The next morning, Heer felt like a hammer was slowly being used to bang her head in. She groaned and stumbled out of bed with great difficulty. She looked into the bathroom mirror and nearly balked at the reflection. She did not look good. She felt marginally dizzy and had to hold on to the sink so as to not fall over. She sighed and sat down for a bit until the feeling subsided. She then got up and headed for a shower.

As she was getting ready, she saw the black hoodie she had so fortunately borrowed. She knew she should ideally give it back but her cold had a completely different point of view. She shivered, grabbed it and snuggled into it hastily. She then wore her jacket over it.

She thought about Ishaan and how she had left him and walked away last night. She sighed at the mere thought of it. She felt like there were so many emotions that were bottling inside of her. Every time she saw Ishaan, she felt like just letting everything go and be in the moment. She shook her head and walked out of the room.

She checked her phone and texted her mother. She had been doing that for the last 2 days as she didn't want her mother to hear her rather nasal voice and worry herself unnecessarily.

She was walking in the corridor when she spotted Ishaan getting out of his room. He shut the door, locked it and looked up at her. He held her gaze and her pace slowed.

She then remembered last night and her resolve to stay away from him. She then broke eye contact and quickened her pace, away from him.

They spent the morning exploring the iconic Kye monastery and then drove to Kunzum pass. Despite it being chilly and extremely windy, Heer hadn't seen a more beautiful sight. They also visited the Kunzum Mata temple to pray.

They then got back into the car and drove towards the penultimate part of their itinerary, Chandratal Lake. While Heer hadn't really been too scared of the road so far, this climb was definitely causing butterflies to have a dance party in her stomach and not in a good way. But dada was a highly experienced driver and he steadily made his way up to the point.

After that, it was a fifteen minute walk to the lake. A rich blue surrounded by mountains was peeking back at them as they made their way. Heer and Ishaan pulled out their cameras at the same time to click pictures. Rina laughed at the coincidence and kept walking ahead. Ishaan kept his gaze focused at his camera screen. When he was happy with the output, he walked ahead too without glancing at Heer.

Once they reached the lake, Heer did what she had done at all places that had taken her breath away so far. She just sat down and didn't move, observing and just being. Despite other tourists being around, it was the quietest place she had been to. It was here that she could hear her thoughts clearly. It was here that she realized how exhausted she actually was before and how this trip was eating away at that fatigue. She was beginning to see things a little more clearly, after a long time.

But they weren't allowed to stay at the lake for too long. The lake was out of bounds after dark so they had to go back while there was still daylight.

After dinner, they waited for another highly anticipated part of the evening: star gazing. But luck was not on their side. The sky was shrouded with clouds and stars hid behind them. With great disappointment, they retired to their tents.

After tossing and turning with a blocked nose for two hours, Heer gave up. She sighed and got up from her bed. She zipped up her jacket and stepped out again. It was unbelievably cold. She rushed back in to grab a beanie and jam it on her head and again stepped out. She made her way to the end of the tents. Then, she decided to look up. The sky had finally cleared. And the stars were out. They were out in such abundance that Heer nearly fell down at the magnitude of the moment. She had never seen such so many stars in her adult life.

She then sat down on the ground. Oh dear. Cold. Cold. She got back up and shivered, hugging herself. For some strange reason, she knew Ishaan would love every moment of this. This experience had Ishaan written all over it. And yet, he was missing it. She was missing him. She was harsh with him. She knew the consequences of what she had said and she had said them for a reason. The way she had felt the last time her heart had broken had felt too fresh to repeat again. It was like history repeating itself. A guy she liked but lived elsewhere. She remembered sneaking to the secret garden and hiding her tears from her mother. She didn't want to start something again that just wouldn't go ahead. She didn't want to feel like that again. Her shoulders sagged at the weight of those memories. And then out of nowhere, Ishaan's face popped in her mind. He was smiling there. He was walking backwards. Away from her. It was as though at the back of her mind, she was counting the moments down to when she would never see him again. It was as though she knew that these moments were all she had with him. It wouldn't hurt to spend a few moments with him. When would she see that smile again? Would she ever hear that laugh again?

With that reasoning, she turned on her heel and squared her shoulders. She marched back to the tents and looked at the numbers. 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7...Yes. That was his tent. She paused for a moment and then with a sense of purpose, she unzipped the tent door and stepped in. It was quiet and dark. She switched on her phone torch and navigated her way to his bed. She could barely see him. He was wrapped under the thick mattress-like blanket. She reached out and tugged on the solar lamp to switch it on. She then switched off her phone torch and took a deep breath. Okay, she was going to do this. She was not going to chicken out. She then lifted a hand and poked him in the shoulder. No movement. Okay. Once more. Nothing. Yeesh. She grabbed his shoulder with both hands and shook.

He groaned and turned to the other side. This was tougher than expected. She rolled her eyes and barked, "Ishaan!" She then consistently shook his shoulder until he rolled around, squinted at her and said, "Wha??"

He then blinked a few times and tried to figure out what was happening. Then when he spotted her, he frowned and rubbed his eyes.

He mumbled, "Heer? Ah, I better not be dreaming."

She half-smiled and asked, "What did you say?"

He sat up and stretched his neck. He then asked, "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

She realized that he was already not on great terms with her and that waking him up at this unearthly hour was not going to put her in his good books. So she did some quick thinking.

