The Blazing Heiress

20|| Drunkenness of dusk

"Two souls are sometimes created together and in love before they're even born."

~F. Scott Fitzgerald

Three years ago~

The dusk curtained in a veil of tiny luminous stars, twinkling, cradling the moist veneer of the realm in their prongs of light and conquering the darkness. The two young men sharply turned into the lumbers, their feet digging into the sodden pasture as the tree tops hummed when a strong breeze embraced the landscape. Their eyes wandered around the woods, exiting the thick cluster of trees, finally sighting a steep, overhanging face of the earth.

"At least we are out of woodlands," Abhinav uttered before an inaudible sigh fled past his lips.

Viransh nodded a yes, hefting a long breath. "Hopefully, we'll be able to locate our car soon." He strode forward. Suddenly, his ears perked up, filling with the euphonious hymn of the running stream from nearby. It didn't take him long to concede they were closer to a waterfall. "Gotta descend this cliff to get out of here."

"And how are we going to get down?"

Viransh looked up at his friend, his lips stretching in an ungainly smile. "I don't know."

Abhinav gave as stern a look as he could manage, even though he knew his friend wouldn't be able to decipher his precise expression in the darkness. "As far as I remembered, we got stuck in this damn unpaved county for the past four hours, and we don't know when thunder strikes accompanied by a torrent of rainfall, compelling us to seek refuge for tonight. Yes, I love trekking in the countryside, I really do. But for god's sake, I'm tired, cold, hungry, and least interested in setting up a tent and gathering a bundle of firewoods to endure this freezing night."

Viransh sighed as he yanked the gray rucksack off his shoulder, depositing it on the ground. "I'm sorry that our hike plan fell apart. I shouldn't have planned a solo trek."

The other man rushed his hand through dark rumpled hair as his gaze caught the sheen of a tired, defeated look on his friend's countenance underneath the scintillating moon. "It's okay, Vir. Even though our plan didn't turn out to be good, I'm glad I experienced one of my best hikes with my buddy." He clapped Viransh's back, offering him a reassuring smile.

Viransh couldn't help but smile back. Their hike was enjoyable, except they rued choosing an unknown place this time.

The sun was hot and high in the blue sky when Abhinav and Viransh began their adventurous stroll this afternoon on the mountaintop. The trek was pretty smooth, with a trail dwelling with jungle patches in between, shrouded with trees, confining a lush green backdrop, a beautiful lake, and wildlife. Every bit of their trek was worth it until they reached the overwhelming way up and down slippery stairs that deviated them from the right path, leaving them stranded in the dense timberland.

Breaking out of the trance, Viransh ploughed his hands into his vest pocket, fetching out his cell phone and checking the signal range for the umpteenth time. Disappointedly, he tossed the gadget back when it couldn't locate the network. "Looks like luck is not on our side today."

The nippy gust blew Abhinav's hair as his eyes narrowed toward the edge of the sheer cliff. "Vir." His smooth voice grabbed his friend's attention, who arched his raven brow, implying to continue to which Abhinav jutted his chin out, gesturing to the cliff.

Viransh's stare followed his friend's gaze, and his lips repositioned into a hopeful smile. "Maybe that person can guide us the way out of this crag."

They hastened toward the person with a firm nod of Abhinav's head. A woman sat on the foot of the edge, staring at the sky, her hands on the rough flank, a gentle waft of the cool breeze blowing her long raven hair, and her body encased in a white frock swaying unusually.