Lost in the Mountains

This is inspired by a true story told to me by a villager I met during one of my travels when I inquired about an unlikely couple I met in his village. Please note it's a slow burn and the sex doesn't begin up until much later. I hope it is worth it for you in the end!

"Gaurav! Gaurav!" Ruhani cried as two men carried her.

She couldn't feel her body. She couldn't feel anything except pain. From her head to toe, it was just pain, both physical and mental.

Her hands dangled in the air as cold wind felt like fire against her open wounds. Her legs were in a very strong grip but the person holding her by the shoulders was losing a hold of her time and again.

There were loud whispers all around and some turned into unbearable cries. Amidst this terror and horror, Ruhani just had one thing on her mind—Gaurav, her fiancé, the love of her life for 7 years.

Ruhani's vision was so blurry that she couldn't even discern the faces of the people who were carrying her. She had no energy to ask them where Gaurav was or try to make sense of anything that happened.

Every time she shut her eyes, a flash of a painful memory would hurt her and then disappear. She couldn't see or remember anything, no matter how hard she tried.

"You are okay, beta! Everything will be okay!" She didn't know who spoke those words but they soothed her soul.

"Papa?" Her father had died 9 years ago. "Am I dead?"

"No beta! You are fine, you'll be home in no time!"

"Papa, I miss you!"

Ruhani knew it wasn't her father but in that state of shock and misery, that comforting voice meant a lot to her. It was as if a god had come down to earth to make her transition to the world of death easier. She didn't know where her home was but that voice totally felt like home to her.

"Gaurav!" She managed to whisper, hoping for a sound from the other end. But that godly voice went silent. The grip around her feet tightened and she could hear the person's heartbeat pound harder with a wave of guilt.

Something inside her broke then. She was barely keeping alive but this deafening silence made her lose all her will to survive. She collapsed! A blinding darkness was shrouding her and soon, she succumbed to it.

A world without Gaurav meant nothing to her. And thus, she gave up her breath to the nothingness.

***

"Just sponge her! What's there to be shy about?"

Ruhani heard a familiar voice, that which had once reminded her of her dad. She thought she had finally ascended to heaven, or wherever her father was. She had no idea of the minutes, hours or days she had skipped, here on earth, lying on the bed of strangers.

"She's just like Anu. Come on, you want me to go in an sponge a young woman? You HAVE to do it!"

She could hear incomprehensible whispers that would sometimes come from nearby and other times, would feel as if they were coming from a different universe.

Ruhani couldn't open her eyes to see what was happening. Her language was footsteps, sighs and consoling tsks. She wanted Gaurav. She wanted peace.

She felt a hand on her forehead.

"She's burning up again. Goddamn, there must be a way to contact Dr. Kumar and get medicines to this side of the bridge!"

"Chalo ji! Clean her properly and in a couple of days, we'll have a new maid come in, just for her!"

"I don't understand ji! Why did you bring this stranger to our house? There's something wrong about her, I can feel it!"

"I am the sarpanch! The leader of our people. You expect me to leave outsiders dying on the road when they come to this village as tourists? As people expecting some decency...humanity? Poonam ji, sometimes I wonder if you're the same woman I married. When did you become so cold?"

"When I became a grandma. You are the leader of your people, yet you fail to understand your own woman's heart. The fear I used to feel with Anu, it's the same with Kartik, her son. Even if the wind blows the wrong way on him, I'll fear the worst. That's just how a mother's heart is. It's strong when it needs to be, but very anxious rest of the time."

"What if she's a churail! Maybe she's here to do some black magic on our children? On us? On our village?" Poonam finished her rant without taking a breath.

"Poonam ji! This woman is so young. She has most probably lost her husband. I understand your fears but what have you got to be afraid of from her? She can't move an inch, she's harmless. Let her heal, let our village get back to normal. And we shall live our old lives again!"

Ruhani let out a muffled cry and tried to turn on her bed. The old couple's attention turned towards her.

"Gauravv...dea? Dead? Gaurav nooo!" She opened her eyes for a second and her consciousness collapsed again.

***

"Will you marry me?" Gaurav bent down on his knees, a gorgeous diamond ring glittering in his hands, basking in the sun and expressing his love without any words.

