Dreamy Red

Episode 26 - The Campfire Story

I set up my tent in the forest a little closer to the part of the road where the Dhaba was so that I could easily have a snack whenever I felt like it. It was two in the afternoon and I was feeling bored. So I sat outside the tent on a rock and began eating the food which I had packed from the Dhaba. While I was eating, I heard someone's footsteps getting closer. I quickly wrapped up my lunch and drew my Swiss knife from my bag.

The figure got into view. It was Rahul. He smiled and waved at me. I did the same while keeping my knife inside my pant pocket. I didn't know why but I felt happy seeing him. He had a paper bag in one hand and his helmet in the other. When he came near, he handed the bag to me. I peeped in and saw a cardboard shoebox. I said, "Gee, Thanks", with a broad blushing smile on my face. "Aren't you surprised seeing me in the jungle?", he asked fervently. "I was actually about to ask you that. How did you find me?", I questioned him. He grinned and replied, "Just a wild guess." I was sure that it couldn't be true. He must have searched the forest for me. I pointed to the rock beside the rock I sat and told him to sit down. He sat down and asked me for some water.

"Well, thank god, you decided to camp close to the road or else I would have been lost by now", he said while he was relaxing. "You didn't have to do this", I said as I unwrapped the shoebox. Inside was a beautiful brown slipper that would cover my entire feet. "Must have cost a lot!", I exclaimed. "Not much. You need them. I should have bought you shoes. But there weren't any good ones. This seemed ideal", he said with a cute smile. I smiled back too.

"If you don't mind, can I stay here for a while? I'm very tired", he requested me. I nodded and gave him a paratha from my packet of food. Then I put my feet inside the slippers he got me. The soles of the slippers were very soft and supple. Then I understood what he meant when he said that it was a better choice for me. My aching soles got relief. I felt as though I was standing on a squishy pillow.

Rahul and I spoke for long hours. We didn't even realise the time. He told me about his life. He left his parents' home at a young age and stayed with his grandfather to take care of him. "Oh, so you and Karan don't stay together?", I enquired. I hadn't known that fact until then. He then spoke about his fiancé, Samantha. From when he started talking about her, he had only bad things to tell about her and nothing good. He said that she was always dubious of his nature of being friendly with people though she herself was a great flirt. "She doesn't let me talk to any girl. If she gets to know that I'm here with you, I'm sure she would have a wild imagination about it and make me feel terribly bad. I feel like a prisoner being watched all the time", he said sadly.

He told me that she had recently moved in with him and his grandfather to keep a close watch on him. "If she doesn't trust you, why is she marrying you?", I asked surprised. "Well, good point. I think you should ask her. Maybe she's in for the money", he said doubtfully. "What money?", I asked. But he reacted as though he didn't listen. Maybe he didn't want to speak about it. So I didn't stress about it again.

"Well, if that's the case, why are you marrying her?", I asked. Again he stumbled through his speech, "I don't know. Maybe because she's beautiful." What?! I didn't even want to react to that. He didn't even know why he was marrying the woman he disliked so much. "I think you should go now", I said softly because I felt he was stupid and wasting time talking with me. "Why?", he asked innocently. "It's getting dark and your beautiful Samantha might get furious that you are not back home yet!", I snapped.

"Okay", he said without protesting. He was very easygoing. Maybe that's how Samantha trapped him under her spell. I had a strong feeling that if I talked with him for a little more time, and with a little more flaunt, I could easily become his next girlfriend. But I shuddered at the thought of that. It was so stupid to even think like that. Was one man not enough to ruin my life? Did I need another?! I sighed.

He picked up his helmet and turned to leave. Then he turned back and said, "Well, before I leave, shall I help you with the campfire?", he asked pleasingly. I couldn't say no.

So together we set up a beautiful campfire. The fire was crackling pleasantly. It got darker than before. I urged him to leave. He shook my hands before leaving. His hands were cold. I felt a chill pass through me. I immediately retracted my hands. He looked puzzled. "Your hands are too cold. Keep them near the fireplace", I said pointing to the campfire. "But you asked me to leave", he said innocently. "Okay, stay until you feel warm or you can still go now if you want to", I said sharply. He smiled in that alluring way again as though he was happy staying back and sat back on the rock. Maybe he wasn't innocent and just wanted to impress me. Or was I imagining too much?

He rubbed his palms together and showed them to the fire. "Let me tell you a story. Campfires are not campfires until a story is told", he stated. I was not on a picnic to listen to stories. But since he insisted, I said, "Go ahead." Moreover, we didn't have anything else to speak about.

"In a faraway kingdom, there once lived a beautiful princess. The king announced that a worthy suitor who marries her would get the wealth of the rich kingdom. Many kings and princes came and failed to get her hands because she loved a common man in her kingdom. The king's direct relative who was a prince admired the princess. He was an evil sorcerer. So he put her under a spell when she rejected him that she will always be foolish rather than wise. So her lover betrayed her because of her foolishness. She became sad and wandered the forests as a nomad. Then one day her love found her and asked for forgiveness but she refused because she was foolish. The evil sorcerer too sought her and asked her to fall in love with him, but she rejected him as well. In anger, the evil sorcerer pushed her off the cliff and the riches were inherited by the evil sorcerer. End of story."

It was a different, weird and unheard story. While he told the story, I closed my eyes and imagined whatever he had said. I pictured myself as the princess and Viku as the evil sorcerer rather than the common man whom I loved. I had no idea why I imagined that way even though the opposite felt right. The common man whom I loved was a mist and had no face in my imaginary world. Somehow the story seemed related to me.

Surprised, I asked him, "How did you think of such a story?" "I'm good at imagining things", he replied. "Did you base it upon me?", I asked with raised eyebrows. He laughed and commented, "Do you think Vikranth will kill you?!"

"That doesn't explain the question!", I retorted. But how the hell did he know that I imagined Viku as the evil sorcerer?! It was uncanny. "Okay, time for me to go or as you said my evil princess will get mad at me", he said interrupting my thoughts. With a dashing smile while he looked at his watch and said, "It is almost 9 PM. Bye.", as he took his helmet and vanished into the woods in the direction of the road.