The train sped along the blossoming English countryside and
he began to nod off. The journey was an
impulsive one. Krishna had been in the country now for almost 3 years and had
recently taken a fancy for taking long walks in the countryside on weekends.
Time Out magazine had come out with a book which listed walks with easy access
from London. There was also a timetable for walks where people could just show
up on a designated day, usually over the weekend. The detail provided was
meticulous including the train timings from London. Usually he liked to walk
with the group but today he thought it would be better off if he walked alone. So he
took the later train in the day.
He got off at Wadhurst, the terminal point, fiddling with the
book, trying to find the correct page.
‘Oh, are you doing the walk as well?’ He spun around to face
a smiling young woman who also had the same book in her hand. So they set off
together chatting like old friends. Because they were having such an animated
discussion they soon got lost. But because of that they were rewarded by the
sight of bluebells in full bloom on a field on the way. Vaneesha was good with
directions and they were soon back on the path. She had bought the book just
the day before and had missed the earlier train because she got up late.
Krishna joked that fate had conspired to bring them together.
They exchanged their personal stories while at the
same time enjoying spring unfolding all around. It had
been a long time since Vaneesha ventured into the countryside. She was like an
excited kid stopping ever so often to smell the flowers. At one stretch of the
walk, they had to walk through webs made by caterpillars and it was amazing to
see them spin webs just like spiders. At the end of that stretch through the
woods, they were covered with webs and caterpillars.
‘Looks like Spiderman has zapped us’, he said. They picked
the cobwebs off each other and laughed.
Krishna looked into her light brown hazel eyes. She had a
prominent nose which somehow complimented her beauty. Her dark brown hair was tied back in
a ponytail. She was wearing one of those walker’s trousers where you could
detach the part just below the thighs to convert it into a shorts, which she
did one hour into the walk. She had beautiful legs and exquisite skin. I’m
walking with a Goddess, Krishna thought smiling to himself.
On some stretches he walked ahead of her, for there came a
time when there was nothing left to be said, when there was no necessity to
speak or for physical proximity. Once he turned to look behind him and she had
stopped at the stables that he had just passed. She was patting a huge white
stallion. He walked back towards them secretly wanting to do the same. He had
never patted a horse before. She told him that she had grown up with horses in
a farm and had her ways with them. Without asking, she took his hand and placed
it on the stallion’s neck. His heart beating fast he marveled at the touch, the
soft touch of her hand on one side and the smooth skin and underlying hardness
of the stallion’s. She took pictures of him hugging the horse and nuzzling his
head against the beast.
Summer was just around the corner and the day never seemed to
end. All along the walk, she was competing with nature for his attention. But
were they really different from each other? He marveled at the sheer
physicality of this woman’s beauty, the sonorous voice, the carelessly swinging
hips and the rise and fall of her breasts. On the way she shared her knowledge
of plants naming almost all the flowers they saw. He was happy to be silent,
listening to her, feeling love well up in his heart for her, the incredible
beauty around them and the power that made all this happen.
To be Continued...
