Riya brought out a shawl to brave the cold winds. She came and stood close to me, draping the shawl around us. I could feel the warmth of her body as we snuggled together me for warmth. We kissed pa.s.sionately, exploring each other in pure ecstasy. It was the wildest kiss of my life-on a balcony in freezing cold. We then settled in our room and Riya called for two cups of tea from the hotel restaurant.
Shortly, Mohit and Sonam too joined us. Both seemed to have settled in and had come to our room looking refreshed.
"It"s so romantic and the rooms are so cosy," Sonam smiled and moved closer to Mohit.
I looked at Riya and she abruptly gave me a peck on my cheek. Her sudden outburst of affection every now and then never failed to catch me off guard.
"You will never change, right?" I asked pulling her cheeks.
"You want me to? Don"t blame me then if I don"t arouse you!" she laughed.
We decided to go to the market to buy some woollen clothes and enquire about tourist cars. It was slightly warm in the noon as compared to the freezing chill of early morning.
We reached The Mall road which had a few restaurants and garment shops lined on either side. Various tourist guides stood there with maps in their hands. We bought woollen jackets, socks, and gloves. I also bought a bandana for myself. Riya purchased t-shirts for herself and a shawl for her Mom.
"Why don"t you purchase something really hot and revealing?" I whispered into her ear.
"Don"t worry; I am already carrying them with me," she giggled.
The temperature dropped down as the daylight dissolved into night. We were shivering even after putting on two sweaters and inners to keep us warm and protected. We went to a restaurant Chopsticks to have dinner. Mohit ordered white rum for everyone.
"Don"t" drink so much that we have to carry you to our room," we told the girls. They were rubbing both their hands to keep warm.
Each one of us had four pegs of rum with dinner. The momos in particular were delicious. When we came out of the restaurant, it became impossible for us to bear the cold. Riya and I walked back to the resort which was a mere ten minute walk from the restaurant. Sonam and Mohit followed suit.
As we walked together, Riya was so close to me that I could almost feel her breath.
"Let"s get naughty tonight. I want to be in your arms, hold you and feel you all over me," said Riya softly so that Mohit and Sonam could not overhear us.
I gave her a wicked wink.
"Do you know that Ma.n.a.li is famous for weed?" Mohit asked me.
"Yes, I have heard about it, but I am afraid I am not very keen on trying it," I replied. But Mohit kept insisting we give it a shot.
As we entered the hotel, Mohit said something to the receptionist of the resort. Then he came towards me and told that everything had been arranged for, pointing towards his shirt pocket. I knew it contained weed and asked him how did he manage to get it. He told me not to worry about that and both of us decided to go to my room for our first shot at "nirvana". While the girls freshened up, we had fun smoking weed. It gave me an instant high and I was soon feeling drowsy. Riya told us to wrap everything up and Sonam took Mohit with him to their room.
Riya came close to me and moved her finger on my back and then on my thighs. This made me drowsier. She tried to arouse me, but I was too high to respond to her yearnings.
f.u.c.king h.e.l.l! I will never try weed, I kept thinking to myself, feeling like I was about to fall off a cliff.
Riya was looking amazing in her nightwear, or so I could tell from my faint vision. I don"t remember what happened next.
I woke up late in the morning with a slight headache. By the time I came back to my senses, Riya was by my side, giving me a capsule for my throbbing headache and pouring a hot cup of tea for me.
"You missed last night"s fun," she winked.
"I know. It"s okay. I have already planned something special for the coming nights," I smiled.
"I am having so much fun that even thinking about returning to Mumbai makes me sad. These have been the best days of my life. Let"s come here again for our honeymoon," she suggested. I nodded my head in agreement.
"Do you know how beautiful you look straight out of bed?" I held her close and played with her long earrings.
Mohit came to our room shortly afterwards and told us that Sonam had gone to take a shower and would join us in a bit. Soon we got dressed and left the resort. Taking the Mall road we went to the place where tourist guides generally abound in plenty. We enquired about getting a car on hire and they gave us a two-day plan. We bargained to bring down the cost a little and accepted the offer.
Day 2: Manikaran and Rohtang Pa.s.s.
