Destiny's Gamble

Mother Nature And Us

I roll over, my arm draping itself over a lump beside me. My eye pops open, immediately followed by a smile. Manik is lying beside me, his front facing me. His hands are buried under the side of his head, stray strands of hair covering his forehead. What a beautiful sight to wake up to. 

I sigh with satisfaction as my fingers brush away the hair from his forehead. Right in this moment my husband looks like a peaceful child, ignorant to all the worries of the world. I wish I could form a bubble around him and provide him with such peace throughout his life.

Manik's eyes fly open, startling me. His black orbs widen as he gazes into mine. With a jerk the man sits up and gets off the bed.

"I-I fell asleep," Manik says. He moves himself to the far corner of the room, conversing with me from there. "I...It won't happen again."

"Why not?" I grin, getting off the bed as well. "I mean, we are married, Manik. Sleeping in the same bed is perfectly normal, no matter how tiny it is. The space will always be enough for us." He frowns, his gaze focusing on a spot on the floor. He furrows his brows as if he's trying to solve a tough equation in his head. 

"I'm going to be heading out mid-afternoon towards the forest," I say. "Ira told me a bunch of beautiful wild flowers are found in that area, and I want to check them out." 

"Okay," Manik nods his head. 

"And...well, I wouldn't mind if you tagged along," I offer.

"Um...I think there will be work for me to do here," Manik says hurriedly. "I should check up on the machine and apologize to Rakesh for being a dick to him yesterday and - " I cup Manik's left cheek in my palm, cutting off his rambling. Lifting myself on my tiptoes, I place a gentle peck on his other cheek.

"Good morning, Mr. Hubby." I say, winking at him. 

*****

"And you're sure we aren't walking straight into the mouths of a couple hundred mountain lions." Manik says, following close behind my heels. I roll my eyes, focusing intently on the uneven ground beneath me. One wrong step and I can lose an ankle out here.

"You didn't even know this place existed before I brought you here," I retort. "So how in the world would you know whether or not there are a million lions out here, or just a handful?"

"Aryan said so," he replies matter-of-factly. A giggle escapes my lips. 

"And you believed him? Manik, he's just pulling your leg," I shake my head in amazement. "You know, for a Devil, you're quite naive."

"Fucker," Manik grumbles. My eyes land on an aged tree, causing my feet to quicken pace and carry me towards it. Hurriedly, I pull out my phone and crouch onto the ground, trying to get a good angle.

"What're you doing?" Manik asks, towering over me. 

"Oi, you're blocking the sunlight. Shoo," I say, waving him away. He steps towards my left, allowing me to focus on capturing this tree once more. As I look up towards the crown of it, sunlight directly attacks my eyes, making me look away at once. Frowning, I squint my eyes and try once more. How am I expected to get a good picture if I can't even see what's showing up on the screen?

"Here," Manik says, holding out his shades. 

"I'm fine," I say, tears pricking at the corners of my eyes.

"No you're not." Manik steps into place behind me, his arms entrapping my head from either side. "Angel, you're just stubborn, that's all." He slips the glasses onto my face. I look up to see a satisfied smile playing on my husband's lips. "What?" He cocks an eyebrow at me. "Go ahead, do your thing." Manik steps to my left once more.