Colliding heart 2

7

Then the next morning came , we had planned to do all the water sports today and if something was left out we can continue it tomorrow . For the activity , we selected paddling Austin and I both knew how to swim therefore we loved all the activities related to water . Guided paddling tours and equipment rental were available through the outdoor centre , although pets were not allowed so we couldn’t take cooper with us , we felt sorry for him but there was nothing that could be done we tried talking to the guide and other authorities but rules are rules . We rented two stand up paddling boards and set off , although it was quite difficult of maintain balance on it in starting but eventually I got used to it , surprisingly Austin doesn’t seemed to have any problem and was very comfortable with it , he was even helping me by holding my hand . it was an amazing place , Florida's native mangroves line the riverbanks creating a cool, shaded, almost cave-like atmosphere , The flat, calm waters of Oleta river was ideal for these paddle sports . It was such a silent place that we could hear the sounds of nature , we spotted tiny black crabs scurrying along the mangrove roots , a wading bird , like a heron , egret , or ibis , we also hear the sound of the fish jumping out of water . People were also saying that many people have seen dolphins there although we were not lucky enough to witness that . It was so relaxing and peaceful that we lost track of the time , it was evening from afternoon we have to return Cooper is also alone . We returned the equipment and came back . Paddling consumed more  time than what we were expecting so we had to the other activities tomorrow . It was not dark yet so we bought some food from a nearby restaurant and decided to eat it by the shore , it was beautiful , eating in open area by the river has become a habit for us , we almost did it every time . Instead of eating at a restaurant we packed all the food and bring it here .

The next day we went for swimming at the beach , it was a sandy bayfront beach with sparkling, crystal clear water , it was perfect to take a dip on such a hot day . We put on our swimming suits and went into the sea , the water was cool and nice and the most important thing is we there was no one except us there . We both loved swimming although Austin was not good at it back then but now he was swimming like a professional , he seemed to have improved a lot , “ wanna go for a race ? “ I asked “ ya sure if you are not afraid of getting defeated “ he said with full confidence . Austin has changed , he wasn’t so confident back then even in the things he was good at , people do change with time but his feelings for me have also changed ? doesn’t hr like me anymore ? “ what happened carol , afraid of getting defeated ? “ he called out to me the top of his voice “ we will see who will be defeated “ . We started from the same point and the finishing point was a rock in the sea , I was doing the countdown “ 3.. 2.. 1.. go ! “ , the start was great we both were at our full speed and were moving exactly side by side but by the time we reached the end I started feeling tired so I had to slow down a little and as a result Austin won the race . When I finally reached there , I came out of water and started gasping and sat there on the sand

“ see I told you I will win “ Austin said without realizing where I was , then he notices me and comes running over to me “ what happened ? are you alright ? “ he asked 

“ I am absolutely fine I an just a bit tired and I am catching up my breath . Earlier I made 5 - 6 laps in one go without getting exhausted but now I don’t know what happened suddenly “ , 

“ it’s alright Carol , although you are not in a hospital but it doesn’t mean you are fully recovered you still need time to get back to how you were and it’s natural to feel weak and tired while recovering “ 

We rested for a while and then again went into water but we only swam for a little time and came out because Cooper was not getting in which was obvious because doesn’t like to take a bath also , making Cooper take a bath is one of the hardest and tiring thing , so we soon came out and started playing with cooper after a while I went to sit and rest on the chair while they both were playing . I looked at Austin , he was looking so happy and he was actually laughing with an open heart ( which is a rare moment ) this is the first time since he came back that I have seen him so happy , otherwise normally when he laughs it looked as if someone is forcing him to but today it was different I was so content that after spending more than a year with me finally he is happy for once . 

