The Forbidden Path

Chapter 20

She pulled the light cardigan over her head. For some unknown reasons, she generally felt cold lately. So she always carried a light weight cardigan everywhere she went. Even in Singapore, she went around in her light cardigans which generally made her friends and colleagues laugh at her. The hot and humid tropical weather didn't justify her need for the cardigan no matter how flimsy it was. And Delhi was a hot place so her mother had scolded her but she insisted on carrying it. Lately she was getting goosebumps, chills, weird dreams and she felt that her head was reeling. Quickly she dashed downstairs for the breakfast. It was packed with guests, mostly she assumed were there for treatment or business. Tourists generally preferred the other side of Delhi which was better and cleaner. Karol Bagh it seemed was an old city.

She looked at the dishes which were lined in two rows. One had puri, aloo and some south indian dosa and thali set. The other had toasts, salads, brown breads and lettuce and cheese for the sandwiches. The corner was occupied with a decanter for juice, coffee and tea pots and fruits just opposite to it. She strolled around picking the lids and smelling the aroma to check which would she like to eat. She finally picked two slices of brown breads, cheese and a few ham, lettuce and tomato for her sandwiches. She even picked a muffin as she had suddenly developed a sweet tooth for no reasons. She placed the plate in a table at the corner of the hall and took an another bowl and filled it with s few fruits and a glass with guava juice.

Quietly she nodded yes to the guy who asked her if she wanted an egg. " omelette please. Well done with mushroom and no cheese" She smiled at him. Nibbling the fruit, she scaled the room. She wasn't a very picky eater who infact didn't complain much but was not too conscious of what and how much she put into her mouth. When it came to her diet she was very careless. She generally missed lunch, dinner altogether and survived on an apple and sometimes she overate. She wasn't disciplined when it came to her eating habits. She looked around and studied the people who was rushing around. It surprised Racheal because she was never in a hurry.

She was a dreamer and a laid back woman who just floated around. Half the time, she floated around not knowing where she was headed. She thought of the man she had met more and more.

Last night she had dreamed a dream where she had a long talk with him. It was quite frightening as she was trying to argue more than talk. But gradually she had begun to open up with him. It felt strange because as soon as the day dawned, he seemed like a distant dream. He wasn't a reality but the tingling sensation on her brain was beginning to get worse and worse. It felt as if the all the receptors in her brain were getting active and she was sensing more than she usually did. She kept falling back into her subconscious state and was always talking to him. He was beginning to reciprocate to her questions and inquiries. She was having more frequent headaches. She needed a doctor she thought to herself.
Pushing her plate, she called her mother. She guessed that by now their breakfast was over as it was already quarter past 8am.