Vigneshvijaykk

He piled up the fish he caught and bundled it neatly. It was getting dark. He realised he should have left sooner. 

As he walked along the river he spotted a torch shining from a short distance. People from his village did not wander this late. He wondered who this could be. A part of him was worried it could be trouble. But his natural curiosity pulled him closer to the light. 

From a safe distance he stopped and observed. It was a woman. She was clothed differently. Not like the women in his village who usually wore plain cotton. This woman wore colorful clothes. And she seemed scared. 

He didn’t want to spook her. He raised his arms, opened his palms and walked toward her slowly, speaking softly. “I see you. Do you need help?” he asked her.

She still seemed panicky but she didn’t run away. “Yes please. I would appreciate any help” 

He went closer and now she could see him clearly. Something she saw in him calmed her down a bit. But only enough to not worry about him. She was still worried about something else. 

“Are you lost?” he asked her gently. He could see she was overwhelmed. She was carrying a bag with her too. 

“Yes. I am. I was with my family. We were traveling to Pearl city, and on our way we camped at the waterfall nearby. Everyone slept off after eating in the afternoon, and I wanted to explore a bit. But now I’m lost and I can’t find my way.” 

His face softened. “Ah I see! The path to the waterfall is too dangerous to approach at this hour. I would not recommend that.” 

“What do I do then?” she asked with a hint of suspicion in her voice.

“Maybe you can come with me to my village. You can stay the night. Your family would probably think of approaching the nearest village to see if you arrived there. We could also look for them in daylight tomorrow.” 

“Ah but I don’t trust people easily. At least now you are alone. I can handle you if you threaten me. But in your village I would be ganged-up on.” She said more like she was thinking out loud.  

He was amused at how she acted like her suspicion would not offend him at all. He smiled and said “Well, lady. If you are that cautious, fine then! Let’s just halt here somewhere safe. Come on. It’s getting darker.”

She nodded and walked with him. “If we climb this little hill that you see over there, we would find a cave. Most people don’t know it exists. That should be safe enough. Is that okay?” he asked her.

“That should do for now.”

They walked faster trying to reach there before the sun fully set. “I have some fish. We can eat when we get there.”

“Oh thank you! I’m starving. They were all eating rabbit meat in the afternoon. I didn’t. I hate that boney creature full of tiny little sticks in its flesh.” 

He smiled. “Yeah rabbits don’t please all tastes. They could have found a deer if they had looked hard enough. The forest near the waterfall has a few of them.” 

“Exactly what I said. My father acted like I insulted him. You seem to be a smart man.” She approved. 

He turned to her face and smiled at her. She reminded him of her mother who also speaks freely like she does. 

“What do you call yourself?” she asked him, wanting to make him stop looking at her face like she was beautiful. She was, but she just didn’t want him looking.

“Trekker. And you are?” 

“Luna. Why did you choose this name? Do you trek a lot?” 

“Haha, no! My mother chose this name for me. How could I name myself?”

“What are you talking about? In my town, we change our names when we turn 16. Your name is your identity, isn’t it? It tells people who you are. How can you live with an assigned name all your life?” She asked him.

“Well, in my village, that’s not how it works. So why did you choose your name?” 

“Have you observed the moon? It is never the same. Sun, it’s the same. Round and bright all the same. But the moon, it changes shades, and shapes. Unless you observe it closely and for a few cycles, you won’t understand it. I’m like that too.”

“That’s deep. My mom always wanted to go trekking. But she didn’t have the eye for it. So she named me trekker. And I have grown to live up to that name.” 

“That is adorable. But what is it that you want for yourself?” she asked him, carefully avoiding stepping on elephant shit. She quickly scanned the place for threats as she kept an ear on his words.

“I don’t really know. I don’t want much for myself usually. I just try to be helpful.”

“Nobody is like that. Don’t pretend.” 

He smiled and turned to her. He noticed how she was more alert now. 

“What’s wrong? Are you fine?” 

“Yeah, I just noticed some elephant shit. So I’m worried. I can handle lions and tigers. But elephants are beyond my league.” 

He laughed. “Oh yes! They are beyond most people’s leagues. But not to worry! Elephants are common here. They are not threatening. They won’t bother you unless you bother them.”

They finally reached the cave, and they both looked around to see if there was something off.

“Looks exactly the same as it was when I last saw this place. We can rest here tonight.” he said and he moved to a corner where there was a chest. 

She moved closer to lean to see what was in it. He opened it and it revealed a large pile of sticks. 

“For fire. It’s a hassle to go collect sticks freshly each time.” He explained and started building a fire. Meanwhile she unraveled her bag and pulled out a rug. 

“Lets sit on this.” She said as she spread it near the fire. By now the fire had caught nicely. They sat by it on the rug and warmed themselves. 

He pulled out two fish from the bundle and realised he forgot to build a stand to cook it. 

She smiled and said “Let me help”

She got into action. She pulled up a few more sticks from the chest, and tore a narrow long piece of her cloth from the edge. She used the sticks and the cloth to create a stand hovering above the fire. And then she stuck the fish into a stick and placed it on the stand. 

From time to time, she flipped the fish elegantly without hurting her fingers. He was impressed. 

“That’s clever”

“You seriously don’t know how to do this?” she asked him mockingly.

“No. There are other things I could do, you know? I’m not completely useless” He said.

“Haha, don’t be so fragile. I was not insulting you” 

He smiled back.

“Do you come here often?” She asked.

“I do. I’m trekker, remember?” 

“Alone?” 

He smiled. “Not always.” 

She wanted to know more but didn’t want to seem too curious. She remained silent, hoping he would add more. He didn’t.

She got up to scout the cave. There was a pot with water in it. She checked it and found it fresh. “Is this fresh water?” she asked him.

“Yeah from two days back. Safe to drink” he said.

She didn’t drink it. She closed the lid and moved on. There was a smaller chest with some daggers in it. Her eyes brightened and she crouched down to examine them. 

“Careful. They are all very sharp.”

“I know how to handle blades. Easy.” She said impatiently and picked up one which looked heavy and elegant. 

“These seem valuable. What if someone steals them?” 

“People don’t come here. The path is intricate and unless you are looking for this cave, you won’t find it.” 

She looked around a bit more and found a bundle of clothes, and some scrolls as well. “This is basically your secret home it seems. I guess you bring girls here when you don’t want others finding out.” 

He laughed. “Girls won’t go through such hard treks to sleep with a man.”

“Fair enough”

She moved back to him and sat near the fire. The fish looked ready. Her mind wandered off. Why is he so nice? Is he really a good person? How can someone not have goals for themselves?

She didn’t let it show though. He patiently placed the cooked fish on the large leaves he had carried in his bundle.

They started eating. 

“This is good.” She said, and he smiled back.

After they were done, they were both tired and they drifted off to sleep. The sun had already risen by the time he woke up. She was nowhere to be found.