What the hell!" Exclaimed Mohit, as he stepped out of the car and looked at the little snowflakes collecting on his shoulder.
"Looks like dandruff to me," replied Arjun. "I told you, you should bathe and come."
"Haha, so funny," Mohit said sarcastically.
Amrita intervened, "Let's just hope this snowfall does not take a heavier turn for the worse before we are out of this unknown place."
Mohit calmed down. The three decided it was best to first go to the place where Arjun was to have his meeting and from there on to get the directions for the bakery.
They drove through a barely formed road. Although it was difficult to navigate, Amrita could appreciate the place had an untouched beauty to it, which was quite breath-taking. Suddenly she became a little sad that all this might go because of Arjun's urbanisation project. Tourists could be brutal in spoiling the sanctity of a place. Arjun pulled over at a government building where a stout and short middle-aged man joined them in the car.
They made their way through a winding road up a hill overlooking the whole village of Krishi. The hill was simply called Krishi Hill.
Mohit was feeling queasy when Mr Patel had mercy on him and announced they had reached their destination. "Thank heavens!" Mohit exclaimed as he got out of the car, only to be surprised. "Amrita, come here, look you can see the whole village and more from this hill."
"You can! It's spectacular," Amrita replied excitedly.
It had started to snow a little more heavily. Mr Patel came over to them and said to Arjun, "Mr Singhal, let's continue our talk inside the rest house, the snow has gotten heavier." The three readily obliged.
It was a cosy little place with a small living room, one bedroom and a kitchenette. The living room had a big fireplace. The house was built just overlooking the valley. As Arjun and Mr Patel sat down on two sofas discussing their business, Mohit went over to the window with Amrita and exclaimed, "This place is giving me the creeps, what if you are sleeping in bed one day and the next morning you find yourself at the bottom of the valley with the rest of the house?"
Amrita replied, "You know, Mohit, I think you should learn to get over your fear of heights. You should start driving on hills. You are a good enough driver on plains. Moreover, houses like this have been standing strong for more than fifty years."
Mohit became thoughtful, pondering over her words. They came to sit with Arjun, as Mr Patel went to prepare some tea for all of them. Mohit asked Arjun, "Dude, what are we doing here on this barely populated mountain?"
Arjun took his time, then said, addressing both Amrita and Mohit, "I am buying this hill."
Amrita looked at Arjun as if he suddenly had horns growing out of his head and Mohit laughed, "I am sorry, I thought you said you are buying this hill."
He continued, "Yes. You see, Abhi and myself both believe it's a good idea. This village is in desperate need of development and we want to open a new hotel, a new tourist hill destination really. We have the government's support with us on this."
Meanwhile, Mr Patel brought them all tea and biscuits." Is this house yours Mr Patel?" Amrita asked.
"No, no, this is just a government guest house. Anyone can rent it. There are some other rooms a little high up the Krishi hill, along with a few shops, some daily need shops, grocers and a bakery. We have been trying to get the village to attract some tourists to increase the quality of life of the residents, and now Mr Singhal is here to help us." He looked towards Arjun with a welcoming expression.
Amrita's attention caught a particular word, "A bakery you say, Mr Patel, are there other bakeries in Krishi too?"
Mr Patel answered, "No, no, just the one. It is a small place run by an old lady, Mrs Pawan Kumar. Although it's about to close soon, due to lack of business. She has run it for five years now against odds as her husband is a government employee here for the time being."
Amrita became very excited and tried not to show it, "Will it be open now?"
Mr Patel nodded in affirmation and said, "She makes the most delicious..."
Amrita cut him off in her excitement, "Chocolate pastries!"
Mr Patel nodded again in approval.
Arjun looked over at Amrita's animated face, "Have you been here before Amrita?"
Amrita looked at him and explained to all of them how Mrs Pawan had visited her bakery last summer and gave her a sample of her chocolate pastry. Amrita had tasted it and it was the best pastry she had ever had. She had then asked for the recipe. Mrs Pawan told her that it was a secret but she would reveal it to Amrita if she would come to her bakery high up in the hills in the village of Krishi. There had never been a chance to do so before now.
"Interesting," said Arjun.
"I want to have another look at the land we are to buy before finalising the deal. Let's get there now Mr Patel. Amrita, you can also come along and visit the bakery. I believe we are done here."
All of them got up, reluctantly leaving the toasty, warm cottage behind.