The Love Voyage

Chapter 11

"You can change yourself and your life, but not your destiny. In the end, you'll meet it either way."

Adhrit's pov

"Calm down, Izna. We'll just catch the next train. It's not the end of the world," I said, trying to sound confident, though I was more nervous than I'd care to admit. The fiery look in her eyes made me feel like a deer caught in headlights.

"Oh really? The next train? We're in the middle of nowhere! This isn't Mumbai Central!" she snapped, her frustration practically vibrating in the air.

I attempted to lighten the mood with a grin. "You know, you're kind of cute when you're angry."

"Flattery will get you nowhere. We missed our train because of you, Adhrit! What do we do now?" she demanded, crossing her arms and glaring at me.

I glanced around, desperately searching for a solution. The moonlit fields around us were serene but utterly useless. "Well, we can either wait here for the next train, which could take hours, or we could walk toward that village," I suggested, pointing at a faint light in the distance.

"Walk to the village? Are you out of your mind?" She looked at me like I had suggested jumping off a cliff.

"Do you have a better idea, princess? Or would you rather sit here and wait for cornfield ghosts to appear? Or worse, some psycho chain-snatcher who kidnaps women under five-foot-five who happen to look like devils in disguise?" I joked, though my voice cracked slightly under the pressure.

"Fine, let's go," she grumbled, clearly unhappy but realizing there was no other choice.

As we began walking, the cool night air did little to soothe my nerves. Izna was silent, her anger practically radiating off her like heat waves. I had to keep her from blowing up entirely.

"You know, you should learn to appreciate the little things in life," I said, attempting to diffuse the tension.

"Appreciate what? Being stranded in the middle of nowhere because my so-called 'friend' has the brain of a peanut?" she retorted, her sarcasm as sharp as ever.

I laughed nervously. "Wait, wait-did you just call me your friend? You actually consider me your friend?" I exclaimed loudly, purposefully ignoring the insult.

She smacked my arm hard, cursing me with a colorful profanity. Classic Izna.

"Ouch, that hurt. But seriously, look at the stars and the moon. It's beautiful," I said, trying to distract myself from the pain-or maybe the pain didn't matter when the night was so serene.

She glanced up, her expression softening just a little. "Yeah, I guess it is. But I'd still prefer appreciating it from the comfort of my bed."

"I've never seen stars this closely before. It's like they're telling their own stories. You know that theory about people turning to ashes and stars being made of those ashes? It feels real now. Like each star carries the story of someone-shimmering in the dark, a glimmer of hope lighting up the vast emptiness."

I couldn't stop myself from spouting my usual nonsensical analogies. Especially around her. Normally, I'm quiet and composed, but with her, everything just slips out. Or maybe I should blame the night.