Second Chance (Vol.1) Squandered

83: In a Holy Spot!

Adi stared at the bottom of the pool.

The flooring was very colourful and had a beautiful pattern; he could not recollect where he had seen it before. He looked up at an exact replica 2 storeys above on the stained glass in the skylight. It created a wierd effect like each was reflection of other.

The bad news that had got him brooding to the pool and staring into space was that Vikram had been spot on about the turtles. Good news was Noor had assured Adi that it made no difference to her. It was his word against Vikram's; she was keeping away from Vikram; playing it safe. Noor could be sensible. Oh Wow!

The 5 army guys had intended to visit the lake anyways; some pact they had made with Raghav on some mission together. Adi wondered if it was the one that had ended his army-career. One of the guys belonged to a village near the lake. But they had welcomed them with more the merrier cheer. They were also happy to reschedule their visit to lets-go-now. The pool became the starting point of the expedition as more guys joined them.

Rishi excused himself. Even guys with Paris Playboy reputation had a lot of catching up to do at work after a long absence. Vikram had declined their invitation; his enthusiasm had turned turtle seeing the crowd Noor had gathered.

Clu suddenly shot out of nowhere and pushed Adi. But the collective gasp of the people around gave her away before she hit him. Adi almost lost his footing and toppled into the pool but didn't. Then he chased Clu, caught her, picked her up, swung her and almost tossed her into the pool but didn't. Then it hit him. He had seen that design (on the bottom of the pool and skylight) on Clu or Flu's laptop. One of them must have designed it for Rishi. After all Clu and Rishis friendship went back years yet...

Arshad watched their antics and thanked his stars that Clu hadn't pushed him in. She had casually asked him if he liked to swim and he had given her the impression that he knew not how to swim. But Arshad had accepted her invite to the turtle viewing as Zoya appeared to be interested.

Adi drove the girls to the lake in his SUV following the other bikers heading to the spot; noisiest ride Zoya had ever been on; playing dumb-chardes, a game that defied its name in noise-factor!

Also most awkward was sitting next to Aditya; his presence now made her feel... what was this feeling? And why did she keep sneaking looks at him? Close up Adi looked terrible; exhausted as if he hadnt slept for days.

Her fingers had brushed against his; both had wished to give the other benefit of the AC on the extra hot afternoon. He won; both the vents were directed at her.

Later after the vehicle cooled again their fingers brushed; she had shivered in the chill and his hand had shot at the vent just as she had reached out.

Arjun and Arshad rode pillion with the other bikers; a terrible ride in terrible heat.

The lake was actually a large temple tank; a mix of natural and man-made waterbody; with the sun's glare reflecting off its surface with a vengeance. Its many exposed steps showing that it wasn't holding water anywhere near its full capacity. Was that good or bad for turtle spotting!

But first as required by local tradition, even before entering the temple, they went to seek blessings of a miracle stone. It had been a steep climb and everyone crashed at the top of the hillock. The heat was getting unbearable.

Noor looked at the mammoth shapeless stone and got caught in its lore. She was  fascinated by the countless weathered lines some ancient hand may have cut into the now eroded rock . Legend had it that a pure heart had sculpted the rock and only a pure heart could see the Gods in the stone and boons were granted only to those who could.