Love You More!

Chapter 2

Alisha

“Things I do for you” My friend Ira shook her head while helping me carry my luggage. I tried to pack light but I just couldn’t. I need everything that I own at some point. I dress according to my mood, so I can’t just pack clothes like this dress for this day and that dress for another.

“I love you” I sang, dragging the words, much to her annoyance. She rolled her eyes at me. She acts like she hates it when I do that, but I know it warms her heart.

“Check our tickets for which terminal” She said, dragging my trolley. I gave her the number and the directions. When we reached our terminal, I saw Naman from Delhi standing by the counter along with a few people. I collaborated with him on the paper that I was working on a few months ago. He’s a friendly guy.

“Ira, there’s Naman” I said, pointing in his direction.

“Then let’s go”. We reached him and noticed he was with three more people talking.

“Hey Naman”, I gained his attention and suddenly all of them turned towards us. That’s when my eyes landed on a guy who looked a bit older than me standing there in blue jeans and a black formal shirt that hugged his body like second skin. It looked like god took enough time to sculpt his face in his leisure time and, as it turned out, to be a masterpiece. His eyes were the striking colour of brown, dark yet mysterious, while the nerves on his forearm stretched like they were yawning and, trust me, nothing has been more sexier than that in my life till now. Maybe now is the beginning.

“Ha Ali” Ira nudged me, which brought me back to the present. The beautiful stranger was looking at me with a smirk on her face. He clearly saw me checking him out. Hot damn. I turned towards Naman, who looked like he had asked me something.

“Hi sorry, I was thinking about something” Ira snorted at my pathetic excuse.

“Hey it's okay, it’s great to meet you in person”, he said, giving me a side hug. He always had this chill aura around him.

“This is Ira Avasti, from Mumbai institute itself. Ira, this is Naman Thakur”. I introduced them while the other three were looking at us intrigued. To be honest, it was a bit awkward.

Nice going, Alisha! Leave it to you to make things awkward.

They exchanged pleasantries and Naman turned towards the other three.

“Alisha, Ira, this is Amarjeet Singh our mentor, Maya Sharma our senior”, he said, pointing towards that handsome stranger who was not a stranger now except my mentor. Yikes.

Amarjeet Singh, that’s his name. He looks very young for a mentor, but the way he carries himself screams posh and subtle.

“Hello”, I greeted them awkwardly as usual.

“Hi Alisha, Ira”. He greeted professionally, nodding at both of us.

Maya was more enthusiastic. She introduced herself again and shook our hands.

“And this is Avinash Pillai, from Chennai.” We greeted him and kind of formed a circle unknowingly.

“Great! Now that everyone’s here, let’s go through the itinerary. We already know much about this expedition from our ppt and the sessions conducted in respective base locations. We will be situated in Salsette island. They have booked us a farm house kind of building that’s an insider information I got from the team but we have to see it for ourselves when we get there. We will spend the next 365 days immersing ourselves in the aquatic way of life. We will study the creatures and the ocean. Not only that, we will be interacting with local people and getting information about how they have inculcated the ocean into their day-to-day life. This is an extra task which I included, but it’s up to you guys if you want to do it or not. Our schedule and topics which we will be researching is emailed to you guys. Let’s make this expedition a successful one and majorly have fun”, He said piously, making me feel all tingly inside. He had that authoritative voice and I liked the fact that he didn’t indulge in the work now itself and kept it short and precise.

We all sat down in nearby seats. Maya came and sat beside us. Ira and I shared a look and turned towards her.

“How long till we board our flight?” Ira asked Maya, making small talk which I suck at.

“Half an hour maybe, so where are you guys from? Is Mumbai where you live or work here?” She asked, casually looking at us.

“Both of us are from Mumbai itself. We were lucky to get Mumbai as our base location”, I answered for both of us.

“So true, my whole family stays in Mumbai. They would have made me quit if I had to move to another state”, Ira said, rolling her eyes. It’s true, even she comes from a joint family. Her whole family stays in one house, from her great grandmother to her brothers' kids, everyone in one house. Just the thought makes me shudder. They have their moments, when they all are happy it’s really nice but when they fight, oh my god, it’s very scary.

“What about you?” I asked her, my eyes suddenly catching Amarjeet’s eyes. My heartbeat spiked for a second. What the hell was that?

He turned towards Avinash, who was asking him something. I turned towards Maya, who had a grim look on her face.

“I’m from Bangalore” She said, giving us a small smile which looked fake. Ira and I shared a look.

“Have you been to Salsette Island before?” Ira asked Maya, looking intrigued. Even I am, I have never been outside Mumbai. I was born and brought up here.

