She just couldn't believe this was happening with her.

Shreya flopped down on her bed and held her head in her palms. She forgot to put the phone charger in to her bag! Oh God! What kind of stupidity she put herself into?

Dev held up his tablet's charger and said, "Aunty, why don't you use my charger?"

She looked up at him. A look of adoration and hopelessness crossed her face. "Oh Dev! I can't use your charger dear. It's not compatible with my phone." She felt like crying right now, and it just came out as an obvious sign when her voice cracked.

"Don't cry," Dev said. "Why don't you ask Manyu uncle? He could give you his."

Shreya blinked. Dev's suggestion clicked on place, but differently.

She stood up and asked Dev to lie down before leaving the room.

She couldn't go to AR. She wouldn't, and at this hour, it was out of question. So, she opted for the much safer option. Climbing down the stairs didn't take much time as she found herself standing before Sunny's room and knocked on it. It took less than a minute for him to open his door, and when he did, a look of surprise crossed his face.

"Oh! What are you doing here?"

She uttered in a trembling voice. "I forgot to bring my phone charger! Can I borrow yours? My phone is dead. Maa is going to kill me. I just cannot believe this is happening to me."

Sunny listened to her rambling carefully, then let out a chuckle. "Okay calm down. I have no problem lending you my charger, but I use iPhone 11. So.." he trailed off.

Oh! Of course. Her broke-ass forgot that she now worked with these high-class people. What should she do now?

Seeing her going speechless, Sunny's eyes softened. He added, "If you want to make a call, you can certainly use my phone."

"Uhm- no. I mean, I don't need it tonight. But tomorrow, maybe. Because I need to inform Maa. She gets worried for me."

"As she should." Sunny smiled. "Now, go and get some sleep. And perhaps, Mr. Dinu or his daughter can also help you. They could have something compatible to your device. But I don't think anything can be arranged tonight."

She sighed as her shoulders slumped down. She nodded slightly and murmured, "Yeah. You're probably right."

"Don't worry too much. Goodnight."

She nodded then left.

