Himalayan Quest

2-Kathmandu

Sunday, May 6

2-Kathmandu

Kailani woke up alone. She reached over and touched the empty depression in bed where he had slept. "Pehea 'oe?" She asked how he was in Hawaiian as if he could answer her. She inhaled his lingering scent.

I miss Gabriel already, but it's probably good he's gone. If he were here, I'd get nothing else done. He's so skillful a lover that I'd want to lie here all day, giving and receiving. But I've got a presentation to prepare.

Still, she smiled, remembering the feel of her man last night. A little moisture on the sheets remained from their lovemaking. He'd left before dawn, needing to catch an early flight to his conference in Hong Kong.

Next, she stretched her long limbs, planning her day.

I'll hydrate, exercise, eat, and work. In that order.

She drank some water and put salve on two mosquito bites. Somehow the bugs had snuck in under the netting around the bed. She used the restroom, washed, and looked at herself in the mirror. The reflection wasn't too bad for someone who would turn 26 soon.

A couple of small laugh lines around my eyes. But I still get asked for my ID to see if I'm 21.

Kailani pulled on a long sleeve black t-shirt. She brushed her hair back and used a tie to hold her waist-length ebony tresses in a ponytail. She put on baggy black cotton trousers, cinched the drawstring in the front, then grabbed her white socks and Nikes. She laced up the running shoes and did some stretching. She spent fifteen minutes going through a series of core exercises, including yoga-like moves. She considered sunscreen, but it was early in the day, and she had her naturally dark Hawaiian skin as protection, so no need. But she drank another half liter of water, put on wraparound sunglasses, and walked outside.

The day was warm. Intermittent clouds floated across the blue heavens above to form a canopy over the skyline of Kathmandu. The sun was still climbing, so most of the street remained in shadows.

Kailani started jogging slowly. The locals looked at her, like always, as if she were crazy. But that's what they thought about anyone who ran by choice. They'd understand it if it was someone fleeing a dangerous dog, or a young thief avoiding an angry adult. Only Westerners ran for pleasure.

It's fun, at least for me. Running on the levees in the rice fields kept me sane during the first year I was in Nepal while working in a distant village. I can't imagine getting out of shape. I'd go crazy.

She wasn't in the condition she had been as a college champion and world-class athlete. The scar on her shoulder where she had the rotator cuff shoulder surgery meant she would never again play her beloved volleyball at such a high level. But her legs were strong and she could fly.

Kailani lived near downtown where there was lots of traffic. She dodged a boy on a bicycle, then weaved past pedestrians and rickshaws. She gave some cattle meandering on the streets a wide berth.

Where else on the planet do cows have the right-of-way? No one kills them in Hindu countries. In India, there are more of them than people! Of course, many believe they are reincarnated relatives.

She headed toward the outskirts of the city to her destination, Ring Road. It did what its name implied, encircling Kathmandu. But this was a newer street built on the edge of farming land, with a wide shoulder that offered a relatively smooth surface away from heavy traffic, so she had room. She picked up her pace, thinking about how she'd met her man. They had locked eyes across the room at the American Marine Corps bar a year ago, and he walked over, staring at her the whole time.