Chapter - 8: Dream on.

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Kaira's POV:

Letting my bag slide to the ground I run as fast as my legs could and stop in front of Gaj. His eyes are twinkling with happiness which sure reflects mine. With a broad smile, I step forward petting his trunk lovingly.

I turn to look at Sidharth who is looking at us with mixed expressions I couldn't point.

"Look I've brought someone with me here to meet you. Sidharth Gaj, Gaj Sidharth." I introduced smiling.

Sidharth comes forward to stand beside me and Gaj extends his trunk in form of a handshake which my fiancé does but not before mocking his eyebrows at me, in return, I shrugged at my Gaj's manners.

He was too young when we met. Naturally I taught him a thing or two.

Gaj trumpets again and bends on the ground, getting on his back I gesture Sidharth to follow which he hesitantly does.

When we were set I pat Gaj's head gesturing to move. He gets up making his way in a very familiar direction.

I nudged Sidharth behind me as I say "Gaj is only a kid, you know? I was lucky to see him on the first day, most memorable day..."

As soon as I completed narrating him about that day, we reached where we were supposed to.

I see around to get a better view of my hand made temporary shed still intact and in a far-left, I could see the water shinning by the reflection of the sun overhead. We get off Gaj's back and make our way in the shed. We hear more trumpets from the riverside as Gaj's family and friends have their time in the water.

I gather the hay together to make a better sitting. Literally dumping my bags down, I stretch.

Finally at peace!

I hear Sidharth chuckle softly and when I look at him he shakes his head at my childishness. I pass a equally childish smile.

"You can have a seat you know, I don't charge money."

"Yeah, of course." he rolls his eyes, followed my lead and dumped his bags beside mine.

"Okay, I'm hungry what do you have with you?" I say sitting down and getting out the tiffin I made in a hurry.

Gaj immediately moves to his corner and with his trunk he pulls off the big banana leaves revealing a mass amount of fruits collected.

"Wow, impressive Gaja! Won't you give me some?"

He is quick to collect a few handfuls— um, trunkful— and dump them in my lap, which he undoubtedly does being excited like a child he is.

"And what about me? I don't get to taste those wonderful fruits you collected Gaj?" Sidharth fakes hurt. Gaj simply gestures at the fruits in my hand.

"He probably just wants us to share these. A selfish little child he is!" I laugh as I pass him an apple eating another.

After the apple, we opened our lunch boxes and dug in, sharing with each other. Though I was tempted to have more of his 'quick fried rice' as he puts it, I kept to my vermicelli.

"So what is this place?" He asks as he keeps his half-eaten box away into the bag.

I smile as I keep my lunch box away and turn to him "Aristan animal palace?"

He freezes and slowly meets my eyes "Wasn't that shut down a few years ago."

"It did. It was taken under the National Animal Protection Program Committee as the manager got involved in illegal services." I explain.

"I read that in newspapers. Then how is it in this good condition without city air coming in?"

I smiled proudly "My brother is to be blamed. Arav Bhai got in contract with the chief of the Committee and renovated it in such a way. From outside it looks like doom which everybody knows as a greenhouse but inside here all greenery and grasslands, an imitation of their place and a better environment to animals. It has its own airing system but sunlight and water come naturally. You see that stream? It's actually artificial and connected to the lake we came from. I did help him a little while planning and checking on its progress though, I was pretty excited."

He nodded impressed as he looked around "Why did we come through there? Shouldn't be here some other entrance?" He asks as he realized.

"Adventure!" I smirked "Though it does has a proper entrance, I like adventure and all that helps me to refresh. When I come, bhai asks me to give a report on thing's functioning, so not really a total holiday but it's fun anyway. Usually I'm accompanied by milkshake and sometimes Ritz, sometimes both. We—"

"Hold on. Who?"

My eyes snapped to his startled "Oh, I didn't tell you? Milkshake is my best friend, so is Ritz. We are a group of three as best friends, Milkshake, Ritz, and I. Naturally both are boys and second important in my life after Arav Bhai."

"Oh."

I started counting on my fingers as I named "I swear they are worst and best any person could ever get as friends. Rebellious, Idiots, arrogant, snappy, childish, fun, extremely caring and oh possessive."

He raised his eyebrows at me as I named their characteristics, I simply shrugged. We changed subjects and discussed our opinions on a lot of different topics be it professional, personal, around the world and all.

Discussions are so naturally flowing with him. Is it him or just the way we are because we don't know each other that well?

