LOST

27. SAPNA

~ Sapna ~ 

Every step I took was forced. I was terribly exhausted and though there were only a few steps more to reach the top, I felt like I was about to faint. Never before had I been so frail. Ascending this mountain just proved how I lacked physically and how short I was of stamina. Even the occasional breaks didn't help much. In fact, now that I looked like a complete zombie, it became more difficult for me to pose for any pictures.

On the other hand, Aadi seemed perfectly fine, except for a few sweat drops glistening on his forehead, which – I couldn't deny – made him look incredibly sexy. His stances when he took photographs, his elongated neck slightly ducked, his slender fingers curved around the camera lens conveying his artistic inclination, made my stomach tingle. But I didn't even have it in me to fantasize about it, I was so drained.

"I can't do it." I dry heaved, slumping on the stairs.

Aadi, who was being polite enough in keeping his pace with me instead of walking ahead of me, hunched alongside me. "Just a couple of steps left. Stop acting like a baby."

"Aadi, I'm not faking it. My chest feels heavy. My legs are numb. I cannot take another step!"

"Okay. Here," he held his hand out for me. I held it. He placed his other hand on top of mine, so that my hand was in the middle of both of his.

"Now. Breathe," he ordered, while his hands caressed mine, sending chills down my spine. "Slower. Deeper."

I tried, taking each even breath, feeling every inhale and exhale. The more I attempted to relax, the more perturbed I became. The more I focused on my breathing, the more I got attracted to the prickling in my stomach.

I pulled my hand away, causing him to stare dumbfounded at me.

"I can't do this either," I reluctantly conceded.

He took an exasperated sigh before looking away, and my gut twisted because for some strange reason, I felt like I wounded him. But the very next second, his head swooped in my directed. His eyes shone with a novel, playful delight. He jumped up, and then crooked; his one hand meandered gently under both my knees and the other he placed behind my back. In one swift motion, he lifted me up and I yelped. "What on earth are you doing? Put me down!"

He let out a throaty chuckle, and said, "You said you couldn't do it. But I can."

It didn't take him more than three minutes to scramble up the remaining stairs. Nevertheless those three minutes were enough to take the living life out of me with the way his arms held me or the way his chest rose and fell with every breath he took. I had wrapped my arms around his neck and it sent fireworks exploding inside me as I stared at his faultless face from that close. His rectangular face with the defined, slightly pointed chin and a sturdy jawline, his dark eyes which were small and spaced evenly apart, sitting below trim eyebrows that seemed to curve as a natural extension of his broad, rounded nose. His face held forward a steady gaze, and had an air of authority that was palpable.

"Sapna? We're here."

I blinked and turned my head away to look around. The place was made of rocks, arranged in a way that made it look beautiful. It was unpeopled and formidable.

Aadi put me down, and I frowned at the loss of contact. As if sensing my minor torment, his fingers laced mine and a smile took form on both our faces.

"It's wonderful," I said. "Only intimidating and.. unoccupied."

"You used to come here a lot when you were younger."