The second day was devoted to Manikaran which was around eighty kilometres away from Ma.n.a.li. We drove along the Parvati valley, driving carefully around the dangerous turns and hairpin bends. We pa.s.sed through rice fields, shanty tea stalls, herds of goats, and snow-clad mountains.
After a two-hour long journey, we reached Manikaran. A small outlying strip of shopping stalls, street merchants, and eateries told me that we had reached a prime tourist location. We quickly came out of the car and walked across the short span bridge over Parvati River. Along with others, I too was able to breeze down the zigzag lanes after my brief visit to Ram Temple. The sadhus were cooking rice and dal at the edge of the hot springs called "Vishnu Kund"-the water of which is known to have curative powers. It was surprising for us to see that even in a stretch of cold water, there was a patch which had boiling water.
"This place has something to it. I can feel positive energy all around," said Riya.
I obviously didn"t believe in that, but I knew Riya wouldn"t lie. The temple was extremely beautiful and allowed me time to self-introspect and feel the divine power.
"I"ve heard that if someone takes a bath in the Kund, he would attain salvation," I told Mohit and Riya while Sonam was still in the temple premises.
We spent some time clicking photographs and seeing the surrounding places. At eleven in the morning, we started our journey to Ma.n.a.li. We halted at a local dhaba where we gorged on some delicious North Indian food.
"I need a smoke," I announced to the others and excused myself from the group. It was a trick so that I could visit the local gift shop without anybody taking notice. I had to purchase something for Riya as I wanted our night to be a special one.
Riya told me to get back at the earliest as we were getting late and wanted to reach our next destination on time.
Rohtang pa.s.s was our next stop. The driver told us that it"s the same place where the famous song from Jab We Met was shot. Mohit asked us if we could allow him to smoke in the car. Riya and Sonam gave us a tough look and refused, saying boundaries had to be set somewhere. We consented to their request, or shall I say, order. The freezing winds made us grip each other tightly and we didn"t even bother what the driver would think. The road was getting b.u.mpier by the minute.
I could not speak due to the freezing weather. The view was gorgeous. At some places, the snow was almost 6 to 8 feet high on both sides of the road. We stopped at a stall which served Maggi.
"Hot Maggi tastes best in cold weather. Even though I am not too much of a Maggi fan, this is just fabulous," said Mohit.
We agreed in unison. After devouring the plate of Maggi and a simmering hot cup of tea, our vehicle inched its way up the hill. Suddenly, the driver pulled the brakes and stopped abruptly. We saw that in front of us heavy snowfall had covered the road, leading to a dead end. The driver turned to us.
"Look, it is very dangerous to drive ahead from this point onwards. You have to get out and walk. If I drive any further, it can lead to a complete breakdown of the vehicle which can further add to our problems," he cautioned us.
With no choice left, we got down and clicked a few pictures. We went near the valley and embraced the breathtaking views while having chocolate and biscuits that we were carrying with us. It was very cold and the breeze was biting! We had worn layers of clothing, insulated jackets, even woollen gloves and caps. A pure white sheet of snow had engulfed the entire region. Looking at snowfall while your love is in your arms can"t be expressed in words. I was speechless.
Mohit and Sonam went walking a bit further while we chose to stay back and wait.
"What are you thinking?" Riya asked me.
"I was thinking of returning to this place after our marriage. We"ll take the Honeymoon Package. I want to spend time at this place with you by my side," I said holding her hands.
"I am waiting for that day too," she said. I had planned something elaborate for the night and hoped that Mohit had kept my little secret to himself.
I was just getting my thoughts together when I heard Sonam"s voice call out to me.
"What are your plans for tonight?" said Sonam winking at me. Both had returned from their short walk.
I looked towards Mohit with an accusatory glance and he signalled swearing he hadn"t told her a thing. I wanted to make my night really special for Riya.
It was getting darker, so we decided to head back home and asked the driver to take us back. That marked the end of day two"s sightseeing.
We returned to the Mall road. The driver gave us a lowdown on the next day"s plan and left saying that he would be waiting for us outside our hotel on time. Sonam and Riya went back to the hotel while Mohit and I went on a small shopping trip to procure gifts for the girls to make our night more memorable.