Gaj had left us alone a while ago to go to his group by the river. I smiled as I listened to Sidharth telling me about his first project he completed a couple of years back, a background full of the faint sounds of the surroundings.

He really meant when he said work is his passion.

"Let's go, I'll show you around." I suggest Sidharth once he is done telling his experiences. He nodded excitedly.

Getting up, I lead the way around the dome, telling him stories of the times it was in process, the mechanism of a few installations and other fun topics. At last, we were climbing up the rocks again towards the stream flowing, where Gaj is already in showering himself with his friends. We wait at the edge watching them, I smile.

I feel something wiggle under my toes and jump instantly which results in me slipping in the mud.

Heck! What was that?

"Geez, you are clumsy." I hear Sidharth say as he holds me by my forearms once again saving me.

I smile up at him biting back a sarcastic comment. Gaj splashes water on us, probably to separate us from our close skin contact.

A smirk appears on my face as I move into the water and start splashing it on Gaj, he does the same and we have a fierce water battle which is soon joined in by his friends surrounding us.

Fun times. Fun times.

Suddenly out of nowhere, I feel myself lift up. With one tug under my knees and other at my back, I'm lifted in the arms of my fiancé.

I froze.

Looking up I see Sidharth has a smirk spreading on his lips as he takes me much deeper into the water. I simply wrap my arms around his neck, trying to be in place.

Damn, he is strong.

'Or he has quite practiced with lifting girls like this.' My conscience suggested.

Like milkshake said? Could it be true?

'Of course, it can be dumbo! Why wouldn't he be whoring around before he met you? It's not like you were there in his life to reason him to stop, neither it is your place to judge on what he was doing before. It wasn't like he was going to wait for you to come in his life that he would have not explored around.' It commented again.

Let's see what he has to say for it before jumping to conclusions like that, shall we?

"You seem quite experienced, how many times?" I pur and the smirk on his face is washed away like the tide taking back sand along.

Damn, how right was milkshake about it?

I tsked "Sorry, the wrong question, how long? 15th year?" I mocked an eyebrow in question.

He chucked "17th year."

So milkshake was right! Not totally though!

I fake gasp "Nothing in school!? Damn I gotta scold milkshake."

"Milkshake? Why?"

"He categorized you the same as him." I inform and he laughs shaking me in the process.

"You seem to have quite experience as well." He tugs me closer "How many?"

I do seem to have experience?

"Except my best friends.... zero." I conclude "And please, my best friends are so unpredictable that whenever they lift me up I never know when they throw me."

His smirk is back as he halts "Like this?" he voices before he dumps me like a sack of potatoes in the water.

"The hell! I thought I could meet you up with them, now not a chance!" I snap as I spurt out to the surface.

"Oh yeah you will." he notes after he is done laughing his ass out.

I get up with a start and he stumbles back a step, probably surprised. I smirk as I take a few steps towards him closing the distance between us and splash! He falls on his back as I give a push at his abdomen.

The smile I had for seeing him surprised is washed away quick enough as I see a naughty tug up his lips as he swims towards me swiftly.

His lips.... shit, I'm in deep shit.

If I thought his lips cannot curve any sexier than his smiles and smirks... I had severely underestimated. This one was.... shit, get it out of your mind Kaira before you go in deeper!

'And heck! Run will you!? He is coming for revenge!' My conscience snapped and it was enough for me to jump in action.

"Oh no!" I squealed, diving back into the water trying to swim away from his intentions.

But damn, he was faster! With a wrap around my waist, he pulled me back so my back collided with his very bare and wet chest and took a total 180-degree turn. I assumed it's towards Gaj because when I'm made to turn I hear his trumpet and put my palms over my face.

Yet, I didn't feel his splash, none of it at all! Just a few droplets. Opening my eyes I see Sidharth's arm guarding my head against Gaj's splash.

It's then I take notice of our position. His right arm draped around waist keeping me against him, his chest heaving which causes it to brush against my exposed skin, while his other hand falls to his sides which was guarding my head a few seconds ago.

My heart raced as I took in our position. His skin was wet and cold, yet it was burning against mine, reminding me of its existence. His warm breath fanned the damp skin of my neck trailing down my bare side shoulders. An unknown shiver went down my spine at that contact of his exhale.

He loosens his grip and I move half a foot away to face him.

"I don't believe this! This is so not fair!" I dramatize and swim back to the shore, hearing Sidharth chuckle behind me.

