The morning mist surrounded the party. The small kid in the front was jovial, walking briskly while negotiating the treacherous path. There were exposed roots, broken branches, puddles, big rocks in their way, which could bring trouble to inexperienced hiker. The kid along with his friends following him in the back, were energetic and pulling themselves ahead without sweating.
He was followed by a thin tall guy, who was little nervous and trying to keep up with him. Behind them was a tall guy who seemed strong and was accompanied by a small girl. They were walking fast with a destination in mind, ignoring the insects on the ground, large cobwebs on the branches of the tree and loud calls of wild birds.
Sambhu, the short boy was the bold person and didnot worry about the precarious situation they were in. The thin guy Lochan, was only concerned about following him. But Dhanush, in the back was aware of this uncertain feeling and was surveying the land, listening intently for any kind of voice or sound which could signal any danger.
They were only couple of kilometers away from their arrival site. Dhanush asked the party to fasten their pace. This feeling persisted for some time but there was no risk at sight. So, they arrived to the valley that was surrounded by the mountains and was more of a clearing from the dense forest. It had most of wild flowers, medicinal herbs growing and constitute one of their collectibles. There were also some mushrooms growing near the tree bases with from berries in the shrubs, which would have complimented their lunch for today.
A small stream was flowing below and seeing it made them remember they were thirsty. After quenching their thirst, they started their daily activity of gatherings. It was noon when they finished, with the sun directly above their head. The morning sun did gave them the warmth they needed but now they have to seek the cover of the trees. They put their gathering of food, branches and herb on the ground to be dried from the heat of the sun.
Lata was eating the berries slowly while the boys were devouring the fruits and snacks. A curious squirrel was looking at their activities from its hideout in one of the tree. May be the smell of the fruits or their loud voices disturbed him or it came out to get the warmth of the sun. After their lunch, they started playing catch, hide and seek. The whole valley was echoed by their laughter. They had completely forgotten the morning tension, and were enjoying their free time.
"Come, catch me if you can" challenged Sambhu to Dhanush as it was his turn to catch everyone. Lata was far behind the tree along with Lochan while Sambhu was teasing Dhanush by coming closer to him.
"I will take away that smug face of yours" retorted angrily and Dhanush started running with a jump. But Sabhu reflexes were faster and he smartly avoided being caught and started running towards the forest. Lochan was caught first as he was the slower one and again the game started. They were running everywhere, from the trees, to the valley, sometimes high above the rock, sometimes below the foxhole.
They played for a hour or two and finally get rested. Dhanush called Sambhu to stop the game as it was time to return. Lochan came from Sambhu's call but Lata didn't responded to the call. They thought that she might have gone a little far and Dhanush started shouting her name for her to listen.
As she didn't respond to that, they started to panic, the uneasy feeling of the morning came back to haunt them.
" Where is she, wasn't she with you?" Dhanush asked Lochan.
"I don't know, she went ahead while I was hiding near the tree." Lochan replied, now with a face ready to cry.
" Show me the direction where you had been." Dhanush exclaimed while calming Lochan down.
After securing their gatherings, and placing it safe on a big branch of the tree, they proceeded to search Lata.
----- A small wait for the next part -----
He was followed by a thin tall guy, who was little nervous and trying to keep up with him. Behind them was a tall guy who seemed strong and was accompanied by a small girl. They were walking fast with a destination in mind, ignoring the insects on the ground, large cobwebs on the branches of the tree and loud calls of wild birds.
Sambhu, the short boy was the bold person and didnot worry about the precarious situation they were in. The thin guy Lochan, was only concerned about following him. But Dhanush, in the back was aware of this uncertain feeling and was surveying the land, listening intently for any kind of voice or sound which could signal any danger.
They were only couple of kilometers away from their arrival site. Dhanush asked the party to fasten their pace. This feeling persisted for some time but there was no risk at sight. So, they arrived to the valley that was surrounded by the mountains and was more of a clearing from the dense forest. It had most of wild flowers, medicinal herbs growing and constitute one of their collectibles. There were also some mushrooms growing near the tree bases with from berries in the shrubs, which would have complimented their lunch for today.
A small stream was flowing below and seeing it made them remember they were thirsty. After quenching their thirst, they started their daily activity of gatherings. It was noon when they finished, with the sun directly above their head. The morning sun did gave them the warmth they needed but now they have to seek the cover of the trees. They put their gathering of food, branches and herb on the ground to be dried from the heat of the sun.
Lata was eating the berries slowly while the boys were devouring the fruits and snacks. A curious squirrel was looking at their activities from its hideout in one of the tree. May be the smell of the fruits or their loud voices disturbed him or it came out to get the warmth of the sun. After their lunch, they started playing catch, hide and seek. The whole valley was echoed by their laughter. They had completely forgotten the morning tension, and were enjoying their free time.
"Come, catch me if you can" challenged Sambhu to Dhanush as it was his turn to catch everyone. Lata was far behind the tree along with Lochan while Sambhu was teasing Dhanush by coming closer to him.
"I will take away that smug face of yours" retorted angrily and Dhanush started running with a jump. But Sabhu reflexes were faster and he smartly avoided being caught and started running towards the forest. Lochan was caught first as he was the slower one and again the game started. They were running everywhere, from the trees, to the valley, sometimes high above the rock, sometimes below the foxhole.
They played for a hour or two and finally get rested. Dhanush called Sambhu to stop the game as it was time to return. Lochan came from Sambhu's call but Lata didn't responded to the call. They thought that she might have gone a little far and Dhanush started shouting her name for her to listen.
As she didn't respond to that, they started to panic, the uneasy feeling of the morning came back to haunt them.
" Where is she, wasn't she with you?" Dhanush asked Lochan.
"I don't know, she went ahead while I was hiding near the tree." Lochan replied, now with a face ready to cry.
" Show me the direction where you had been." Dhanush exclaimed while calming Lochan down.
After securing their gatherings, and placing it safe on a big branch of the tree, they proceeded to search Lata.
----- A small wait for the next part -----
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