you.'

Arnav closed his eyes to fight away the memories of good times from not so long ago as he knew they would lead him to nothing but more pain and anger.

After the happenings of the last few months, he needed to get away from everything, from the stress of his personal life so that he could think with a calm mind. He needed to forget everything and start afresh. And what better way than to realise a life long dream. He was a self employed consultant so he could afford the leisure of taking time off in short notice. One night he decided he had enough and needed a break. He made up his mind to take the plunge. He had logged into his laptop in a hurry and had decided to buy the tickets and book himself in this expedition.

He hadn't climbed a mountain in the last three years but had never given up working on his fitness- his physical regime continued to be punishing. Thankfully that had come in handy and he could make this trip on a short notice.

Once he reached Lukla he met a Sherpa who would take him to the rest of the group. They began their hike and Arnav started experiencing the heady feeling of excitement as he hiked through the terrain. They were doing good on time as Arnav had found himself hiking with zest. The feeling of being somewhat liberated from the shackles of the past motivated him all the more.

After hiking for a short while, he had reached the long suspension bridge that connected the two valleys near Phakding. Arnav walked towards the bridge with is sherpa in tow. As he got closer to the bridge he saw a woman with her back turned towards him taking a picture of the bridge while staying dangerously close to the edge of the valley. 'Typical tourist,' he thought to himself. He never carried a camera during any of his expeditions, a practise he picked up from his father. He had felt that a camera would dilute the magic of the moment.

Arnav had an inkling that this was not going to end and his when she took a step side ways, he screamed 'watch out.' But unfortunately the woman lost her footing and was about fall off from the edge. Arnav reached her in no time and bend down to hold her waist and he slowly lifted her up. He was prepared to snap at her for being so careless which is when he saw her face- with flawless complexion. She had her eyes closed.

When Kushi realised she hadn't fallen down after all she opened her eyes slowly.

Arnav saw the woman open her eyelids to reveal a pair of beautiful hazel green eyes and he was left speechless.

Her eyes initially reflected gratitude, that quickly transformed into amazement, but only for a moment.She took a breath in and in no time, her eyes were hidden behind a mask of aloofness and detachment.

'Thank God you are safe.' Arnav heard someone say the words as they walked towards them. Kushi loosened herself from Arnav's hold and took a step back and turned around to calm her fast beating hart. She couldn't believe she had been so stupid to commit such an amateur-like mistake.

'You must be Mr Raizada.'

Arnav nodded his head and proceeded to shake hands with Mark Brice. 'I have heard lots about your father. I'm sure we will have enough time in the next 60 odd days to talk about his expedition.'

He then turned to Kushi, 'Ms Gupta, are you alright?'

Kushi turned around to reply to Mark. 'Yes I'm fine Mark, thanks for asking.'

' It is Mr Raizada whom you should thank. While we are the base camp, we have got to try and work on your footing techniques. Since you haven't climbed a mountain in a while, your techniques might just be a little rough around the edges.'

Kushi bit the inside of her cheeks for putting herself in such an embarrassing position. 'Thanks Mark. I will keep that in mind.'

And when she saw that Mark's eyes were still trained on her she hesitantly added after a small pause. 'Thanks Mr Raizada for your help.'

'Its Arnav, Ms Gupta.' Arnav replied, he hated it when people called him with his surname.

Kushi shrugged her shoulders and started walking towards the bridge to start walking to the other side into Phakding.

The group decided to camp at Phakding for the night and resume their hike to Naamchi in the morning. They put up tents overlooking the Dudh Kosi River. Kushi shared her tent with Caroline another British climber who lived in Dublin. Kushi developed an easy camaraderie with Caroline who unlike the rest of the group seemed quite reserved herself. The group the had dinner consisting of Nepali delicacies prepared by the sherpas, around a camp fire. Kushi tried her best to not give in and look at the man who had saved her earlier in the day. Mark Brice then proceeded to outline the plans for the rest of the hike to Naamchi tomorrow. And Kushi made a a mental note to call Payal her cousin sister who lived in Prague, once she reached Naamchi to inform her of her whereabouts.

Arnav had been busy interacting with the rest of the group sharing stories of their previous mountaineering expedition experiences, while stealing glances of the person whom he had held earlier in the day. He had developed a quick friendship with Scott an Australian, over common interests in beer, and cricket. Arnav was sharing his tent with Scott on the particular night. When Scott had told him that this was his second trip to the Everest after his first attempt was unsuccessful after a snow storm, Arnav started feeling a tad bit anxious. He wanted to scale the summit in this attempt as he wasn't sure if he could afford to take such a long break again in the near future, especially since he was starting to ponder about relocating to another city or even country.

Later in the night Kushi twisted and turned but still struggled to sleep. The adrenaline of the trip, the fear of having nearly lost her life, made her jittery. She got up from the bed and made herself some mint tea. She took the mug of tea and went and stood outside to see the valley and river by the night. She perched herself on top of a soft rock and and looked at the dimly lit valley at the other end of the river. She took a sip of the tea and thought of a time not so long ago...

'Did you know, I had always wanted to propose to you by a river. This river reminds me of you; soft, calm and gentle.'

'Are you crazy Khushi, why would you stand so close to the edge of the valley? You cant mix romanticism with mountaineering.'

Kushi closed her eyes trying to get a grip over her mixed emotions. Which is when she heard footsteps of someone walking towards her. She knew who it was and decided not to turn around and acknowledge the person.

The person came and stood next to her and looked at the river. Kushi prepared herself for the question she knew would follow.

'How long are we going to pretend that we don't know each other, Khushi?'

Wow.. awesome update NB⭐️⭐️

You have searched a lot for this ss.. and if you are acrophobic it must be challenge to write this👏

So arnav's father was also mountaineer too… and he was interested in mountaineering since small age

He was also lost in 'her"!!!? which I think I know this "he" "she" now

So arnav saved her… he has to!! 😉

So they both know each other!! And maybe were in love with each other.. totally unexpected😲

Continue soon😊