"Uh, yes. I mean no. I need your help with something. Please?"

He sighed and looked at her with an odd look on his face. He then shook his head and said, "Fine. Let me just go to the bathroom first."

As soon as he was out, she grabbed his jacket from the chair and handed it to him. She then slipped her hand into his and dragged him out of the tent.

In surprise, he asked, "Wait, you didn't tell me what happened."

She looked ahead with a smile on her face and just kept walking, pulling him with her. She reached out her other hand and tightened her grip on his.

"Heer, would you just tell me? Is it Rina? Is she alright?"

She kept pulling him to the end of the tents and said, "Shush. Don't be loud. You'll wake everyone up."

"So everyone is asleep? Why are we awake then? Heer, it's really cold. Can I at least wear my jacket?"

"Come on, we're almost there!"

"Almost where? You're scaring me."

She stopped at the end of the tent line and turned around. It was almost cute, the confusion on his face. She smiled and simply pointed up. He frowned and looked up. In an instant, she watched his frown straighten and his eyes widen at the sight of the star-filled sky. She saw him visibly relax in front of her eyes as he turned his head to see the view.

"Oh my God! The sky cleared..."

She smiled and said, "Yeah! I wanted you to see it. I just knew you'd love it."

In all this, she realized that she had not once looked at the sky since she had brought him out. She scratched her nose and smiled.

He looked down and said, "Thanks."

She felt his cold hand and realized he must be feeling cold. She reached out and took his jacket from him. She then held it out for him to slip his arms in. He looked down at it and frowned. He reached out, took the jacket and wore it himself. He zipped it up and asked in a quiet voice, "Why?"

She looked up at him and then looked at the sky. After a brief pause, she replied, "Because I've never seen this sky before. I don't know if I ever will again. And in my heart, it feels so, so wrong to see it without you. You're right there, two tents away. How could I not?"

He folded his arms and shook his head. He then looked at the stars again and said, without looking at her, "Heer, you are so...frustrating. I don't know what to say to you. I talk to you and you build a wall. I keep my distance from you and you pull me back. It's just..." He looked back down at her and said, "Confusing."

She nodded and said, "I know. I'm sorry. I really am. Just this one time, I promise. I'll be out of your hair soon. I just want to look at the stars. I want to hang out with a cute guy. Talk, laugh, just be. Just one time."

Against his will, a small smile appeared on his face. He dropped his hands and said, "Heer..."

She smiled, took one step closer and requested, "Please?"

He sighed and looked at the sky to say, "Fine. But I'm only doing it because I can't miss this sky. And you happen to be standing outside. And it's rude to avoid someone studiously."

She chuckled and said, "Whatever makes you stay."

He looked down at her with a small smirk and looked back up.

"God, this sky is beautiful."

She looked back up and smiled. She then let out a sneeze.

He looked down and said, "You're not supposed to be out in such cold weather with a cold, you know."

She pulled out a hanky, patted her nose and waved her hand to say, "Ugh I don't care. My sky, my time. I'm not going inside."

"You're stubborn."

"Wouldn't you do the same thing in my place?"

"Yeah but I don't have a cold, right now."

"Yeah but what if you did?"

He shook his head but smiled. He then asked, "Why did we have to come to this particular point to see the sky? We could have seen it anywhere around here."

She shrugged and said, "I saw it here for the first time. So I brought you here too."

He groaned and replied, "Ugh, you're too charming for your own good."

She rolled her eyes and mumbled, "You're one to speak."

"What's that?"

"Nothing."

He smiled and said nothing as well. He then looked up and started walking towards the tents slowly. She joined him. They spent the next few minutes just walking peacefully in companionable silence.

He then asked, "So, do you want to sit?"

She shook her head.

"How come? I thought this would definitely be a place that would make you sit back and enjoy."

"You noticed?"

He smiled and said, "Yes. It's been fun to join you on occasion. So why not today?"

She shrugged and replied, "I tried. The ground's too cold for my butt."

He burst out laughing. She turned around and looked with a smile on her face that seemed to appear whenever he laughed. She tried to commit it to memory. As his laughter subsided, he asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

She smiled and shook her head. Being here under that many stars and with him so close, she felt an overwhelming urge. She then closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She leaned close to his ear and said, "A remedy for the cold weather."

He was tense at first and then relaxed into the hug, pulling her in closer. He sighed and said, "This cold will be my undoing."

She then remembered that she had a cold and pulled back quickly. He asked warily, "Now what?"

She said apologetically, "I forgot I had a cold. I'm so sorry. I don't want to give it to you." With that, she tried to pull back completely when he smiled and refused to let go. He said, "It's a little too late for that. You should have thought of that before you pulled me out of bed, dragged me out to star-gaze and then acted all cute to knock the good sense out of me."

She smiled and looked into his eyes hopefully to ask, "You think I'm cute?"

At this, he looked heavenward as though asking for patience and then looked down to say, "Heer..."

"What?"

He pulled her beanie over her eyes playfully and said, "Nothing. Just look at the stars."

She laughed, pulled it back up and leaned back into the hug. The stars looked so good from here, over his shoulder.

For the first time, music didn't seem necessary.

Author's Note: This has been my favourite chapter from the time I wrote it. I hope all of you like it too.

Love,

S.