I saw a shop which carved names on wooden designs. I asked the staff member to carve Riya"s name along with mine on a decorative wooden key ring. Since the girls weren"t around, we smoked a couple of cigarettes, after which we returned to our resort.
It was around 7 pm in the evening when we got back to the hotel. The temperature seemed like it had fallen to a chilling minus 2 degrees Celsius. I went to the reception and requested them to send an extra heater in both our rooms.
Riya and Sonam were busy nibbling popcorn and watching TV in Mohit"s room. I asked him to keep them engrossed while I managed to arrange everything in our room for a perfect evening with Riya.
"Aadi, where were you? I am so hungry," exclaimed Riya.
"We will soon have dinner. First, I want you to take a look at this." I held out my palm and placed a big gift box on it. She looked at Mohit and Sonam to enquire if they were aware of what the gift was. Both reacted as if they didn"t know a thing.
She opened the box to find a perfect outfit for the night. I had bought a short black dress for her. Mohit gave me a wicked look that said, so now I know why you told the receptionist to send one more heater. Riya was surprised to see the gift as she had least expected it. She jumped off the bed and hugged me. I told her to wear it. Mohit and Sonam realized that we wanted to be left alone, so they made up a silly excuse of going down to the hotel restaurant for a quick bite even though I knew their stomach was full.
"It"s a bit chilly outside, so why don"t you take this bottle of rum with you for company?" I told Mohit as he was leaving.
Mohit winked at me, as if to wish me good luck, and departed with Sonam.
I went into our room while Riya changed into her new outfit.
"I am in our room. The door is locked. Just knock when you are ready," I said and left.
After a few minutes, there was a faint knock on the door. I opened it to see Riya standing outside nervously, waiting for my reaction. She looked like a complete bombsh.e.l.l in the dress I had gifted her. It fitted her perfectly, I was speechless. I looked at her from head to toe. She had kept her hair open and they fell loosely on her shoulders. Her black eyeliner highlighted her already pretty eyes. Her glossy lips added colour to her face. She hadn"t worn any accessories, which I was glad about, as it would then seem overdone. The dress was a black satin-netted one piece that just about covered her thighs. It had a deep back and a spaghetti strap knot on both sides. My heart skipped a beat. I felt like I had fallen in love with her all over again.
"Why does it feel like the most beautiful girl in the world is with me here in this room?" I smiled and held her hands, leading her into our room.
The main lights had been switched off and replaced by dimmer yellow lights. The room was lit up with decorative candles on the dining table. The trolley beside it had a bottle of Champagne kept in an ice bucket. The trolley was covered with rose petals. The petals had also been sprinkled on the bed, with a bowl of strawberries and chocolate kept right beside it. I played some romantic songs on my laptop to set the mood.
We sat on the dining table facing each other. I opened the champagne and poured us a gla.s.s each.
"Cheers to the most beautiful girl in the world," I said, taking a sip of the drink.
We had our dinner while looking into each other"s eyes. None of us spoke a word until she handed me a letter.
"What is this?" I asked her.
"If you can surprise me, so can I. I wrote a little something for you while you were away."
She got up from the opposite end of the table and came and sat on my lap. Then she kissed my cheeks and kept her hands over my shoulders and continued, "I want you to read it aloud."
I opened the letter and read: I never believed in love at first sight and I still don"t, but ours is probably as close as it can get. It all happened quickly, but I am glad we lasted. If at times it seems like I don"t care for you, I am sorry. I do care. Every time you are down and troubled, I feel the same way. I try the best I can. I remember how you used to look at me. The charm in your eyes made me fall for you the moment I saw you. You were the first person that ever saw me, the first person to give me hope that I could mean something to someone. Someday, I will marry you and we"ll be happy. But right now, we are just too young. And we are still having fun, right? I just wanted to let you know that I"ll be yours forever.
I kissed her while she tightened the grip on my shoulders.
Suddenly Riya got up and said, "I"ll be back in two minutes", and went towards the closet.
She came back with her hands behind her and knelt down before me.
"My dear Aadi, will you give me the pleasure of being your wife?" she said holding out a ring towards me.
