Truly, Madly, Deeply- a Devakshi story.

Dev- the five lost years- II

Annika urf Anna

Anna looked across the bonfire around which all of the trekkers sat, at Dev Dixit. While the rest of the party, sang songs to keep up their spirits in the most difficult part of this trek, Dev Dixit always sat away. She found his desire to keep aloof puzzling because mountaineering was a sport of togetherness, of relying on your climbing partner, especially a high-altitude difficult trek like Stok Kangri at well above 20,500m, needed people to be together if they wanted to survive. She was roped together with him in this trek and frequently questioned herself if he would take a good harness call were they to be in an accident. 

Anna, named Annika Zorabian, born of an Indian mother and an Iranian father, was an editor in the San Francisco Chronicles, a thirty five year old single woman, an avid mountaineer and had been on this trek earlier too. The very next day, proved her misgivings right as she had lost her footing and slipped into a crevasse between two ice rocks. Even though she hadn't lost her grip, but she lost her mind for a moment, flailing from the rope, whizzing around, desperately clawing at the frozen ice to pull herself back on the ground. The rope had tugged Dev, her climbing partner, to whom her rope was tied and he looked back. As the rope pulled him back with a jerk and he started sliding down the slope, along with her,she expected him to stop the fall. To her horror, she saw that after the intial shock of falling, he looked beyond her, deep into the abyss she was hanging in, and she read in his eyes a calm acceptance, as if he didnt mind falling, as if it was okay for him to fall inside and be smashed to pulp. She was an experienced climber, and her training came through. She swung her ice-pick and managed to get it in a spot which stopped her slide. Painstakingly, she climbed out inch by inch, and above her Dev too climbed out once he came to his senses, and realized she had saved them both from being dragged down by gravity.

 Once out, both of them sat breathing heavily, tired out, but as soon as she found her voice, she had turned to him and said,"You want to commit suicide, do it on your own time, not by my side. Your life may not be precious but mine is. And quit mountaineering, as it is not for weak wimps like you."

Dev had gone to her after the day's trek and tried to say sorry for endangering her life. She was cold and absolutely quiet. But when he was just about to leave, she surprised him by asking, "Did she leave you for a better man?"

Dev was incensed, "how dare a complete stranger say such a thing to him?"

Looking at his expression she asked again, "Oh she left you but not for another man. I see. And you cant figure out why. That is why you are here, looking for answers. But you wont get any replies from here."

Dev: " How do you know that?"

Anna: " Because mountains don't give replies to your questions. They just change the questions you ask yourself." Which of course sounded absolute crap to Dev.

For the first time really he looked at her and then he realised this woman was beautiful, of a perfect kind of glamorous beauty. Long brown hair, dark eyes and a perfect oval face with an aquiline nose. Still he felt this woman with calm eyes and absolute self-control; tattooed arms and electric blue highlights in her hair was someone he could talk to. Next morning, he was gratified she hadn't gone to the trek leader asking that Dev be replaced as her trekking partner ( which would be fatal to his climbing ambitions forever in climbing circuits) and when they had started the climb, he resolved to be friendlier.

That was the start of their friendship. Anna was wise, having put in more years of living than Dev and emotionally far more mature. By the end of the trek, Dev and Anna were spending most of their time together, he found it calming to sit by her side in silence as they looked out over magnificent peaks with the cold burning their bottoms while she did quick sketches of the mountains or a bush. She was an extraordinarily quiet and perceptive person but what made Dev seek her out was that she was completely non-judgmental.