A Taste of the Wild

An Old Crush

Credits to @rincybabu for the artwork

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The resort wasn't exactly what I was expecting. It was a group of small cottages built onto the slope of a mountain. Except for the areas cleared for the resort itself the surroundings were all covered by the dense foliage of the jungle. It was not possible to see anything beyond the thick cluster of tree lines that surrounded the resort.

Sanjay turned his car into a small dirt pathway that was cleared to the side that opened up into a big clearing made for parking. Some cars and a couple of minibusses were already parked there. They looked out of place in this place surrounded by lush greenery. Here too the ground was damp and muddy due to some recent rain. I groaned at the thought of walking through this in the fancy stilettos with pointed heels I was wearing. It would be even more of a task to walk up the stone pathway that leads up to the resort buildings.

As I stepped out of the car, I was momentarily taken aback at the feeling of sudden chill that assaulted my senses which was very different from the comfortable coldness of the air conditioner inside the car. I shivered as I got caught in the cool breeze that was blowing outside, feeling it punishing me for daring to come here in this skimpy dress that left so much of my skin in open contact with the air. I felt that coldness on the bare skin of my arms, neck, and belly like the prickling of tiny needles that were injecting chilliness into my very veins.

I looked at Sanjay jealously who was shrugging on a thick jacket over his already thick full sleeve t-shirt not even bothering to offer it to me even though he has clearly seen my predicament. Instead, all he gave me was a smug YOU DESERVE IT FOR BEING SO DUMB look.

I huffed and quickly picked up my duffel bag and started walking ahead of him with ginger steps so as to not get my saree dirty on my way towards the resort. We must have walked a few yards when I realized something was amiss.

"Oh Shit !! Sanjay !!" I said coming to a sudden halt. "I think I left my phone inside the car." I said disgruntled with myself for making yet another dumb careless mistake. He threw me another exasperated expression.

"For God's sake Deepika!! Are you determined to waste as much of my time today or what?"

"If you are in such a hurry just give me the keys and go on ahead. I will walk back and get it myself." I said staring daggers at him.

He looked like he wanted to argue. Then he just threw me the car keys which I scrambled for a bit awkwardly to catch, dropping my bag into the muddy ground in the process. Sanjay picked up the bag quickly before it got even dirtier and said sarcastically.

"I will carry this. Please don't leave those keys inside the car as well. We need it to go back. "

"HA HA very funny" I retorted and stomped away turning my back to him. Inside I hoped he would wait until I came back. I didn't want to enter the resort alone. Still, my ego didn't let me turn back and look. Not until I have reached all the way to the car.

And he was nowhere to be found. In fact, I seemed to be the only living soul in the parking lot now. I took a deep breath, opened the car door, got inside, and just screamed, at the top of my lungs, venting out all my frustration and beating the hell out of the steering wheel.

That felt good. I sighed and rested my head against the steering wheel for a while gathering myself. Suddenly there was a knock on my window. I looked up startled. A blurred face of a man loomed outside the fog-tinted window. He rubbed on the glass trying to remove the fog to peek inside. I cursed myself under my breath and lowered the glass. I thought there was nobody within earshot and the car would muffle the noise from going outside too much. Clearly, I was wrong.