Love knocks again - Completed

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

They traveled an hour away from the city after only making one stop to collect their dinner takeaway. The place they arrived at was not exactly a cliff, but as well be called that because of its elevated position from the rest of the city and the chill breeze hiding and seeking from between the branches of numerous tree planted on the sides.

Annika felt a calm settle inside from being this exposed to nature. Under the starry sky, with lights of the city visible enough to illuminate the place, wind whispering in the ears and away from noise of the city, one is bound to feel one with nature. Shivay wasn't spared by the magic either. The stiffness he held throughout driving was lost and he was visibly relaxed.

"We should have bought a mat." Annika heard Shivay mumble pushing God knows what away from the ground by kicking front and back.

Annika without caution sat cross legged on the grassy ground. Lifting her head up at Shivay, she smiled brightly. Shivay chuckled shrugging his shoulder, before he sat beside Annika.

Their conversation didn't start way until they were half way through their dinner from takeout boxes. Annika was the one initiated it and all she wanted to know was that if he had ever count stars.

"Yes." Shivay answered. "Every time, I start after the number I ended with last time."

"Really!" Annika looked at him. "How far are you now?"

"3867."

"Wow! That's pretty accurate."

"It hasn't been that long since I last counted from the same place." Shivay's voice held an edge of melancholy. Annika understood that it was not a mere spot that he liked to hang out, but held a story to itself. Knowing Shivay, Annika was not sure if the story was a happy memory or sad or both.

"Let's play a game, shall we?" Annika pushed the empty boxes from between them and turned herself from facing the city to face him. Shivay followed suit and now they were face front of each other with only their phone and abandoned box of Brownies between them.

"It is called two truth and a lie. It goes like..."

"I know." Shivay said before she could explain the ruled.

"Great! We have known each other for a while now. So, this mustn't be hard to guess."

"I am game. Do you want to go first?"

Annika nodded her head and didn't waste time before she gave him the choices.

"First, I am scared of spiders. Two, I ... am a trained bharatanatyam dancer. And, three, I was a smoker."

"Well, you can be scared of spiders." Shivay's lips ticked in the side. "I remember how play ninja fights every time you dust the house."

Annika narrowed her eyes at him in reprimand fashion making him chuckle.

Shivay pressed his lips together and looked at Annika intently humming inaudibly.

"You look like a dancer type, Annika." He nodded. "Your eyes are way too expressive."

"Why, thank you." Annika lifted her eyebrows and eyes in comic fashion as if to prove her point.

"That brings us to the third option which I bet is a lie."

Shivay looked pleased with himself as he was sure that he got everything right.

"Did I win or did I win?" he lifted his eyebrows.

Annika scrunched his nose and nodded an apologetic no.

"What?" Shivay was surprised.

"Yes, I am scared of spiders. No, I have not learned any form of classical dance. However, I have danced a lot in my school cultural program. So, " Annika smiled embarrassed. "I did smoke. For few months, when I was in road with Anurag for his music gigs, I used to smoke until I conceived, of course."