The Honeybee Conspiracy

Part 5

CHAPTER 3

Shyam's guests arrived in time for lunch. He was his usual self, dressed in a pair of Jeans and a red Polo T-shirt, escorted them to their rooms, completed their check-in formalities, took them for a trek in the evening followed by a bonfire.

His guest was an Income Tax Commissioner from Hyderabad, Mr.Rajinder Kumar, his wife, and two kids. They fell in love with the place and its surroundings. Spread over 25 acres with the reserve forest area on three sides and a huge bungalow right in the middle with four spacious rooms and a large open verandah overlooking the mist-covered mountains, this was absolute wilderness away from the pollution and noise and no mobile networks.

"Basically, you are in the hands of the Almighty ", is what Shyam used to say to his guests during dinner.

The following morning, after another trekthrough the steep wooded mountains combined with sightings of Sambar Deers, Sloth Bears and a Spotted Leopard, Rajinder and his family had a wholesome breakfast of homemade hot puris with aloo sabzi, thanked Shyam for giving them such a wonderful experience and hospitality, Rajinder Kumar promised they would keep in touch.

That evening, after his staff had left for the day, Shyam sat down on his easy chair, with a glass of Old Monk rum in hand, gazed up at the beautiful clear sky with the stars, millions of them, looking down upon him, his Labrador dogs, Tessy and Tyson resting near his feet.

He was immersed in his own thoughtswhen his phone rang. He picked it up, smiled, his childhood friend Anoop was on the line. The call lasted fifteen minutes, most of it was an outpouring of Anoop's miserable life as an Executive Director of the third-largest solar company in India.

He poured himself another drink, smiled to himself and looked at the beautiful stars above him and wondered how lucky he was compared to all his friends. Though he was just a Resort Manager with a meager salary, he was indeed living his life. At 43, single again and with no intention of getting married, life could never be so good to him, Shyam thought. His thoughts went on to his kids and by the time he finished the bottle, he was fast asleep on the chair with a million stars gazing down.