Ashm frowned as his sleep got disturbed. He was having a good dream, when it came to an end abruptly. He squinted his eyes as he tried to look around when a mesmerising scene caught his attention.
There right infront of him she laid with hair cascading down in volumes. Her eyes being closed sometimes fluttered, perhaps she was dreaming too. She was looking beautiful...
Emon woke up after a good sleep. Trains do have a weird way of rocking someone to sleep. Last night something weird had happened and she had switched berths with Mahavar. She was trying to recall exactly what had happened when she felt a pair eyes watching her. Looking at the source she saw Ashm watching her with glazed eyes. He had a soft expression on his handsome face and that pulled her out of whatever traces of slumber she had.
Is he awake? His eyes are open so... he's awake... and... watching me...
Suddenly a thought occured to her.
No way!
Last night... did I do something wrong?
God... I don't even remember what I did....
She again looked at him with a helpless face.
Ashm came to his senses as he realised she had caught him watching her. He pulled on his angry face and looked away.
Beautiful... yeah right... she's as beautiful as a rotten tomato.
It took another two hours to reach New Jalpaiguri Station. From there they hailed a cab and headed towards Darjeeling.
Darjeeling was a beautiful town amidst the tail of the Himalayas. It's famous for its mesmerising view of the third highest peak of the world Kanchenjunga. The town remains bustling with tourists almost all the time so Mahavar arranged themselves a tea bungalow to stay while they were there so that they could practise without the disturbance of the crowd.
The road uphill was pretty winding and that made Mahir sick. They had to halt several times so that he could vomit. Watching him throw up made Ashm queasy. He stuffed his mouth with cloves and wept silent tears as the cloves made his mouth sting with their flavour.
Mahavar smirked like a chesire cat all the way while Emon was halfway between being amused and feeling sorry for them.
They reached the bungalow in about 4 hours. All of them were dead beat.
"See you guys in the evening... get some rest" Mahavar said and drove away.
The three looked as if they had seen a zombie!
Wait!
He is going to leave us... alone?
Their hearts flipped as they realised that they were going to stay together... without Mahavar...
With a girl...
"Your rooms are ready sirs, ma'm. Please come this way"
the housekeeper spoke in a gentle British accent.
Emon shut her eyes as the impact of the situation hit her. She never should have agreed to Mahavar!
That sly fox!
Mahir grit his teeth as he followed the housekeeper inside.
"I'm not staying with you" Ashm clenched his fist as he stubbornly stood his ground.
Emon wished she could act so stubborn and have her way but that won't help. That unruly Mentor of ours is dead set in making us a team. He would never allow any of us to do as we please. She sighed, it has already come to this and neither could she change her accomodation. So... might as well play by.
She glanced at Ashm then pulled up her trolley and walked inside.
Ashm was fuming with rage! When Mahavar had proposed the plan Ashm naturally presumed that they would be living apart. That cunning man told nothing about his plans! He was absolutely not staying with those two nuts!
Inside the room, Mahir switched on the music and went for a shower. He was immune to cold, so showering in freezing temperatures wasn't a problem for him. He took his towel and peeked outside the window. That dumbo was still standing infront of the gate. No wonder people say he's rock stubborn. Who in his right mind stays out like this?
It was already afternoon when Emon finally sat to eat. She was about to dig in when the image of Ashm flashed in her mind.
Is he still out?
She left the table and walked towards the window and true to her thoughts, he was still standing outside.
It's been three hours! He will have pneumonia this way!
Ashm was just in his tee and denims and the temperature outside had dropped to around 5.
Emon looked at the burning fireplace and sighed. Time to listen to some harsh words.
Ashm felt someone coming and regained his posture. He had been outside for so much time, the cold started to creep in his bones as well. Suddenly he felt a warm thing wrapping him from the back. His strained breaths relaxed a bit as they found warmth.
"I know you hate me... but don't punish yourself for this."
The words sounded like tinkling bells in the silent environment. Ashm knew he couldn't hold on much longer. His body was already rebelling against lethargy and hunger and soon his senses would start affecting.
Emon hesitated then pulled at his arm slightly.
"The rooms are separate and pretty good too. Come on in"
Ashm didn't budge.
Emon then went and stood beside him.
"If you hate staying with me, then I don't want to be with you too. So I'll be standing here as well!"
"Like I care" Ashm said.
So the two stood along.
After a while Emon said,
"You realise that although we won't stay together, we are actually staying together?"
Ashm frowned as the situation revealed itself. They were technically staying together.
"So... I mean... there's no difference if we stand here or inside... infront of a fireplace...
a crackling one...
and Mosey the keeper has cooked pretty good dishes too...
so while we are rebelling... we can actually enjoy his hardworked dinner...
so basically we are still rebelling... just not very uncomfortably... rather-"
"Fine! I'll stay! But never show your face to me when I'm in the house!"
Emon pursed her lips and checked herself so as not to laugh and agreed.
Then both of them went inside.
Idiots!
Mahir closed the window and went to sleep after watching those dorks come inside the house.