I was stunned. I never saw this coming. Not at that moment at least.
"My bacchu, you came into my life like a beautiful dream and it seems like I have never woken up from it. I bless the day we met," said Riya.
Hearing her confess her love to me so earnestly, I was reminded of the day when I first laid my eyes on her. I was scheduled to attend a lecture but as usual, I was wiling away time checking out the girls in my cla.s.s. Five minutes into the lecture, I heard a girl"s voice: "May I come in sir?"
One look at her and my heart skipped a beat. It was so beautiful, almost like watching a dream. I distinctly remember I had asked myself, "Is she the one I am looking for?"
She came and sat in the third row and looked back. Our eyes met and in that fleeting second, it was like our souls came together too. We couldn"t stop looking at each other. I knew deep down inside that she was indeed the one for me.
And that"s the way we met!
We became friends, then best buddies, and now...
"Will you marry me?" asked Riya again.
It was me who had proposed to her a few years back. The memory of that day is still clearly etched in my mind like it all happened yesterday.
We had planned it all out. Swapnil and Sameer were standing in one corner in the garden, ready with what they had been instructed to do. Even I was prepared. As soon as Riya entered, I bent down on my knees, kept the rose in my hand, and said, "You are my best friend. A friend like you is hard to get. However, a life partner like you for a person like me is impossible."
I paused for a moment and said, "Really, I don"t deserve a girl like you. I am a flirt. I have the worst image, but still I want to change. I want a girl who can change me. And it"s you, my bachha. You are everything to me. You are the love of my life. I love you babe. And every time I see you, I just want to hug you and never let you go. You are special to me. You make me complete. I will never leave you alone in this relationship. Love you. Do you wish to be my beloved?"
She had tears in her eyes-tears of happiness. She just nodded and said, "I love you too my bachha...love you a lot. Thanks for this moment."
She accepted the rose. I stood up and we hugged one another. As soon as we did that, Sameer and Swapnil blew the ribbon and snow spray.
She was overwhelmed with whatever I had done for her. We hugged each other and looked into each other"s eyes. Her eyes asked me whether I would be with her forever. My eyes said that I was with her always and forever.
And now she was proposing to me!
"Aadi, what are you thinking about? Here I am proposing to you, and you seem to be on a different planet altogether," said Riya sensing my thoughts were elsewhere.
"Nothing jaan, just reminiscing about our past," I said.
She continued, "It was you who made me realize that I am beautiful, it was you who taught me to live each and every moment of my life. Jaan, you"re my world, my every heartbeat-my every breath is for you. Today I have listened to my heart. I have decided to make my feelings known to you. We have been close to each other for quite some time now and I was toying with this idea of proposing to you, but could never find the right moment to do so. I know you were probably expecting me to pop up the question in a grand fashion, but I am too shy to propose to you in public. I have seen you as a perfect boyfriend and now I wish to see you as my perfect husband. So Aditya, WILL YOU MARRY ME?"
I was benumbed. Words failed me. A nervous "yes" was all I could say at that moment, as she came over to give me a tight hug.
I touched her back with my fingertips and heard her moan. My hands reached for her knot and untied it to let her dress fall on the floor. I lifted her up in my arms and laid her gently on the bed. She worked her way across my chest, swiftly unb.u.t.toning my shirt and pulling it over my head. As I unzipped my trousers, I took out from its pocket the wooden key ring having our names carved on it. She took it in her hands and kissed it as a drop of tear fell from her eye. I kissed those tears away and gave her a deep kiss on the lips. She moaned in pleasure, returning my kisses with ardour. I took a strawberry and rolled it all over her. She could no longer hold herself, her body rocked with the sensation of pure ecstasy. We ate chocolates while kissing each other and fondled one another for a very long time. I rolled another strawberry in the melted chocolate and pa.s.sed it on to her. She devoured it instantly, giving me the next piece.
"You are a wild cat in bed," I whispered in her ear.
""Shut up, Aadi! I will kill you. By the way, thanks for making my night memorable," she said, kissing my forehead.
We made love till the crack of dawn. I held her close as we finally drifted off to sleep.
Day 3: Solang Valley.