“No, this is my first time too ”, she answered, and everyone started forming a line near the counter. Our flight was ready for us.

We boarded the flight and reached our seats. Ira and I have our seats beside each other. Naman and Avinash, Amarjeet and Maya are seated together.

——————————————————————————————

We landed on Salsette Island and my excitement reached a new level. I couldn’t stop smiling. As we got down the flight stairs, a light breeze brushed past me and I felt like an old movie star.

We came out of the airport and the company had arranged for an SUV and a driver to pick us up. His name is Sham, he looked like he was in his 20’s, pretty young. The airport was not that elegant and huge as it was an island, but it had this misty, photographic lens vibe like a 70’s one.

Ira and I shared an excited grin when we huddled inside the SUV. I barely spared any glance towards others and was completely captivated by this island. Can you blame me? I’m in my 20’s and this is the first time I have ever travelled outside Mumbai and that, too, on my own, without my family tagging along. I took so many snaps, I’m sure my family’s snapchat group will be filled with mine. They are gonna be so jealous.

The whole island gave me Goa vibes. I have never been to Goa but I’ve seen it in the movies. On either side of the road, there were coconut trees all along. Most of the land was filled with forest and a house here and there. I saw a few people walking and going on doing their daily chores. They looked like Indian's only. I somewhere hoped to meet someone with different culture and maybe a sexy accent.

All the while, everyone was looking out and taking in the island. We could smell the ocean, it felt so near yet far away. My pulse spiked at the feeling. I have always been fascinated by the ocean since I was a kid. Amarjeet was inquiring Sham about the place, people and habitat. If there are any concerns, we should know about. He reminded me of my dad who made sure everything was fine for us. I mean he’s a mentor, in a way, he should take care of us. We are his responsibility.

When we were kids, my dad and mom would take all my cousins to the beach. We enjoyed and loved the time incredibly so. On the beach, while my brothers played, fought and just enjoyed themselves, I would sit on a rock which was my favourite and stare at the ocean. I remember one day when dad came and asked me why I sit here, every time and stared at the ocean with conviction. I told him “ I don’t know dad, I have this weird fascination of knowing what actually happens in the ocean. How do aquatic animals interact with each other? How does it actually look like at night? Don’t they feel cold and alone?” My dad looked at me stumped and sat beside me rubbing my arms which had goosebumps. He knew then and there that I would discover and resolve all my questions one day.

Sham stopped at a house, in short a bungalow. We went down and looked around in awe. The whole place was covered with trees and so much greenery. I love nature. Putting on a travel playlist and looking at the greenery always gave me a sense of peace.

“Wow” Maya said out loud, looking around. Ira and I agreed with her.

“Guys, let's go in and settle down” Amarjeet said, and we all went inside carrying our luggage. Sham saw my struggle and helped me out before Ira could.

“Thank you sham” I said, grinning like a kid and I swear I saw him blush. Ira and I shared a giggle.

“You’re welcome, ma’am”, he said, controlling his smile and moved ahead of us.

We went inside and were awestruck. This place is riveting, to say the least. We all stood in the living room looking around like a bunch of kids.

“There are 8 rooms with their own bathroom. There’s a theatre room and a gym. The kitchen is to your right and there’s also a terrace”, Sham explained, moving towards the elevator. There’s a freaking elevator in this house.

“Sham, who owns this house? Does anyone live here?” Amarjeet asked, looking stumped at the house. We were all curious.

“Haa Sham, Did some billionaire build this?” Naman asked, entering the elevator. It was big enough to accommodate everyone, including our luggage.

“This farm house is owned by Adit Bhatt. He is an industrialist. He is a good friend of your boss. I think that’s why they let you guys use this house. He recently underwent surgery and is in London along with his family. He took this property and re-built it completely to his children’s taste. His family came here every summer for vacation as his wife had a family here. Later, he built this house. His kids came here last year along with their friends for vacation, but now they are in London with their parents. They won’t be back here for another year or so”, Sham explained, while we went upstairs and stood in the second living room.

“I wish I had a father like him” Avinash said, whistling, looking around, and we all chuckled. This place looks perfect for vacation.

“Well, imagine spending every summer on this island. It sounds like a dream” Ira said out loud with a dreamy look on her face. I couldn’t agree more.

“Okay, let’s get settled in and then we can explore this island today” Amarjeet said, and I let out an unexpected squeal. He looked at me with a twinkle in his eyes. I bit my lip and looked down. Everyone laughed out loud. Away to embarrass yourself Alisha.