We were done with swimming and we still so we were sitting on the chairs enjoying the weather “ Austin we still have a lot of time , we don’t we do something else “ I asked 

“ yes , I was also thinking about that but what can we possibly do ? “

“ what about snorkelling ? “

“ that’s a great idea , why didn’t I think of it ? “ he jumped out of his chair “ lets go we will have to rent some equipment for it “ he took my hand , pulled me out of the chair and took me to the outdoor centre running ( I don’t know why , we had ample of time ) , he was too excited . I didn’t know that we have to wear so many things for snorkelling . there was a diving mask , swimfins exposure protection , weight belt ( which was quite heavy by the way ) and snorkelling vest , there was a professional at the centre who taught us how to wear those although he wouldn’t be coming to the beach we have to go there on our own risks . We came back to the beach , put on everything and went inside the water , we have to leave cooper in the centre because it would be take time . We went quite far and deep inside the sea , it was magnificent it was colourful because of all kinds of corals and other fishes , there were a variety of fishes from small to large , cute to a bit weird looking , with bright to dull colors . It was an amazing once in a life time experience , we swam there for some time then we had a camera so we took a lot of pictures and then came out . We went to the centre picked up Cooper and went to our cabins . We have both taken a bath and now were chilling , Cooper was asleep as usual so that he will not let anyone sleep in the morning . I was looking at today’s photo graphs from beach and underwater , I had to select some to post it on i********: , Austin was reading the guide book of the park looking for sports that  we can try . There was complete silence in the room except the air conditioner which was making some sounds occasionally , then Austin came running to me “ look carol I got it , we can go for paragliding or skydiving or mountain biking they have all these sports here , it would be so much fun “ he looked very excited . I was never into adventure sports and honestly  I didn’t want to go paragliding or sky diving because I was scared although I didn’t have acrophobia or anything but still getting thrown from such a height I really couldn’t do it and about mountain biking it didn’t sounded like fun to me rather it was like a task for me , riding on a mountain on steep slopes on uneven way in such a dense forest  but Austin looked to happy and excited I didn’t want to disappoint him “ look Austin I really can’t do skydiving and paragliding , I am really scared of such a height and I am not an adventure sport person “ I said and I could see the immediate expressions of sadness and disappointment on his face “ but… I think that mountain biking does sound like a good idea “ I said looking at him “ really ? okay then we will go there tomorrow , it will be so much fun with the three of us together “ and there he was all enthusiastic and energetic again “ we should pack ours bags now , in case we forget something tomorrow “ he said and left without even listening to me . I was still going though my social media and Austin just finished packing 

“ why aren’t you sleeping yet ? “ he said turning to me 

“ it’s just 11 p.m. , it is common for us to stay awake this late when we were at home we usually watched movie at night and went to sleep sometimes around 3 , 11 p.m. is no big deal “ I said 

“ it is a big deal . What if you oversleep tomorrow and miss our chance of mountain biking , there is specified time for it , you know that right ? “

“ aren’t you still awake too ? what if we miss it because of you ? “

“ well you don’t have to worry about me , even when we watched movies at night I always woke up early in the morning and go for jogging unlike someone who slept till after noon “ 

“ then you can wake me up , there is nothing to worry about “

“ ya of course I can only if I were a super hero , because to wake you up in the morning is something out of hands for normal human beings “ well he was right and can’t argue on that , every time we are late it’s usually because of me if I am asleep then no one except me can wake me up no matter how important anything else is but sleep comes first .

“ okay you don’t have to remind me that , I already know that . I am going to sleep you should also sleep early “ I said 

“ good night . I will also sleep just somethings are left to pack “

“ good night “

Then next day I woke up just to find that Austin was not in the cabin , he might have went to take a shower Cooper was also not there so as usual I was the last one to wake up . He was probably gone to take a shower , so I also got up from bed and went to take a bath . When I came back Austin and Cooper were back 

“ look we have brought the breakfast “ Austin said turning to me , 

“ so fast , we usually go to the restaurant together what happened today ? “ I asked

“ this way we can save time and we won’t be late for mountain biking “

“ okay , nice idea “

Now you can understand why I agreed for this activity , he has been so excited about this since the moment we decided it , so after having our breakfast we set off to the outdoor centre to take 2 bicycles  , for cooper we had a dog carrier bike pet basket , since he was still a puppy he could be easily adjusted in that basket which was obviously attached to Austin’s bike . We reached the spot where we had to start our journey , there were many people present there there was an instructor who was telling us the rules and all the safety precautions we were divided into 2 groups each group had 8 people and there were two instructors who will be guiding there respective groups , although we were in a group but people there were only talking among themselves with their acquaintance no one cared for anyone . So the instructor was leading us and had to follow him , we were in at a place covered entirely by trees so there were chances that people may get lost here so we were strictly instructed to follow him closely “ are you ready ? “ our instructor shouted loudly he was obviously doing it to pump up everyone “ yes ! “ everyone responded with the same energy except me “ let’s go ! “ he said and went forward , we also got on our bikes and followed him , it was a rough track , it was like a roller coaster going up and down . At first everything was going pretty well all of us were enjoying and cooper was also looking excited and happy Austin was so happy that he couldn’t stop smiling for a second I was content that atleast my efforts of coming here didn’t go in vain , since Austin is happy everything is worth it . But then after sometime I started getting tired , I felt as if everyone suddenly got faster I started lagging behind Austin noticed it , he slowed down his bike and came next to me 