What else could go worse?

~~~

18th October

She didn't expect she'd actually fall asleep at certain point even with the charger-mess she had created. But she did but woke up when it was still dark outside. The time piece on the bedside table showed it was only 5:15 am. The thought of watching the sunrise crossed her mind. She didn't want to lose the opportunity. There's a proverb in Bengali, Biraler bhagye shike chenra, which means, once in a while, getting lucky to receive a desired opportunity suddenly. She didn't know, when again she'd receive the same opportunity again. So, she left the bed and washed up quickly then put on her cardigan and over that wrapped the white shawl again. She couldn't take the chance. It was definitely cold.

It was still dark outside when she came out in the balcony. Also, it was expectable. But what she didn't expect was the person standing there with a cup in his hand, looking at the east sky.

Her heartbeat rose so obviously.

It was weird that no man in her life till now had this effect on her. She had met a lot of men in her life. But none of them made her so nervous that she almost forgot her surroundings.

Abhimanyu turned around, freezing her on spot. He was wearing his rimless eyeglasses, his eyes trained on her face, a steady stare. He never blinked away until she did and averted her eyes downcast.

"Good morning." A greeting in his monotonous, throaty voice to which she responded curtly. "Good morning."

"Up for sunrise?"

She nodded and went ahead. Her eyes darted towards the tiny table at his end. A teapot and three unused cups were there. Abhimanyu was sipping from the one in his hand. One of his hands were inside his white-blue windcheater.

Leaving some safe space between them she stood and leaned on the railing.

"Be careful," Abhimanyu warned.

When she looked at him questioningly, he pointed at the railing with his cup. "Don't lean too forward. We're on the top floor."

Her face flushed as she blinked away and stepped back. Why was he so matter-of-fact always?

A few moments passed with the only sound of his occasional sipping and early riser birds' chirping. There were a few big trees around the guesthouse. Pines, rhododendrons and even an orange tree. The silence was loud.

According to Sadhguru, there's a huge significance in the power of silence. Everything in existence has a separate and unique sound of their own. The wind, the water, even the sky-everything makes a different sound, and the nature is abundant with this complex amalgamation of sounds. These different kinds of sounds create different kinds of intent, compulsiveness, bondage and different possibilities of entanglement.

So, this is the reason, one should be aware of silence, and practices required sessions of silence in to life. Sadhguru puts the importance of silence in a very unique way. Silence is not a way of denying yourself life. But silence is about moving from compulsiveness to consciousness.

One who doesn't want to get entangled in the compulsive nature of existence, naturally chooses to become silent. 

Silence doesn't necessarily mean, you have to tape your mouth or put earplugs in. You can do anything in silence. Talk, sing, dance. Even scream in silence. But you don't try.

Sound comes from the surface, i.e., the surface resonates the sound that we hear. But silence comes from the core. It is so similar with life. Surrounded by a mesh of complex sounds, but deep down, there is no sound.

She pulled the shawl forward, tightening it around her when Abhimanyu broke the silence. "Want some tea?"

"Uhm- no. Thanks." She shyly shook her head.

"You have some heart to say No to Darjeeling tea," he quietly said. She shifted her eyes on him and found him already staring at her. Her cheeks and ears heated up. Good thing it was still dark, otherwise he'd have seen how red her ears had become.

"Okay. I'll have some then."

He nodded once approvingly then poured tea in to one of the cups and gave it to her. The tea was still hot. She didn't know the staffs woke up this early too to make them tea. She quietly sipped the tea and immediately got lost in to the fragrance of the world-famous Darjeeling tea. Both the smell and taste were incomparable. She wasn't someone who's addicted to tea. But this was... she closed her eyes, relishing the deliciousness spreading on her tastebuds as eventually she let out a blissful hum.

"I reckon you like it." Abhimanyu stated.

And he was right. "Yes. This is delicious."

"Thank you." He shifted his gaze from the east sky to her along with his undivided attention. "Fresh from the factory and made by me." He lifted his cup slightly.

Oh! Her face flushed. Abhimanyu made the tea. Of course. How did it never cross her mind?

"You're welcome. This is really tasty. I'm not lying." She hurriedly said and felt embarrassment coursing through her whole body.

"I know," he simply said and looked ahead again.

Silence ensued again. But astonishingly, it didn't feel awkward. It felt comfortable enough. Except for the occasionally stealing glances at him, she mostly observed the east sky was getting fairer with each passing moments. Birds were chirping more often and the surrounding was gradually getting filled with nearing sunrise. This was going to be a dream come true moment for her. Seeing sunrise and Kanchenjungha together... she had never dreamed of even in her wildest of dreams.

"Do you like Rabindranath?"

His sudden question broke her trance as she was too engrossed with the thin orangish line outlining the mountain peaks.

"Sorry?" She shifted her eyes on him while his was still on the east sky. His angular jawline made her falter in her thoughts. She had never paid heed to them before, but now... he looked more handsome.

He repeated, "Do you like Rabindranath?"

"Who doesn't?" As a Bengali, she was proud of Bishwakobi.

"Do you know what he's written about mountains?"

She of course was a fan of Rabindranath Tagore, but it didn't mean she knew every poem he had written. Plus, her memory is too bad when it comes to literature. She hadn't memorized a single stanza from any of his work. Because she simply couldn't.

She stayed silent and shook her head slightly.

He recited,

"Parbotmala akasher pane
Chahiya na kahe kotha--
Ogomer laagi ora dharanir,
Shtambhito byakulota."

She eyed him. He suddenly looked ethereal. His tall frame. His specs were on place, behind whom, the eyebrow scar was peeking. A tea cup and saucer on his hand. His lips and sharp jawline moving and reciting Rabindranath ... was he even real?

"Meaning," he continued as she watched him mesmerized. "Although the mountains are staring at the sky wanting to speak, they can't. Cause they are immobile, just like all of earth's stunned apprehensions of the future." He suddenly raised his hand and gestured at the east. Her eyes moved along it and everything just slowed down around her.

The dazzling snow-capped peaks, bathed in the glorious first ray of sunrise-presenting an unknown world too good to be true. The most scenic and romantic view in her life till date opened the doors to a far-fetched kingdom where she knew she'd be lost but still won at the same time. A place worth of her dreams and hopes and everything she had ever wanted from life-has accumulated here, in this place, far from the chaos of a busy life, a dreamland.

The world lit up, and a sense of tranquility washed over her. Nature is good. In fact, the best healer.

Her eyes welled up in sheer ecstasy. "This is... divine."

"Indeed," Abhimanyu responded quietly.

"I never imagined I could also experience this divinity."

He said nothing after that. The comfortable silence between them eventually filled with other human noises until he said, "Would you like to enjoy another such view?" Abhimanyu paused momentarily, before adding, "Tomorrow?"