“On that passage are the rooms. Come, I’ll show you guys”. Sham led the way. We entered the hallway and it was huge and had 8 doors. Four on either side.

“You guys can choose any room you want. I’ll be downstairs with the maid who is cleaning the kitchen and, if you guys want a cook, to help you guys, let me know”, Sham said with a salute, and went out.

We all shared a look and everyone went their own way. Amarjeet went to the last room to our right. I took the room next to him and Ira took the room beside mine. Avinash, Naman and Maya took rooms on the left side.

And I’m so glad I took the room to my right. There’s a balcony in this room which I love. I always wanted a balcony to my room in my house but that stupid engineer said it would ruin the elevation of the house and my dad immediately said no. I still hold a grudge against him.

The room, like the rest of the house, was spacious. There was a huge bed with a behemoth head-post like a princess used to have one in older times. There was a built-in closet and, trust me, I screamed my lungs out when I saw that. I placed my luggage there and took my change of clothes. I chose a casual blue crop-top and white low-waist jeans and a sling bag for my phone.

The washroom was beside the closet and when I went inside I was left breathing like a fish with its mouth wide open. Everything was marble and it had a freaking bath tub right in the middle of the room. There was a shower stall too. There was a huge mirror above the sink. I could see the whole washroom in it.

I freshened up and came out. I rushed to the balcony. The view was amazing. Completely covered in forest as long as my eyes could see. There was not a single house on this side of the farm house.

I inhaled the fresh air and exhaled, smiling like a happy baby. This was everything, a therapeutic feeling. I turned to my right and there was a balcony which was for Ira’s room. She must be getting ready, I’m sure her room is like mine and she’s losing her mind and taking pictures of the whole room to send her cousins to make them jealous. This is her freedom, her room for the first time in her life.

I turned to my left and froze when I saw Amarjeet standing there leaning against the railing and staring at me. When did he get there? How long has he been staring at me?

“Hi” I said, controlling my blush. He saw me smiling like a fool looking at the trees. I’m sure he must think of me as a lunatic.

“Hey, I’m glad to see you enjoying the view”, he said, tilting his head towards the forest, but little does he know I’m enjoying this view more than that. He stood there in a loose white button-up shirt and light blue jeans, giving him a perfect holiday look. His hairs all ruffled by the breeze, I’m sure mine looks like a bird's nest.

“It’s very hands- umm beautiful” I said, biting my tongue, what is happening to me? My mouth is gonna embarrass me so badly.

He just smiled and nodded before we could say anything. Ira rushed into my room yelling my name.

I rolled my eyes and said “Bye” to him and rushed inside before he could say anything. This girl has lived in a joint family her whole life but she has no respect for personal space at all.

“Did you even knock?” I asked, entering the room to see her looking around my room in awe.

“This is so unfair. Your room is so much more beautiful than mine”, completely ignoring my question.

“Stop exaggerating! All the rooms must look the same” I said, shrugging.

“No they don’t. Mine is very basic, I mean it’s huge and beautiful, but this room looks like a princess lived here before” She said looking inside the closet and washroom.

“My closet is small and there’s no bathtub in my room”, she said, pursing her lips. I controlled my laugh. I really wanted to feel sympathetic towards her but all I could say was this.

“Haha, my room is rocks and yours sucks” I said, showing her my tongue, which made her even more mad and she threw a pillow to my face.

I laughed at her childishness and mine too.

I don’t have an elder or a younger sister. I have always been the only girl in my family. Sure, they all love me, but I can’t play or connect with my brothers like I would have if I had a sister. Luckily, I found Ira, who is sick of her family and surprisingly loves me to the moon and back. She is very supportive and fiercely protective of me. She acts like an elder sister sometimes and other times she’s worse than a 10-year-old girl. I’m always grateful for her being in my life. I can share all my thoughts and feelings without being judged.

We sat on my bed talking about this place and our teammates. Not just me, she even noticed how handsome Amarjeet is. I giggled and agreed with her. I can’t believe we are talking about our mentor like this. We talked about how cool Maya was, even though she’s our senior. We knew we would be good friends with her. She doesn’t have any b***h attitude so far, so that’s a good sign. Avinash was the funny guy. He would crack up making jokes all the way from the airport to this place, when need be. Naman, as I said earlier, he's a chill guy. Minds his own business, but when we are all talking about something, he joins in and the very first time I talked to him I felt like I met a complete stranger and had a good, valuable talk with him with no strings attached. Just some casual and meaningful talk about work and life. He’s that guy.

I looked outside the balcony and smiled to myself.

This trip is gonna be one heck of a journey!