“ is everything alright Carol ? why have you suddenly slowed down ? “ he asked 

“ yes everything is fine , it’s just that I have started feeling exhausted suddenly “ I replied

“ it’s okay you maintain the speed at which you are comfortable , I will accompany you “

“ okay “

We were eventually lagging behind and before we knew other people were out of our sight , still we were moving in a straight forward direction , we have been roaming for a quite a lot of time now yet we couldn’t see the end point nor we could see anyone else , it was quite clear that we were lost . We stopped and looked around , all we could see were trees we both took our phones out and as expected there were no signals here “ what will we do now ? , we are lost “ I asked , I was breathing heavily and was too tired to move “ don’t worry we have a compass and a map which the instructor gave us , we will definitely be able to get out of here safe and sound , but before that we can sit here drink water and have a rest “ he said . We parked our bikes on the road so and went a little inside the forest and sat on a rock , we drank water and sat there for a while “ sorry Austin , it’s all because of me that we were left behind and got lost “ I said looking down “ no Carol it’s not your fault I should have thought about your health too , I knew that you can’t do stressful and energy consuming sports yet I insisted on doing mountain biking , I should be the one to apologize “ he said “ well it was no one’s fault but if you don’t get up right away and go to the bicycles then it will be your fault , we have to reach the finishing spot before it’s dark “ I immediately got up and started walking towards the bike , I looked back Austin was still sitting on the rock looking at me I turned back  “ come on Austin get up fast or it will be dark “ and started walking in a backward direction  “ Carol look in front don’t walk backwards you will fall “ and the moment he said that i accidentally stepped in a small hole , my foot got twisted and I fell down . Austin came running to me “ Carol are you ok ? “ he held my hand and tried to pick me up , I could get up a little but again fell down “ I can’t get up , it’s paining a lot “ I said “ it’s okay don’t get up and stay here for a while “ he took my foot , took off my shoes and was observing it carefully “ it’s swollen , although it is not very serious but it will be paining for atleast a day and we don’t even have any cray bandages now , you just rest here and don’t move for a while pain will slowly reduce , till then let me think of something “ he was roaming about in the place looking at the map and compass while I was sitting on the ground with Cooper besides me , Cooper seemed to have understood that I was hurt at first he was moving about around my foot careful not to touch it and then came towards me , sat on my lap and started licking my face “ it’s fine cooper I am alright , you don’t have to worry about me “ the sun was going down and soon it will be dark , we have to get out of here before that because this place is definitely not safe it can have dangerous wild animals although I luckily we didn’t have an encounter with any of that . “ Carol give me your hand and try getting up “ he said , I held his hands and after some tries finally got up “ I can stand but I don’t think that I will be able to walk , if you are thinking about it “ I said looking at him , “ I know you won’t be able to walk , I have checked the map and according to how long we have travelled and the sign boards that we saw on our way , we should be around here “ he pointed at a point in the map , there were sign boards ? I didn’t notice that , he continued “ so according to my rough calculations , we are not very far from our destination we just need to walk according to the map with the help of the compass “ he said concluding his long theory 

“ but the problem still remains the same , I can’t even walk right now how will I ride a bike ? “ I asked “ I have thought about it , you don’t have to ride the bike since the finish point is not very far , I will carry you on my back , we will leave the bicycles here and ask someone to get them afterwards “ I wasn’t expecting this , I stood there staring him did I heard it right ? he will carry me ? well I know that I am not fat but I am not a child 

“ what ? you will carry me on your back ? what do you think I am ? a small child ? I am not Cooper I am heavy how will you carry me ? “ 

“ for your information I am not that weak , every time you fall asleep on the couch while watching movie I carry you to your bed “

