The Roommate Therapy ✓

15 • Letting Go

I felt the same feeling of freedom, that I had the previous day. If anything it was far more intense today, the air feeling impossibly lighter against my bare skin.

"Whoo!" Vinay hollered, the blowing wind drowning out his voice.

"What the hell was that?"

Vinay's shoulders shook with laughter, "Try it yourself!"

"Of course not!" I exclaimed, "There are people around us. What will they think?"

"Who cares what they think. It's not like they know us." He shrugged, "Come on Akira, just shout at the top of our lungs like you're queen of the world."

"Umm...no." I rolled my eyes, "Because unlike you I'd like to preserve my dignity."

"That's fucking bullshit! Just admit the fact that you're scared."

"That's hardly true!" I said pulling my lips into a tight line.

"Well, prove it then." Vinay replied.

"Ahhh!" I shrieked like a dying banshee.

I burst out into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, before screaming again.

"Wasn't so hard, now was it?" Vinay flashed me his signature smirk through the rearview mirror.

I ignored him, savoring the feeling of euphoria that was setting in.

We rode for another half an hour, the urban landscape slowly transitioning into bare farmland and small towns lining the highway, before we stopped for breakfast at a roadside diner.

"The benne dosa you get here is to die for." Vinay said looking up from the small menu card.

"I'll just have one of those then." I nodded.

As if on cue, a young man with a napkin draped on his shoulder arrived at our table to take our order, and before long we had our food served.

"Oh my god! This is delicious." A satisfied moan tumbled off my lips as the warm butter on the dosa melted in my mouth, "Have you been here before?"

"Yes, my father used to stop the car for breakfast at this diner every time we drove to my grandparents' place," Vinay replied between bites, "And I never ordered anything other than the benne dosa."

"So we still haven't decided where we're going. Do you have something in mind at least now?" I asked curiously.

"Well, there's an old fort with a beautiful lake inside and it won't be very crowded today since it's a weekday. I was thinking we could go there, maybe trek around the surrounding hills." Vinay said, waiting intently for my response.

"Sure, I'm open to anything today." I replied with a lopsided smile.

"Well, finish fast then," Vinay clapped his hands together, a glint in his eyes, "There's so much to do!"

●○●

The day blew past in a blur, as we trekked across the lush green slopes of the Western Ghats, chasing misty clouds and eating snacks that we'd bought on the way.

Currently, we were sitting on the banks of a large rain filled pond with clear water jumping flat stones on the surface.

"Yes!" I punched the air victoriously, "It jumped five times. Did you freaking see that?!"

"I'm sure I can do way better than that." Vinay shrugged, taking his stance.

He curved his forearm back and strained his eyes on the pond before catapulting his stone forward in a fluid motion. I watched in anticipation as it jumped once, then a second time and then a third before sinking into the water.