Hike

Familiarity

I stretched as I took in the cool air of Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh, India. There was thick forest all around and fresh oxygen felt amazing in my lungs. It was just six in the morning and the resort we were staying in, Tiger Trail Resort was a kilometre inside the forest. We, as in me and Arin. Well, it's Arianna but my best friend insists that people should call her Arin.

The barb wire fence wasn't very assuring that the wildlife won't get to us, but I ignored it. Let's hope Mr.Tiger doesn't want to eat me. The Resort had separate cottages that surround the biggest cottage that looked a little like a farm house. There were 10 cottages and each cottage (except the central one) had two rooms in it. The central one was for the staff and had a restaurant and the reception.

Cold air brushed my bare arms and I shivered.

"Tamara?" A small voice asked from behind where I stood. I turned to see Arin looking like she'd seen a ghost. Well, let's say tigers and other predatory animals make her piss herself.

"It's safe, Arin. Come on." I told her. Since I was standing a little further away from our cottage, she was reluctant about leaving the safety of the heated room.

I heard the door of the other room in our cottage open and a guy stepped out. He grumbled as looked at his phone. I bet he had no signal. He was a foreigner too, foreigner considering his complexion and unhindered use of curse words.

Arin was now by my side and we watched him walk past us towards the central cottage.

"He's good looking." Arin stated and I elbowed her.

"We got here yesterday! Seriously!"

"Hey!" An American accent said from our cottage. I turned towards it for the third time from the same position.

Judging by the smirk on his face he had overheard Arin's comment. One day... I will tear of Arin's ears and staple then to her neck...

"Hey!" She said a little too cheerily. I smiled.

"I'm Aiden. The frustrated guy you just saw was Jack. Good to see fellow Americans here." He said, walking over.

"Yeah. I'm Tamara. This is-"

"Arin. Arianna, but I prefer Arin."

"Good to meet you. You guys up for the forest trail?"

"We'll be going in the evening. Just wanna be lazy and loosen up."

He smiled and I felt Arin squeezing my hand. That girl...

"Jack isn't going to be satisfied until he gets some darned signal on his phone. So we're here all morning too. Let's hang out together." Aiden suggested.

"Okay. But after... you know..." I trailed off. He eyed my messed up bed hair and PJs and nodded.

"Later. Have to find Jack before he kills someone. Bye!" He said jogging off.

I turned to face Arin, expecting her to rant about his good looks, but her face held a deep frown.

"What?" I asked.

"Didn't he look... familiar to you?" She asked

"Familiar? Nah." I replied.

She nodded absentmindedly.

***********

I was wrapped in atleast a billion layers of clothes to keep myself warm against the cold. To no avail.

I sat in the back of the jeep next to Arin with Jack and Aiden in front of us. I didn't mind Aiden at all. He was a nice guy, kept cracking jokes and making us laugh but Jack was another case altogether. He kept quiet and would sometimes glance at me strangely. Sometimes he'd scowl. And it seemed I was the only one noticing that.

The ride around the forest was almost done and I could see the resort gate coming up.

"Well, we just have to keep hoping. Maybe we'll see some tiger tomorrow. God... all we saw was deer, deer, deer... and oh wait, deer!" I said and we cracked up. Jack smiled a bit. Finally.

"That was a good ride though." Arin said and Aiden nodded.

Love oh love is in the... forest?

I laughed silently at the silly thought.

"What are you laughing about?" Jack asked.

"Nothing. Come on, let's go." Aiden got off and helped Arin too. Jack got off before me and stuck his hand out. I took it hesitantly. Just as I got off, I caught myself staring into familiar orbs. I blinked before jumping off. The guy who had been driving gave us a wide smile before driving off again.

"Tamara? May I ask you a question?" He said staring at me.

"Sure." I grunted, watching Aiden and Arin chattering like love birds and walking away without caring to look back at us.

"Do I know you? You look extremely familiar." He said scratching the back of his neck.

"That's funny. Arin thought Aiden looked familiar. You know, when you were pissed because you didn't have reception. She told me when he'd gone to look for you. Why do you need signal anyway? Aren't you both in solo vacations like us?"

"Well yeah, but I needed to talk to my girlfriend." He said. I nodded a little.

**********

I stared at the ceiling of our room. Arin was snoring away beside me. After an hour of being awake, something ticked inside me.

I don't know how, but I've definitely known Jack before this.

--------------------

That is the first chapter. Adelaide Kane (Tamara) on the side. She really is one of the prettiest actresses I've seen. Do Vote, Review and Comment!