I don't even look back when he calls out and go to the tip of waterfall cliff to sit with my legs dangling, I pull out my hair from its ponytail and tried to squeeze out as much water as I could.

It wasn't long when he approaches me and copies my position.

"Come on, Kaira, don't ignore me like this." he pleads and bumps his shoulder with mine and you know me, I dramatized to fall in the waterfall.

I hear nothing, see nothing, feel nothing except the adrenaline rush through my veins and the water surrounding.

Once again I spurt to the surface of the small pond only to cover my face again for Sidharth jumped right beside me.

I laughed as he squealed like a girl at the frog burping on the rock.

"You scared me! Are you okay!? Where does it hurt?" he questions as soon as he stables himself.

"Relax" I pat him on his shoulder "It was a trick. I know what I'm doing when and where, yeah? Relax." I coax him as I guide him out of the pond.

"You..!" he stomped and marched through the path I took him this morning.

Was he really that worried for me?

'And you simply had to ruin the moment with your tricks! See how he is mad! Go and apologize!'

"Sidharth...! Hey! Listen! Sidharth...! I'm sorry to scare you like that! I won't do that... aga... aaaachoo!" I ended up sneezing as I follow him apologizing.

Geez, why do I even try? He didn't even slow down his pace. OK Kaira, you don't have any...

'Sheesh! At least lookup and walk! Do you always have bump to some tree?'

So yeah, my conscience was scolding because I one again successfully slammed my head against some tree part.

Looking up I see, not a tree but come face to face with my fiancé.

He runs a palm through his dark wet hair while I ogled for two seconds and looked away before he caught me staring.

"You took your time. Now go and change before you catch a severe cold." He has his arms crossed against his chest as he hands me a towel.

I simply tug at the towel smiling up at him and then I walk into the shed while he goes towards the stream.

I quickly strip out of my clothes and put on a pair of fresh dry ones. Wrapping the towel around my head I go to call my fiance.

●●●●

"What are you doing?" I ask when I see him getting a book and pencil out of his bag.

He looks up and gives me a smile "Nothing much, thinking to do some sketching, what say?"

"Great! Carry on, do show me when it's done. I'll go and check up on Gaj and others." I say and walk out of the shed to give him space.

In this way at least I'll get my thoughts under control. Why did he have to have that type of effect on me?

I walk through the grasslands and trees checking up on all animals, to report my brother. While coming back from my rounds after almost half an hour I bring back broken stems and branches.

Having nothing to do I sit opposite to Sidharth trying to peek into his book in which he is scribbling viciously.

After almost 2 mins I chuck the idea of peeking, instead I pulled out my phone and search for something, anything to distract me from distracting my mind to my fiancé.

In my search for something, I had opened my phone's camera, smiling I clicked snaps of our shed then finally somehow it landed on my distracting fiancée scribbling in his notebook

I chewed on my lower lip as I looked at the screen where he was unaware of the camera capturing his moments, I didn't think for another second when I tapped on capture.

Luckily for my sanity, he had put on a black T-shirt when he changed. Yet, the T-shirt hardly left anything for imagination, especially for someone who had already seen what hid beneath.

Soon enough he was done scribbling as he lifts it up mumbling "Perfect."

"Show!" I demand crawling up to him and he tilts it for me to see.

My jaw dropped at the sight.

"Wow" was the only word I could whisper. It was the scenery of this place from where we entered. Damn! I never thought life without colors, only in black and white could be this beautiful as well.

"Do you sketch portraits as well?" I ask out of curiosity and he nods flipping a few pages back he reveals one which takes my breath away at the feel of the moment you get seeing this sketch.

It was of the time when Gaj and I were having a water battle before his friends joined. It was so real like you could literally see us play.

"I don't believe you!" I exclaim "No, I seriously don't "

He smiles cheekily "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Yes please, I don't think I have words." I say as he literally hands his notebook over to me and I look past his drawings.

There were many! Constellations were the one of those I liked, many different types of sceneries, moments one would die to discover, to live once, so perfect, so elegant. He stole a part of my heart with his talent at that moment.

'And just like this, part by part, he will be stealing your whole heart away making a big place within, you could do nothing to get him out if you ever wanted and you won't even realize because you would be giving it so happily.'

Shut up you!

I comment on every other I like and the smiles he gave me were worth feeding his ego so much.

We discussed our hobbies in arts for how long I lost track but when I look up at the sky, it reminds me to light up the campfire... yeah, that long.

●●●●


"So when did you get to know about the

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