Prologue
The image of a lady dressed in a dark red saree and a black blouse was partially reflected by the clear glass wall that overlooked other beautifully lit skyscrapers. She faced the glass wall and frequently checked her phone. It was 8 pm and there was still no sign of him. "Would be out with some hot chick or the other," She thought. Lately, it was becoming unbearable. "Come on ya, not now, I'm just starting to enjoy life," he had replied when she tried to discuss their marriage." That did it," she decided. "It was time to do something about it; or rather stop doing something," and a smile bloomed on her luscious red lips.
"Come on in, come for a cup of coffee," Laura said through her glossy red lips. The night was young and yellow garden lights gave a golden glow to Laura's modern villa with a glass balcony on the first floor. The handsome young man looked at the beautiful Laura who was unlocking the door. The top three buttons of her dark green silk blouse were unbuttoned. Her black business skirt was slightly strained at her back.
Chapter 1 – Horrible Hostel
Many years ago Tara was playing in the park with other children, around her age of sweet six. And she saw a kitten, small and cute but with one of its legs broken. "There were other kittens too. But all were taken by somebody or the other, even Rose took one," said one of her boyfriends.
She was at that age when you had a lot of boyfriends and girlfriends and it didn't make a difference. Your parents never told you not to go over to his house or that you could only play with her.
"And it's so cute," Rose was excitedly talking about the kitten she had adopted which was cute and healthy. "But look at this feller over here, nobody wants him because his leg is broken," Tara thought and after that, she couldn't just leave it there. Tara took the kitten home and had to wage a war against her parents so she could keep the kitten and nurse it back to full health with the help of a vet. And she felt happy doing that and she was glad that the cat is there to play with her, to give her attention, and to love her unconditionally...
Years passed and Tara grew up into a smart young college girl who stayed in the college hostel.
Heavy metal music penetrated Tara's room. Some of the hostellers in the room above her's were partying. Tara gave out a suppressed scream as she tried to cover her head with a pillow. "Stupid Idiots, it's already 12 'o clock! Won't sleep and won't let anyone else sleep either." As Tara had somehow managed to drift into the bliss of sleep again, she heard a loud knock at her room door. It was Miri, she wanted some A 4 papers. "I don't have," Tara quickly mumbled and tried to get back on her bed as fast as she could. When her head hit the bed she realized that it was going to be one long night as she was wide awake, but she failed to realize that it was a night that would change her life.
Tara was studying the fourth year of Bachelor in Pharmacy in the College of Pharmacy in the small town of Kottayam district in Kerala. She stayed in the college hostel. However, Tara basically considered the hostel to be the damned hell itself. Which, was mainly because of her stupid roommate Anna. Some great person once said, "people don't leave their hostels but left the people who stayed in them," and Tara felt, "it was so damn true." "Why did Anna have to bring all her friends from class into the room? When she was trying to take a nap or something? Tara often wondered angrily. It was horrible. Anna's friends ruined Tara's timetable, spoiled the room, made the place messy and dirty as opposed to organized and clean the way Tara wanted it. When Tara wasn't in the room they even used her bed. Once Tara found a half-eaten fried chicken leg under the pillow and had almost vomited and fainted at the sight of it. And another time Tara caught one of the girls trying on her dress that she had put on to dry. Tara was sick and tired of it all.
After twisting and turning on her bed for about an hour Tara looked at her phone. It showed 1:45 AM. She decided to give up. She switched on her laptop and searched for a movie to watch. As she was searching, the movie "Go Goa Gone" caught her eye. And it gave Tara an idea, "why don't I get away from this place?" She knew it was more to do with the journey compared to the destination. "Travel was something different it gave hope, excitement, escape. And I need all that, life was kinda dry here, nothing great happening," Tara thought.
From the next day onwards Tara started planning her Goa trip. Adrenaline soaked her veins and exhilarated her body and mind. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt excited about anything.
God hasn't given man the knowledge of the future and hence she didn't know the danger her Goa escapade would get her into... Blissful in ignorance she researched affordable places where she could stay for her 30 days during her Christmas break. She couldn't go home as her parents were going abroad to spend time with her sister who was pregnant, in the UK. And she vetoed the option to stay at her strict Uncle's place in Trivandrum and she thought she was destined to ruin her Christmas holidays in the hostel, that is until now. Her finger flicked through the keyboard of her silver apple laptop. Tara's glasses reflected the travel and hotel booking website on the laptop screen.
After coming to an estimate of how much the Goa trip would cost her. She thought about ways to raise the much-needed capital. She signed up for outdoor catering jobs and event coordination jobs on Saturdays and Sundays. She found a part-time job after class hours. She worked in the hot sun and traveled in the heavy rains, thirsty and dry, wet and cold, humiliated and praised, sad and happy; she found the capital that would fund her vision. She felt driven but at the same time felt she wasn't the one driving.
