Anikaa & The Mystery of the Painting

14. Meeting Jiyu Again

"O mom is here again," said Prashant.

"Anikaa we have to rush now. We are going to the grooms' house for lunch. I will speak to you later. And, you eat well, don't stress, take care and call me. Bye."

"Bye KOOCHI," said Prashant mockingly, before disconnecting.

Anikaa stared at the phone longingly. Maybe she should have gone to Canada for the wedding? But, her subconscious voiced out- And miss all this for a boring wedding? Not a chance. She connected her phone with the charger, putting it on the side table and switched off her bedside lamp. The moonlight coming through the door of the balcony fell on her bed. She silently stared at the dark clouds shrouding the sky, from her bed. Was she scared? No. She was only scared of deep waters coz she can't swim and towering heights (sometimes). There were times when she dreamt of getting drowned in deep blue waters and falling from a height. Both extremes, her subconscious censured. But, no she was not scared of this mystery, assured Anikaa and drifted to sleep.

Next morning, Anikaa woke up to mild light filtering through the balcony door. It was six in the morning and the sky was turning into different hues of blue-and red. She clambered out of the bed and called Bahadur on intercom- "Yeah...Good morning Bahadur. A strong cup of spice tea, please," she said.

After doing her morning chores, she went to the balcony where on one side the empty bottle of turpentine and easel was lying and on another side her painting was placed on the second easel. There was still a whiff of turpentine in the air or maybe it was just in her nose. She eased on the chair and started working on her painting.

As the sun advanced in the sky, birds of all kinds sang their morning wishes in their unique voices. It was one of the reasons she bought house in Munnar, to be away from the maddening noise and crowd of steel cities. She wanted her morning to be filled with fresh breeze rather than polluted or air- conditioned air, she wanted to hear those birds singing melodiously in the morning rather than listening to cars and buses honking, she wanted to have her own garden for jogging rather than staying on twentieth floor of luxury apartments and walking to public parks.

"Mam, can I come in?" asked Bahadur knocking on the door which was ajar.

"Come in" replied Anikaa and Bahadur stepped in holding a large tray with a silver teapot, cup, spoon and ginger biscuits. He poured tea in the cup and placed it on the table, ensuring not to disturb Anikaa and silently left the room.

Anikaa gazed at the sketch of her painting- 'The Himalayan beauty' laden with golden snow, the Himalayan range which holds the highest peaks of the earth and who is the source of our most sacred river- Ganges. The Himalayas whose serene beauty and mystical habitat has allured trekkers, scientists and ascetics. The Himalayas which is speculated by Jiyu to be the home of Himkhasa tribe. As the thought crossed her mind, she put the brush down; memories of last night came crashing to her mind. It was time to meet Jiyu again!

After shower, when Anikaa reached downstairs in the living room, Rachel was not there and Bahadur was animatedly speaking to the cook, explaining the breakfast menu to him. Anikaa beckoned him.

"Bahadur get me the scooty. I am going out for a quick drive and will be back in an hour," said Anikaa in a low voice.

Bahadur seemed very pleased that today Anikaa had trusted him and told him in advance about her little escapade. At least he will be in a position to answer Rachel or Shireen (if she calls). He rushed outside fervently, got the scooty from the garage, checked it and handed the keys to Anikaa.

After half an hour of driving through the curvy hills, Anikaa reached the valley of flowers. She parked her scooty on one side of the road and trudged down the slope that connected the road with the valley, carefully avoiding the slippery muddy path. The valley was just the same except being greener and more colourful with flowers. It seemed that someone had showered the whole valley with dew.