"Yes, yes, yes. A million times yes!" Ruhani cried tears of joy. That moment, that scene: the love of her life right in front of her, a beautiful sun shining behind darkening clouds, tall mountains towering over them, as if blessing them for a beautiful future.

"Come here, baby!" Ruhani pulled Gaurav up and kissed him on the lips. There were people around, older couples, kids, but she had no care in the world. Gaurav kissed her back with equal zeal.

They had been together for 7 years but the last few months had been very turbulent for them. They started dating as teenagers but, now as they matured into adults, many new issues started to emerge. Finally, when their parents started pushing for marriage, the tiny crack that had been forming broke all hell open.

Gaurav's parents didn't want him to marry Ruhani. They immigrated to Canada while Gaurav was still in college. They wanted him to finish his degree and marry an NRI there. But Gaurav had other plans.

He stayed back in India. Not just for Ruhani but because of his passion of becoming a photographer. He didn't rely on his parent's money and carved a career out for himself through pure talent. His pictures, especially of his travels, garnered huge following on social media. He was being paid to travel in that point of his life.

Ruhani was also finding success in her career. As an Account Manager in a fledgeling start-up, she had risen through the ranks in no time. To top that, she was drop-dead gorgeous. White, flawless skin, long, black hair that curled towards the end. Her eyes were not exactly blue but had an enigmatic pull around them.

Although she was from Himachal Pradesh, people always told her she looked Caucasian, Greek in particular. Standing at 5'5, she was fairly tall and slender, yet was blessed with firm breasts and a round and bulky ass that made her colleagues go wild when she wore tight pants.

However, everyone around her knew Gaurav and how much she loved him. He was almost a hunk himself. 6-foot plus height, brownish beard with broad chest and shoulders. He was very smart alright but some people around Ruhani still complained. They always said she deserved better. To which Ruhani would reply, "it's not like Ian Somerhalder is gonna come and propose to me! So, till then my Gaurav is fine!"

All these conversations ran in Ruhani's mind as she closed her eyes and kept kissing Gaurav.

"Let's go to our room, baby! I want you!"

As soon as Ruhani opened her eyes, the scene had changed entirely. The sun was now hiding behind the hideous clouds. There was roar of thunder all around. Noise of rocks falling, cries of children, of women, filled the air. Ruhani's eyes were open but she couldn't see anything.

She took Sid's hand and placed it on her vagina. She made him rub it. She didn't know why but that calmed her down. Ruhani tried to open her eyes but still couldn't.

"Sid! Sid, talk to me. Fuck me!"

She rubbed his hands faster on her vagina. A wetness dripped through her vagina down her thighs.

"Fuck me na. Please!"

She managed to open her eyes. There were no mountains. She was in a wooden room, covered by blankets. A fire lit away from her feet. An old man stared at her.

"You're up! You're up! Poonam ji, she's awake! Come here!"

Ruhani could remember that voice! It was the same voice that carried her away from Gaurav a few days ago? Days? Months? Where is Gaurav? Where am I? Oh god, why am I masturbating?

The moistness from her dreams was real. Her entire body was wet, mostly with sweat and her genitals because of her inadvertent horniness.

"Where?" Ruhani spoke a word but couldn't say anything else. She tried to get up.

"Wait wait, beta! Let me help you! Here, drink some water!"

Sipping down on cool water made Ruhani feel alive. She instantly got up and drank a few more sips.

"Where am I?"

"You're in Sosan village. I am the village's leader. The sarpanch! You're at my place!"

Ruhani looked at the old man. He was probably in his late 60s. He was dark yet had a beaming face whose radiance was multiplied thanks to the fire. His hands were firm. He wasn't very tall but his stature as a leader of people clearly showed in his posture.

She kept staring at him. She wanted him to speak. His voice had reminded her of her father. Her memories were coming back.

"Sosan!" She whispered and went pale. She remembered.

"Yes! There has been a disaster. A cloudburst followed by the worst landslide we've ever seen."

She remembered. It happened when they were kissing. The cries, the sound of the rocks, it was a catastrophe. How did she survive? Where...where's Gaurav, where's Gaurav, where's Gaurav?

"Where's Gaurav?" She finally could speak it out loud.

"Um, your friend...um, he's still missing. We've tried searching for him everywhere but to no avail."

The sarpanch bowed his head down in shame.

"Anu ke papaa, kya ho gea chilla kyu rahe ho?" His wife ran in, barely able to walk due to arthritis-stricken knees. She inquired why he was shouting.

