1000 MILES OF LOVE

Chapter 6: Mugger's march.

-----TWO years ago-----

Raghav's P.O.V

I hate Wednesdays. Today was one. But still, the day unfolded beautifully, as if nature herself wanted to prove me wrong. Today, I had set up a free medical camp in Wayanad, the land of mist-kissed hills, wild elephants, and the timeless wisdom of its tribal people. We stationed ourselves in an adventure park, nestled on the banks of Karapuzha Dam. The water stretched before me, vast and calm, like a silver mirror reflecting the sky's every whisper.

The waters called to me, like the river Kaveri from my childhood in Mysore. I realised that these waters were actually a tributary of Kaveri, the mother river, in whose waters I learnt first to swim. The Karapuzha glistened in the early light, its surface rippling ever so slightly, as if it carried memories long forgotten, flowing a hundred kilometers away from its mother river. The river was alive-a liquid thread connecting my past to my present, as if each drop remembered the footsteps I'd once taken on Kaveri's banks.

Vikram, my friend and a cardiologist, stood next to me, oblivious to the mesmerizing beauty around us. His fingers were furiously tapping away on his phone, texting like his life depended on it.

"Arre Vikram, give poor Sadiya a break, yaar! Let her breathe without her possessive boyfriend hovering over her phone for once," I teased, nudging him.

Vikram didn't even look up. "Ha! Raghav bhaiya, just wait till you have a girlfriend. Then you'll understand. There's no such thing as too much texting!"

I shook my head, grinning. "Nope, not me. When I have a girlfriend, she'll be right here with me. We'll be swimming in these beautiful waters together, not glued to some screen."

"Oh, says the great neurologist who's married to his job! Let's be real-it doesn't seem like you're ever going to date anyone. The only girl I've ever seen you text is... what's her name? Purplehaze_404?" He raised an eyebrow, smirking.

I laughed, rolling my eyes. "Oh, come on! She's just a friend... practically like a sister. Besides, she's from our college, but she hasn't even told me who she is yet."

Vikram shot me a mischievous look. "Oh-ho! A sneaky stalker, huh? Watch, she's probably head over heels for you and plotting her big proposal. Next thing you know, you two will be walking down the aisle!"

"No, no, it won't be like that," I said, my voice softening as I got lost in the thought. "The girl I fall for... I'll know her the instant I see her. She'll appear suddenly, like fate had been waiting for that very moment. Everything else around us will fade away, leaving just the two of us in our own world. She'll come to me when I need her the most-like an angel sent from heaven to completely change the direction of my life. And when our eyes meet for the first time, Nature will celebrate. The wind will carry our names, the earth will tremble beneath us, and the skies will open up, just for us. That's how I'll know. It won't be ordinary. It'll be magic."

Vikram shook his head, laughing. "Bro, do you hear yourself? You sound like a teenage girl who reads too many romance novels."

"Mark my words, Vikram. You'll be there when it happens. The moment my angel from heaven comes flying into my life, you'll be eating your words."

"Angel from heaven, huh?" Vikram pointed to a teenage girl ziplining across the park. "Well, looks like she's already here!"

I chuckled. "Come on, man, she's just a kid!"

"Yeah, yeah, a little angel straight from heaven," Vikram teased, grinning like a fool.

We watched the girl glide along the zipline, her excited screams echoing through the air. But suddenly, to our shock, the belts to which she was fastened gave away, and she plummeted, crashing through the air straight into the water below with a giant splash. She floated, seemingly conscious, either by expertise or the buoyancy of her safety jacket."