The Replacement

Chapter 23: A Walk To Remember

The lake was a misnomer. It was really a large - ish pond. The path was a meandering walkway through the orchard. Unfortunately, it was the wrong time of the year, so none of the fruiting trees had any produce.

"We'll come back when the trees are laden, and we'll have a fruit picking competition", Arnav declared.

"You're on!", Khushi accepted happily. Both of them conveniently forgot that she was not supposed to be around after a few more weeks.

The kids skipped around the adults, who walked behind slowly, chatting about the grounds and the experiences they had with farms and animals. Khushi had Arnav in splits with her retelling of the time she tried to milk a cow. Arnav shared that he'd not fared any better when he'd tried to collect eggs from chickens.

Fifteen minutes later, they reached the "lake". It had rained substantially just three weeks ago, so there was enough water in the lake to make it appear beautiful and peaceful. It was shaded by huge trees on the edges, with lots of birds chirping and flitting about. Flowers appeared randomly along the bank, and Arnav mentioned that Dadi and Chachi would drop flowering seeds whenever they came over. Some of them took, and now there were little clumps of pretty flowers along the banks of the river, attracting bees and butterflies.

It was not the prettiest garden or lake that Khushi had seen, but there was something about it that appealed to her. It felt fresh, clean, completely untouched. Allowed to grow and survive on its own, and it had flourished. She felt a moment's disquiet, like she was intruding. Then a bee buzzed past her ear, pushing her out of her thoughts, and she smiled delightedly at the sights around her.

"I like it here. It feels.... untouched", Arnav said quietly.

Khushi smiled softly, hearing her thoughts delivered in his voice, "Hmmmm. Like I'm a guest here. A temporary visitor?"

Arnav smiled back at her in a moment of camaraderie. Their eyes met. A precious moment of connection. Things spoken without having been said. A thin filament joining two like minds together.

"Mamu, can we make the boats now?", Aarya's voice broke through their daze.

They both looked away from each other, embarrassed and slightly off-balance.

What just happened here? Khushi was in parts shocked and uneasy. Her heartbeat had elevated and she felt dizzy, but in a good way. The birds seemed to be chirping louder and the bees buzzing higher. Damn! I am attracted to Arnav. This version of him anyway. When he's not trying to be rude or standoffish, he's actually amazing company. Interesting, articulate and sneakily funny. She dared a quick glance at him, and blood rushed to her cheeks as she saw him talking to Aarya, smiling and teasing. He could be so charming when he wanted to. Except with her, he insisted on being the tyrant that everyone thought ASR to be. It would be so nice if he smiled and teased her the same way he did Anjali or Payal. Khushi sighed! Forget it, Khushi! Why ask for the stars, when even the moon is likely not in your grasp! Khushi admonished herself. She shook off her mood and looked around for Hrishi. It was time to get the paper boats going.

Khushi and Hrishi moved a few feet away from Arnav and Aarya, "in case they copy our designs", Hrishi exclaimed, drawing exclamations and indignant looks from the competitors.

Khushi showed Hrishi how to make the boats, and they spent 15 minutes making up a large armada.

Arnav and Aarya finished at about the same time, and then they walked over to the edge of the lake.

"Before we start, we need to set some rules", Arnav declared.

"Ok, what are the rules?"

"We start from this reed over here", Arnav gestured, "and the finish line would be that tree over there. We get as many boats as we want to launch, but it has to be an equal number"