"Uth gayi hai bitiya. Kuch khaane ko do!" He said that the girl has woken up and she should feed her something.

The old woman came near Ruhani and touched her face. She ran her fingers through her hair and neatly tucked them behind her ear. She looked at Ruhani with pity, love, and finally suspicion.

"Tumhara naam kya hai, beta? What you name?"

"Ruhani!"

"Haye, itna sundar naam! Beauty name!"

"Thank you, aunty! Aunty, Gaurav!"

"We will find her, beta, don't worry!" The sarpanch said in a firm and reassuring voice. "We will find your friend!"

"He's my fiancée! We are getting married. Please find my Gaurav. Where is he?"

She started crying and then wailing. Poonam ji tried to console her.

"Aw mera bacha. Kuch nahi hua. Sab theek hoga!" Everything shall be alright, said the wise old woman as she held Ruhani tightly against her bosom. With a bulky figure and wrinkled body, she was the perfect mother figure Ruhani needed at that moment.

***

1 Week later

After coming to her senses, Ruhani had quite a few turbulent days. It made her wish she was rather unconscious, so she didn't have to face the pain of living without her love. The uncertainty was killing her. She missed her dreams because in them, Gaurav was still with her.

Slowly, Ruhani learned that it wasn't just her own world that had collapsed but also of those around her. At least a dozen people were feared dead in the flooding and landslides. More than 20 were missing. She was lucky to have ended up in the village head's home. Which meant the efforts to find Gaurav were naturally a little stronger.

She also learned that a huge rock had broken off the only bridge that connected the village to the world and the only mobile tower had also been knocked off. Worse, they were all talking about a virus that she had only heard about on the news. Apparently, that virus had come to India as well and the Prime Minister had put the whole nation on lockdown.

So, the only help could come from within. Every day, a search group of 10 would head out, led by their sarpanch, Prem Kumar Thakur. The luckiest they got was when they discovered the dead body of a young woman. They identified her via her ID card but had no means to reach out to her family. Thus, they buried her on their own.

They knew all the lost people would be in the village itself because accessing any other civilisation was nearly impossible. Thanks to the lockdown, the village had to become self-sufficient. The government officials found it hard to reach there and thus Prem Kumar was heading the village as if it were a small country.

He managed to ration off the medicines, groceries and more. For the rest, he urged people to rely on the fruits and vegetables they grew at their homes. The community got closer than ever before.

Prem Kumar's fatherly vibes grew for Ruhani. She felt protected even when his shadow was around. She was also fond of Poonam, Prem's wife, but she knew the old woman didn't trust her for some reason.

Ruhani started to know the family better. She befriended Anu, Prem and Poonam's daughter who had come back to her home to spend the lockdown and wait for her second child which was due in a few months. Anu was just a year older than Ruhani but already had a 5 year old daughter, Rinki.

Prem and Poonam's son was 5-6 years older than Ruhani but lived in Delhi. His parents spent half a day worrying about him since they had no way to contact him. Local news and word of mouth kept saying that Delhi was being consumed by the deadly virus, which was yet to show any signs in their quaint little village.

***

3 Weeks later

The search mission had slowed down. People started giving up. 4-5 hours of trekking every day without any results is bound to bring down the morale of anybody. The isolation from the world had also started affecting the locals. Many of them started rubbing fresh hashish and smoking it to kill the pain. Even Prem Kumar got back to smoking hashish after quitting it almost a decade ago. Such was the pressure. Such was the collective pain.

Ruhani had become a part of the family by then. She would help out in the kitchen and with the cleaning. She would take care of Rinki and feed her every day. Rinki wouldn't eat from anyone but her.

At night, Ruhani would massage Prem Kumar's legs.

"It makes me feel embarrassed to get this done beta, but your hands are really magical. You take away all the exhaustion of the day."

"There is nothing to be embarrassed about uncle. You took care of me when I was barely alive. I owe you everything."

"That was my duty, nothing else."

"That's what makes you such a great leader!"

"Maybe that's why god blessed me with you, Ruhani!"

They looked into each other's eyes, locked in a gaze. No words were spoken but they talked so much in that second.

"Uncle! I have something to ask!"

"Say it, Ruh!"

