The Lost Thread

The First Meeting

Maya and Dhruv should have never met. Maya was in a group of 10, both boys and girls, working for an NGO. Dhruv was part of a trekking group travelling to the remote lakes on top of the mountains. The only reason their paths crossed was that, well there was just one path, leading up and down the mountains. Dhruv team was taking a tea-break at a roadside shack when Maya and her friend Dipak arrived there. 

It was 10 in the morning. Maya and Dipak had trekked up a muddy road to reach the market town. The had been out since 5:00 in the morning, visiting three villages, gathering data about child vaccines and the other issues related to the high child mortality rates in the surrounding area. Both of them were dead tired. They were supposed to meet the rest of their team uptown, but Maya couldn't walk one more step. So they decided to rest.

The took the only bench that was free. Immediately they became aware of the rich occupants. Firstly, they all reeked of imported perfume. Their expensive gears and clothes set them apart from the rest of the pilgrims who frequent these paths. Maya suddenly became conscious of her sweat drenched clothes and red face. She decided to ignore them.

The trouble with ignoring others is that she will have Dipak's whole attention. This guy was nothing if not boring. Since morning he has been talking non-stop, mostly about people they know. Maya felt more tired of his incessant chatter than the difficult trek uphill. It's unimaginable how this guys go on and on. Maya tried to concentrate on the scenery.

The morning clear sky is being replaced by the haze that usually comes with sunshine. She could still make out the snowy peaks. The green mountains in the distance were glowing like jewels. Maya felt incredibly lucky to be here. Suddenly she became aware of a gaze. It's difficult to explain how she feels a gaze, but ever since the world has noticed how beautiful she is, she has learnt to feel a gaze. This time the appraisal was so intense that she could literally feel it travel down from her face, to her breast and slowly travelling back again.

Maya turned an indignant glance around and immediately located the culprit. And she forgot to breathe. 

He was not handsome, not in a traditional way. He was dark, with dark hair and a straight nose. His face was lean and angular. He had a well-muscled body, but not too bulky. Even when he was sitting, it was obvious that he was tall, very tall. But what was most captivating was his eyes. They were twin holes, that seem to suck her in. Maya fazed out for a moment. Without her knowledge she kept drowning. Somewhere down in her mind, propriety was telling her to break the gaze, but the pull was too strong. It was like a battle of wills, which Maya was losing hopelessly.

Someone stepping between them. One of his friends leaned in to reach for the sugar on the table, and Maya closed her eyes in relief. She sucked a quick breath and looked out of the window. Suddenly all the noises of the shack came back to her. She could again hear Dipak's voice going on about how inhospitable this place is, how long its taking for the order to come and so on. Maya smiled shakily and made a non-committal reply. Inside she was quaking. How could she stare at a man so shamelessly?  What was she thinking? 

Fortunately their order arrived and shook her out of her thoughts. The puri-sabji and the chai smelled delicious. For once, Dipak was quiet. They both started to eat. Maya had to use all her self-control not to glance up. But from time-to-time she kept feeling the pull. 

Dhruv's P.O.V.

He had taken a break from business to take this two month-long trip to the Himalayas. He was physically and mentally exhausted. He had been in the business since his teens. He had completed his studies while taking care of business. And it had been back-breaking work for the last 7 years. The business had its challenges. Along with that, the social life was equally taxing. For the past couple of year, the daughters of mutual acquaintances of his parents were starting to make their interest too obvious. Somehow, it was becoming imperative that he chose a wife. But he had no time for silly women. All he wanted to do was bed them and say goodbye. He had a steady supply of them, but even meaningless sex had lost its appeal. Reality is that he had never felt the need for a girl emotionally. So now he had a big emotional void in his life. Something that has been bothering him for sometime now. So, he took a break. He did a bit of trekking every year. But this year it was longer. A couple of months of me-time.

They were on the seventh day of their trek. They were going to spend a few days acclimatising and then head up. Right now they are in a market-town tea stall, just relaxing and chilling out. And that's when he saw her. She was sitting with a boy, staring out of the window. His first impression was dismissive. A girl covered in sweat, in dirty-wrinkled clothes and hair-plastered all over her face. He was about to look away when a ray of sun caught her face. Dhruv felt the first stirring of attraction in his heart. The hair looked like curtains of coiled silk. Her face glowed like a china-vase. The expression fleeting across her beautiful face was like ripples on a pond. What was she thinking, he wondered. He could see flashes of irritation pass through her face, before a calm settled in, like a flower coming to full-bloom. Dhruv leaned back in his chair and continued his exploration further. His glance dipped down, down her lips, her smooth throat, down to her luscious breasts, the shaped neither disguised nor diminished by her dupatta. For the first time in his life, Dhruv wondered which sadist had discovered a dupatta. The rest of her was hidden under the table. Dhruv traced his glance up her body only to discover her beautiful eyes trained on him.

That's when he felt the first, unmistakable kick of attraction. The attraction was thick enough to give him a jolt. He could feel his manhood wake up. He was surprised at how fast this girl had managed to arouse him. But it was not just arousal that jolted him, it was the pull he felt towards her. Her eyes had an innocence that was rare in his circle. He did not think anyone had looked at him with so much undisguised awe and admiration. She could not hide the effect he had on her. He felt tremendous satisfaction at the thought. Another conquest, one that he might be interested to take further. 

But Krish had to ruin the moment. The idiot had to lean in and break his contact with her. When he straighten, the girl was staring out. He glared at Krish. The girl did not look back at him again, giving her full attention to the fool in front of him. Who was he? Her boyfriend? Was she a local?

.