A Companion – Short Story

Though the watch showed 6.30 pm as the time, it had gotten dark. The sun sets early in the mountains. If you were a local, you would’ve returned home from work an hour before & would be getting ready to have dinner. The day began as early as 4.30 am for the pahadis and ended with the setting sun. They lived a rather simple life, unlike the sheharis, who came to the hills often bringing their ways of late night parties and loud music along as well.

Roy stood on the first floor common balcony of  the Hostel; looking at the hills in the dark. He could see a few lights in the distance and tried guessing the number of houses on the hill. Suddenly, the swing nearby moved. Startled, Roy looked towards the swing and saw a girl, her head bowed down, engrossed in reading a book.

“Hi! Sorry, I didn’t see you there” said Roy. “Did you check-in today?” asked the girl, without lifting her head.

“No. Actually, I’m living in the guest-house behind this Hostel. There was no availability here. It’s all full apparently" explained Roy. She didn't even nod. Roy continued, "I came here thinking there will be lot of people to chill with. But the place seems to be empty. Where is everyone? Isn’t it supposed to be on full capacity?” asked a half perplexed and half disappointed Roy.

“Oh! It is full! There are 2 groups of 7-8 friends. They’re out in the market, probably” replied the girl without lifting her head.

Roy turned to look at those distant lights again. Some of them seemed to have been switched off. He pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. Took a long drag and exhaled with an even longer sigh. He’d really hoped to find good company tonight. He turned towards the swing again and asked “Do you smoke?” The girl nodded.

"Sorry, I didn’t ask earlier”, he reached for his pocket to pull out another cigarette for her. She politely declined and gestured to the pack lying on the table next to her. Roy felt a bit embarrassed. He quickly changed the topic. “Are you a solo traveler?”

“hmm”

“Do you like traveling alone?”

“hmm”

“What are you reading?” 

The girl finally looked up, and turned the front cover of the book towards Roy so he could read the title.

“Is it any good?” Roy was incessant with his questions. The girl didn’t reply and went back to her reading.

He was a little confused by her behavior now. But he decided to let it go. Besides, wasn’t it half the fun of meeting strangers? Their quirks, strange ways, so different and yet similar sometimes! One often finds solace in meeting and talking to strangers. Probably because there’s no fear of judgment.

Roy was not a solo traveler really. He enjoyed a good company, especially of his friends on a vacation. But this trip was different. It wasn’t just any vacation but more of a getaway. He needed a break from the recent increase in workload and changes at his office. The new manager was very demanding. Even though he wanted to change things for the better, Roy had gotten used to the old ways. He’d found his comfort zone in the office. And that was the reason he didn’t quit in the last 5 years. Things were smooth and he’d gotten accustomed to a system. Now suddenly, a new person had come in to change things around. It was somehow, stressful.

Although this is how Roy had explained his sudden solo trip to Himachal Pradesh to his family, there was another reason to come solo this time. All his friends had a companion, a soul-mate except him. He was still single, looking for his forever.

Even though this girl had an odd vibe to her, Roy didn’t want to leave any opportunity this time. He was determined to find someone. Someone he could share his feelings with, someone he could travel to new places with, someone he could flaunt as his cool girlfriend, and someone who’d make him feel special.

A little hesitant but persistent, Roy thought of the list of small topics he had jotted down in his overnight bus from Delhi to Manali. “Where do you get good food here?” Food would be a safe topic he thought, and a useful one too.

After a moment of silence, she said, “you could try here… Hostel café has good food.”

“Yeah! That’s what I thought. In fact, that was another reason to come to here. But the cafe is empty too today." He took a pause before adding "I’d love a good company for dinner”. He stressed on the last few words, hoping the girl would take a hint and invite him to have dinner together. But she didn’t. 

Exasperate with all the efforts she was making him do, he blurted, “Listen, I’m sorry if I’m disturbing. I can go away if you want!”

The girl closed her book and slowly raised her head to look towards him. This was the first time he had a proper look at her face. She had dreamy eyes. He found himself staring into them longer than he’d intended to. She had long hair. A few lose strands moved gently across her face with the breeze. Her lips were dull pink but looked very fresh, like the morning dew on flower petals.

Roy felt the front of his pants stiffen and quickly turned his body away from her, hoping she hadn’t noticed already. He felt embarrassed. At this moment, the Hostel lost its electricity supply and it became pitch dark. Roy heaved a sigh of relief. He pulled out his lighter and lit the candle he had spotted earlier on the table. Desperate to end the awkwardness between him and the girl, he quickly thought of other topics from his list. 

Taking the last drag from his cigarette, he tried to make small talk. “Don’t you feel scared of traveling alone in the mountains?" 

“Why should I?” the girl asked.

Roy shrugged, “I don’t know, they say pahadi jungles can get scary at night. Especially if a chudail roams around the area” and half winked at her.

“And how would you know if someone roaming around is a chudail?”

“Well, for one their feet are supposed to be backwards, isn’t it?”

“You mean like this?”

Roy lowered his eyes to look at the girl’s feet and froze where he was standing. They were indeed backwards. His mind went numb as a swift breeze, blew the candle out.