Sea Mist

Sea Mist - Prologue

 Arnav Singh Raizada felt exhilaration go through his body as he rode his Royal Enfield up the winding roads of the Western Ghats. He was passing through the famous 'green route' of the Ghats on the way from Bangalore to Mangalore. The breathtaking views began right after the Hassan district and turned all the more picturesque at the town of Sakaleshpur. This route was a favourite of the trekkers who came there to rejuvenate themselves as they hiked through the evergreen tropical forests that blended with lush valleys, majestic waterfalls nestled in the folds of the hills, gushing rivers, and the grey, misty skies. He had trekked on this route a few times in the last few years.

He remembered the first time he had made this trip to Mangalore when he joined the mechanical engineering course at the Sai College of Engineering. Even though there was an airport in Mangalore he more often preferred to take the flight from Delhi to Bangalore so he could take a road trip to Mangalore along with his buddies who lived in the city of Bangalore. As the wind hit his body with full force, he increased the throttle a little more.

It was afternoon when he rode his bike through the busy streets of Udupi but refrained from stopping there for lunch and drove straight to the beach resort at Malpe. He sat at a table at a makeshift shack close to the beach and looked at the vast ocean ahead. As the waves crashed over and over again on the shore, thoughts began to whirl in his head. These thoughts had been his constant companions for as long as he could remember.

How could you do this to me?

Try to understand —

What are we going to do with him now?

He will have to stay here

No!

There is no other choice!

Why was life so unfair to some people while some enjoyed a carefree blissful life free of burdens and obligations? Some people called it fate. But Arnav did not believe in those things. He believed that it was people who created undesirable circumstances and blamed it on fate. His fate had been decided by other people's bad choices — people who he was unfortunately associated with. He couldn't control his past but he would make sure he would be the one controlling his future.

This was his final year and after that, he would be flying off to study Masters in the United States. He didn't care about the University. All he wanted was to leave the country. There was nothing left for him here. There was nothing left for him after his mother had died ten years ago.

Loud squealing brought him out of his reverie. He spotted a group of people a little farther. Payal and her friends had arrived. He didn't really want to be here but Payal had insisted and he didn't want to refuse her. It was just that he wasn't too thrilled to be in the company of her classmates. He spotted them as they sat under the shade of umbrellas, engrossed in their own world of revelry. Arnav's thoughts went back a year ago when he had seen them all for the first time as nervous first year students during a session of friendly ragging. Payal, with her good looks, had instantly attracted the attention of most of the male students, juniors and seniors alike.

Suddenly, Arnav noticed a girl in the water. She wore a bright red t-shirt. Her braid hung down her front like a rope as she stood in thigh deep water. She was farther than she should be, he thought. Her back was toward the ocean and her entire attention was toward the group. She seemed to be lost in thought. There was a huge wave coming toward her and she was completely unaware of it. What the hell?

Arnav sprinted toward the ocean and dived into the waves. In the nick of time, he had caught the girl before she was swept away by the wave. When he carried her back to the shore, he noticed her glaring at him.