12 July 2024...
Darjeeling.

The hills were above and below like a fingerprint . rolling up and down, curving and changing no two parts ever the same as the dogs ran backwards and forwards on their last legs for the day . while the sun disappeared and as the darkness came closer covering the small town like a blanket of darkness.

no one really knew, where the thunderstorm decided to pay a visit all of a sudden but it was visibly a thick coating of black gigantic clouds covering the blue evening sky like a black mist. in the hope of enveloping the towering terrace farmings for a good session of rain shower.

Back in the hotel situated in the town around scenic beauty of green hills of the town of Darjeeling, Vritra Yeerth found herself sitting near the mahogany planted wooden windows.

her back was pressed against the armrest as soft frustrated groan escaped from her rather parched lips. she could easily hear a loud boom ! from far away as the clap of thunder slowly took over the beauty of sunset.

Within a second Vritra's almond shaped chocolate brown eyes shined showing up the reflection of flashy lightening of sky illuminating around like fireworks. the crashing thunder roared furiously embarking upon the journey of a heavy downpour.

As the electrifying lightening zipped across the sky Vritra's heart found a strange solace in the constant pitter patter of rain drops across the window pane. she knew it was never a light drizzle when in rained there but always a heavy downpour and that's what she was witnessing from her eyes right at the moment.

the past two days spent in around the lively and peaceful greenery lingered in her thoughts with a streaming hot cup of coffee resting beside the coffee table in the dimly lit hotel room of hers.

another exasperated sigh escape from her cold dry lips as soon as her curious yet exhausted eyes fell upon neatly folded soft cardigan beside her arm.

her maternal grandmother's hand knitted cardigan for her, before she took her last breaths, the last thing that reminded her of her. she remembered how much the old woman used to love her and care for her as her heart ached for her presence again.

it was a huge devastating shock for her she always have been really close to her grandma being around her presence was like a solace in the not so boring and dull life of Vritra. she was her anchor and her guide, and imagining her life without the presence of her grandmother really impacted her in worst way possible.

" i wish you were here to watch me fullfill my dream be a better person." she whispered swallowing hardly  running a hand through the soft fabric of the cardigan blinking away to clear her blurry vision letting out a deep breath.

the main reason of taking a solo visit to Darjeeling was to have a break from all the chaos that had broke out in her life, and to give her unsettled noise filled brain a sense of calm. but it wasn't easy yeah, it did felt a lot better but still not enough to let go of all the things so easily.

she knew this phase was  the most difficult phase of  her life. she lost that grandmother who held her in most hardest time and losing her was like losing a cherished part of her heart she could ever imagine.

at that point all she wanted was just to be happy , not confused , not lost , not hurt , not stressed . just happy. but she knew her goal she was so passionate about waited for her and she couldn't allow herself to flow away by the feelings. that's something she could never afford to do.

and that was the reason she was there in the hotel of spectacular breath taking lush greenery of Darjeeling. staring at the heavy downpour of water cascading down from the mahogany pained windows reminding herself and recharging herself with the song of the nature.

coming out of the reverie of thoughts Vritra's eyes happen to fall upon her untouched phone and its glowing screen making her eyebrows knit in curiousity and puzzlement. she was someone who preferred to stay away from social media and digital gadgets, so seeing a couple of popped up notifications did made her question about the thing.

upon scrolling through the popped up notification the screen showed up a latest news of a recent local article which read -

" THE WEATHER FORECAST ALERT : severe weather and heavy downpour alert for north Darjeeling until next week. to ensure safety of everyone, curfew has been announced in areas of North Darjeeling. as well as flights have been cancelled till next week due to extremely bad weather.

please stay in your own place and dont get out of your respective places we will send updates as conditions develop . please call on this number [ EMERGENCY ALERT LINE ] for assistance or check local media. "

It would have been barely a few seconds with Vritra reading the article with a completely calm and unphased look on her face but the knitted eyebrows ending up portraying all worry and concern. when the power went off of the whole room.

the yellow bulb and the table lamp that illuminated the cream and white walls of dimly lit room disappeared taking their shine and light away in the mist of darkness .

the whole room of Vritra was completely dark at the very moment. in the dingy unlit room, even the ticking of clock had a relaxed feeling as if it was a heart-beat at rest. Vritra could feel as if the air was moving like a cool water and the aroma of the ascented candles present in her room infused her more than it ever did in the light of the day.

immediately turning on her flashlight she got up from her place letting out a huff of complete inconvineince and frustation. as if the news of the curfew and flights being cancelled wasn't enough and the power cut did the remaining thing.

