A New Beginning

Chapter 19: The Clearing

Jaddu's POV:-

We had been roaming around in the forest for about two hours. I knew that Akku must be getting tired but she was as enthusiastic as when we had started, pointing at different flowers and birds or running after butterflies and moths.

The forest was not exactly thick seeing as Delhi recieves most of its rain only during monsoons, so there was alot of sunlight coming through. Each time I looked at Akku, with her hair flowing wild behind her and the sunlight hitting her just the right way I felt myself catch my breath. She looked absolutely gorgeous and I wanted to be the one who told her that everyday when we woke up and every night when she dozed off to sleep.

I had a definite plan for the day in my mind and so I was guiding her towards a place that I had recently discovered on one of my hikes. Though it was really tough to get her to stay on the right path as she got excited about every little thing and wanted to wander. Seeing her cute little face doing the puppy dog eyes I couldn't refuse her either. That was the reason why we were not there yet and were half an hour behind schedule, but I didn't mind.

I stiffened suddenly and pulled Akku back from where she was going to walk into. There was a set of monkeys right above her head and they didn't look exactly pleased at our arrival.

"Can we cross this stretch from some other path? Not really fond of monkeys." I whispered and I wouldn't lie, I was completely terrified of monkeys. She put her hand on mine, which was restraining her from going any further and pulled it up to her.

I averted my gaze from the monkeys and suddenly one of them screeched a little loudly. I freaked out completely and ran away from the place pulling A behind me as fast as I could.

We were both panting hard when we stopped and it was only our luck that we didn't get lost along the way, because that was entirely possible. I looked at Akku to ask if she was alright and she burst out laughing.

"Your... Face... Oh god!" She muttered in between laughs and I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest. She tried to stop laughing but she couldn't and I just turned around and started walking away from her.

We had almost reached the place that I wanted to show her so I stopped just outside. She caught up to me and started apologising while still controlling her laughter, but I waved her off. I waited for her to sober up before I spoke up.

"Akku, I want to show you something." I said.

"What? Tell me!" She bounced on her toes and I laughed at her enthusiasm.

I turned her around and put my hand over her eyes from behind before leaning in closer and whispering in her ear. "Do you trust me?"

I had not even completed my question when she spoke a clear and confident yes. I smiled at that before leading her into my own secret place.

When I had her where I wanted her I removed my hands from her eyes and she twisted around 360 degrees slowly taking in the scenery before her with an awestuck face as I watched her.

I already knew what was around. A few metres away from us a clear stream of water was running and the melodious noise it produced was enough to lull me to sleep. We were standing in a clearing of some sort which was perfect for a picnic. You could see the light blue sky clearly from here and for once the air we breathed didn't feel dirty or contaminated. Where the stream met the land it produced a white foam that looked pretty in itself.

"RJ! It's beautiful!" Akku commented looking awed.

"Not as much as you." I said in all seriousness but I just got the light slap on the chest which I had expected.

I caught her hand before she could retract it and pulled her towards me. She crushed into my chest and I left her hand to encircle her waist, leaving my hand on the small of her back.

Brushing aside some strands of her hair I tucked them behind her ear before I looked into her eyes. Her mouth was open slightly and there was a pink tinge on her cheeks. The sunlight was falling right on her face and she looked like an angel without the halo.

"Akku, I..." I choked on my own words and I cursed myself for not having the perfect words to say.

She saw my unease and so she held up her hand to my cheek. "What happened RJ?"

Her touch gave me strength somehow and I knew that she would understand me. But, somehow in the back of my mind there was a nagging voice that said that maybe she would not like what I was going to confess, maybe I would lose her again.

"RJ, you mean alot to me, you can tell me anything. You don't need to be nervous infront of me." She said in a timid voice and I just gaped at her. This girl understood me like no other. Despite not being in contact for 11 years she still knew me inside out and could read my mind.

"Akku, I've developed feelings for you. I like you. Hell, I love you and it's not something that started right now. I think I've loved you since we were kids. I don't want this to affect anything between us and if you don't like me..." Before I could complete my sentence Akku kept her finger on my lips.

"I love you too." That is all she said but it was enough to make my day. I picked her up from the ground and swirled her around. While doing so I got disbalanced and we both went tumbling down laughing in each other's arms.