“ that’s different the distance from the living room to my room is very short “

“ no more argument on this I will carry you on my back and that’s it , come on get on “

He turned around and bend down with is back towards me , I wrapped my hands around his neck and my legs around his waist , he was also supporting me with his hands by holding my legs “ come on cooper let’s go “ I said calling him , he was walking along with us , I was holing the compass in one hand and the map in other and was guiding him with the directions . This was so nice , me and him being so close to each other he cared for me and was worried about me , maybe I was overthinking if he didn’t liked me then why would he be so much considerate towards me ? I think he still has feelings for me . We have been walking for 10 minutes and yet no progress 

“ are you sure we are going in right direction ? “ I asked him 

“ yes we are going in the right direction , we will reach there soon “ he answered calmly 

“ are you fine ? if you are tired we stop for a while and you can have a rest “

“ no I am not tired at all , you are not that heavy “

It was getting dark and we were still walking there in the dense forest and then the most awaited thing happened , we reached our destination we could see people from our group and the instructor . The moment we reached there the instructor came running to us ,

“ you are Mr. Austin and Miss Carol right ? “

“ yes we are “ Austin replied

“ how are you ? are you both fine ? we were so worried about you you know the forest is not safe it has wild animals , we have been looking for both of you , we have even send some people to find find you , where have you been ? “ 

“ Sorry for the inconvenience , we didn’t want to make anyone worried . We actually had to slow down because of some reasons so we were left behind and soon everyone was out of sight and we got lost “

“ then how did you reach here ? “

“ luckily we had the map and the compass , it helped us to reach here “ Austin said 

“ well I can see you are a smart person . By the way why are you carrying her on your back ? “ the instructor asked , finally they noticed that I was here too 

“ she twisted her ankle while we were trying to find our way out and also we have to leave the bicycles there I hope it’s not a problem “

“ no it’s definitely not tomorrow we will ask someone to take them and as for the injury we have some ointments and bandages in the centre you can go take a look if there is something that might be useful for you “ 

“ okay , thank you for your help “

We went to the centre , where Austin applied some gel on my foot and then covered it with a bandage , after spending some time there we have to go back to our cabins , Austin carried me there . When we reached there it was already dark , we found that people were having a bonfire and everyone was sitting around it although it’s hot in the morning it gets extremely cold during night time . “ Let’s go there “ I said to Austin pointing in the direction of bonfire , we went there and sat with other people , then a person got up and said “ hello everyone , so to make this night more memorable I would like to sing something if you don’t have any objection “ he asked politely “ everyone will appreciate that go on “ everyone supported and cheered him . He was playing his guitar and as well as singing , I didn’t know which song it was but I was enjoying it , it was a romantic song and his voice sounded so good with that song as if that song was made for him . He made the atmosphere so romantic that couple got up and started dancing there eventually many people joined them and now there were more people who were dancing and less people who were sitting . I also wanted to dance but I couldn’t because of my twisted foot so we sat there peacefully , I held his hand and then slowly put my head on his shoulder he didn’t react to this because after spending so much time with each other we were quite comfortable around each other , I didn’t want this moment to end , I wish time could freeze here everything was so relaxing a, listening to a pleasant song , sitting next to your favourite person and also Cooper , what more can I ask for . I decided that I will not make any changes and confess to Austin as I had planned earlier and the day will be tomorrow .

 “ I think we should go back to our cabins it’s getting colder and the clothes we are wearing are quite thin we may catch a cold also your foot has not recovered yet you should rest more “ Austin said “ okay “ I said but didn’t move , I didn’t want to leave but I guess I have to

 “ Carol ?” he called 

“ yes ? oh okay let’s go “ , we stood up 

“ okay get on my back “ Austin said bending down ,

 “ you don’t have to carry me anymore , it’s not hurting that much I think I can walk by myself “ I said 

“ are you sure ? because I can carry you it’s no big deal the cabins are right in front of us “

“ trust me I am fine , I can really walk on my own “

“ okay but let me support you , here hold my hand “ he said giving his hand to me 

“ come on Cooper it’s time to go “ , he also looked tired he was lying next to us

Today everyone was completely exhausted so directly went to bed , although I couldn’t fall asleep I was excited about how Austin would react to my surprise and most probably he would say that he liked me too and then we will be together , thinking about all these I didn’t know when fell asleep .