Suramya

Chapter 9- The hunt.

Ruchya walked onto the grass-laid path, the softness of it crushing beneath his feet. The breakfast was quite tasteful, and eventful too, with the other five being there. As it turned out, the guy from yesterday night, Jig, was an interesting personality.

It was quiet and awkward, minus the parts where Evara didn't stop saying random things and Samukta threw her glares, them bickering and Jig scolding Samukta, Raina not caring about it even the slightest, Kavi and Inara being concerned.

To say the least, it was amusing.

"Ruchya?" Came a small voice from behind.

He turned his neck, seeing the person he expected. Inara stood there, in a floor-length gown with a necklace shyly engraved with some jewels. Ruchya had doubts whether she belonged to a royal family, but now he was sure.

"Yes?"

"Amla asked me to give this to you." Inara brought her hand forward, revealing a small paan(1).

"Thank you, but I don't usually have paan. It's addictive." Ruchya said.

"Me neither. But this one isn't made of the usual addictive ingredients. I asked Amla and it turns out that it's only made of harmless raws. Trust me." Inara smiled.

Ruchya hesitated for a second before reaching out and taking the paan from her hands. "Thank you."

Inara's cheeks displayed the colour of red as she nodded with a smile.

"So you like cooking?" He asked, walking ahead. Inara took that as a hint to walk with him, and she couldn't have been more excited by the fact.

"Yes. But not what is usual. I like to create dishes of my own."

"For instance?"

"Uh... I'm not really good at naming them but I could make them for you." She could feel the heat in her cheeks, as she let out a chuckle to smoothen it out.

Ruchya looked at the floor with a smile. "Sure. But naming shouldn't be that much of a hard task."

Inara's mood took a low dip, her heart sank for a second, but came back to life again. And she thought she was good at something.

"Maybe." She said, still walking along with him. A moment of silence passed between them. It wasn't uncomfortable, just awkward. To break the ice, Inara asked. "So where are you planning to go from here?"

"I'm supposed to attend a hostel." Ruchya replied.

"Wait, hostel?" Inara stopped in her tracks.

Ruchya did too, just a step ahead of her as he turned around to look at her with furrowed eyebrows. "Yes. Why the surprise?"

"I'm being sent to a hostel too." She said, her mouth agape as if surprised.

Ruchya noticed how she talked about being sent rather than going herself. "The Assam city hostel?"

"Yes, that exact name. I don't know anything about it other than the fact that it's a hostel and is in Assam." Inara admitted.

"Well," Ruchya said, "It's a mystery in itself."

"How?" She asked.

"It's said to be— well hidden, is the word used. It's exceptionally good, and most people don't even find it." He explained.

Intrigued more, she asked, "Don't even find it?"

"The forest is a trippy place. It's almost like enchanted. Many get lost, and end up being where they started from while some give up half-way and never find the hostel. There were a few people who had come back from the hostel after attaining education and when they were asked as to where the hostel was, they said 'you'll find it, if it wants you to.'" Ruchya finally finished speaking, and Inara didn't know why she was more fascinated than estranged out by the place. For the first time, she felt a surge of excitement through her to reach the hostel.