"Can I join the search mission from tomorrow? I...I can't stay at home in anxiety all day waiting for you guys to return with some news."

"But Ruhani...it's very dangerous and tiring. Plus, you've got to take care of home, help your aunty, your friend and your sweet little niece."

"I know. I love all of them but Gaurav. He's my fiancé, my soul mate. I won't feel complete till I find him...in any state."

Saying this, she started sobbing. Prem Kumar got up and brought his hands on her sides. He wanted to hug her but felt awkward and embarrassed.

In a moment, she helped change that by collapsing onto his chest. He finally hugged her tightly and caressed her hair. Right then, Poonam walked in.

"Ruhani!" she shouted. "It's time to cook dinner."

"You can join me tomorrow!" Prem Kumar whispered as Ruhani headed towards the kitchen.

"What were you doing ji? Have you no shame? Hugging a young woman like that on our bed? Your daughter is here, your granddaughter is here. Besharmi ki haddh paar kar di hai aapne is umar mein!" Poonam complained that Prem Kumar had crossed all boundaries.

***

6 Weeks later

Ruhani started accompanying the search team every day. She proactively searched for people and thanks to her efforts, two more bodies were found. None of them were Gaurav, though.

She would often drift off with Prem Kumar, forming a team of two as they went deeper into the forests where no one ventured. Gradually, her bond with him transitioned to friendship compared to the early father-daughter relationship.

One day, after a long walk, Prem Kumar and Ruhani decided to take a break in the forest. They were both tired, not just because of the exertion but also because of the futile efforts they were making day in and day out.

However, it was still better than sitting at home and doing nothing. The walls at home caved in and made both of them more miserable. Plus, with no internet or steady electricity, there wasn't much to do anyway.

They sat down under the shade of a tree. As was his recent habit, Prem Kumar rolled a hashish cigarette and started smoking it, staring into nothingness. Ruhani stared at him. Prem Kumar noticed and stared back.

She was beautiful. It was the first time he ever noticed that. Her skin was white and flawless, her hair golden in the sun as they flowed down in locks till her firm breasts. Her lips were pink and symmetrical. She was wearing a kurta with a salwar. She was drenched in sweat and still looked unimaginably gorgeous.

"Can I try this?" She finally broke the awkward gaze.

"No beta, this is not a good thing!"

"No good thing is happening to me anyway. Please, let me just try!" She rolled her eyes. It was impossible to say no to her at that moment.

"Okay, just a few drags!"

"Yesss!"

Prem Kumar handed her the cigarette. Ruhani had tried cigarettes before with Gaurav but she always coughed or mouthfagged. The latter happened here as well.

"Look at me. You have to take the smoke all the way in!" Prem Kumar showed her the correct way. Ruhani tried and started coughing badly. The old man laughed and gave her some water.

"Okay, you're done!"

"Nooo, it's actually nice. Just a few more, please!"

Ruhani started liking the taste and the buzzy head from the smoke. She hadn't felt so relaxed in ages. Her senses heightened and she could hear all the ambient noises in the forest. Her headspace was very calm and serene as she looked around.

However, in a few minutes, a fly started buzzing around her ear. Then, a bee. She started feeling warm and her heart began pounding too fast. With this, came overwhelming thoughts of guilt and sadness. Gaurav is still missing and she's doing all this. The thought troubled her. It was something she had on her mind 24x7 but being high made it very intense.

She became restless and kept moving around where she was sitting. The panic kept rising and rising, made worse by the sound of the bees and the fact that the wind stopped blowing as the sun became brighter.

Ruhani looked at Prem Kumar. His face was so calm, unbothered. It gave her some semblance of peace. The dark face was full of wrinkles, each crease with a story to tell. His lips were dark and dry, his head balding. His teeth were rotten. Yet, he had a great personality. She felt safe. She was scared but she knew she had someone to count on.

Then, out of nowhere, she hugged Prem Kumar, like a scared child jumping on their parents. He got confused at first and then realised what was happening. The hash had messed with her mind.

"It's okay beta! Everything will be okay!" He hugged her back and consoled her.

"Stop, stop. Don't cry. My beautiful girl!" He made kissing noises with his mouth.

He stroked her beautiful hair which made his own heart beat faster and faster. He held and caressed her hand as she rest her head on his shoulders. He wanted time to stop. He had never felt so complete in his life. There was a very weird feeling in his body.