"  what does that even mean ? no way i am stuck here lord."  She groaned out loud staring at the glowing screen of her phone. deciding to check about the matter she made her way towards the reception knowing she could get any given related information from that one place.

it was all so dark that she couldn't even see the two feets in front of her these kind of services wasn't something she was expecting from a hotel like that but twitching her eyes in annoyance she further tried to complete the unlit journey from her room to the reception.

" what's exactly wrong with the power cut ?" she could feel herself being a bit breathless because of that little adventurous path of unlit dark stairs and the sound of thunderstorm outside was enough to add to the effect. making everything sound like a typical horror show.

" i am extremely sorry for the inconvineince mam, but due to heavy rain and thunderstorms our main fuze and the fuze of upper floor went into shot circuits. the electricians are working on it ." The news from receptionist and her kind apologetic and helpless  smile declared one thing for Vritra.

this was going to be one of those trips she was going to remember for the rest of her life. whether for good reasons or bad reasons she didn't had any idea about that possibility was going in the favour of most worst reasons.

"  did we got a power cut as bonus ? come on ! as if network unavailability and poor internet connection wasn't enough. what's this 1920?"

the smooth yet undeniably exhausted voice carried it all. the same annoyance and frustation Vritra felt at the moment while standing beside the reception counter facing the receptionist who looked like she was going to pass out any second .

" i am sorry sir, please give us some moment the electricians are working upon the problem. if you want you can sit and wait in the lobby." Vritra felt kind a bad for the girl who was trying her best to calm their guests down , when she wasn't even the one at fault.

but for some reason she didn't knew why the voice of another person made her heart skip a beat all of a sudden . it was such kind of voice that catched people's attention and made them listen. the mellifluous tone somehow made Vritra's stomach erupt with butterflies she never really expected.

turning around she finally tried to see who was the person facing the same fate as hers. and getting the same stupid idea to show their frustation upon the poor little receptionist who was just doing her job.

but to no avail, thanks to darkness just his voice could be heard, no physical feature of his was visible in the dark room. she didn't knew why she wanted to see a mere stranger just because his voice was attractive.

it was laced with annoyance yet it had a warmth thaz no one could even suspect easily that he was frustated or annoyed.

" its alright, you dont have to apologise but can you tell me if you guys got a spare power bank ? mine doesn't have the battery and i really need to charge my phone."

The bright flashlight was suddenly turned on and the ascented candles present on the reception counter illuminated the dark hall in various lightening shades. standing near the counter Vritra finally got the chance to see who the mysterious man with such captivating voice was.

Messy dark hair with water dripping down from them as he ran his fingers through them in an attempt to dry them. and the hypnotic deep expressive eyes which shined like rings of fire under the burning flame of candles present inside the hall.

those gorgeous brown eyes with long lashes, Vritra could swore for a second she was trying her best not to get lost in those curious eyes which had a faint sense of innocence. his features were suddenly more highlighted due to the light of candles and it made him look ' devine ' really.

standing there wearing a white sweatshirt with black jeans his whole clothes were soaking wet as water droplets dripped down from them, the outline of his physique was visible from his tshirt which was sticking to his body.

he just seemed to have Vritra off guard for a moment. it was all of a sudden he appeared unannounced and out of nowhere. and Vritra was sure she wasn't prepared for this. it felt so peaceful and so calm, as if his existence alone bring a solace around Vritra.

his eyes happened to stole all the breath that she held away from her as soon as they met hers for a mere second. his soul was written in his eyes. she couldn't breathe for a second the intensity in his brown one's that she forgot to breathe for a second.

" excuse me ? may i sit here for a moment to appreciate the way you were staring at me ?"  the voice itself held an attempt to hide a grin but Vritra could easily sense the teasing and flirty tone in the carefree voice.

she blinked a few times coming out of a trance she was in. noticing the receptionist was nowhere to be seen and she was finally done checking out a litreal gorgeous stranger in front of her.

as her cheeks heated up and crimson covered her face making her look away towards the window she never felt this affected and embarrassed ever before, but Abhishek's smirk only grew more seeing her like that.

" i wasn't staring i was just thinking about something else and got." She tried to clarify her voice slightly urgent and filled with a uncertainty as she gave Abhishek a pure dissatisfying look in an attempt to calm her racing heartbeat.

the stranger had already messed up her mind, his presence alone was enough to make Vritra forget her words in her mouth and she clearly hated the effect someone made upon her she met like two minutes ago.

" and here i thought miss unknown liked staring deep in my soul huh?" he stepped forward a loap sided grin spreading across his face and a mischievous glint danced across his brown orbs as Vritra tried to understand the meaning behind that grin.

" i think i have more better job to do rather than stare at a stranger." Vritra crossed her arms across her chest as she waited for the receptionist to come back, but her ability to think straight was taken away by an annoyingly gorgeous person who had a stupid grin on his face.

Abhishek clearly amused always liked a tint of adventure in his already chaotic and adventurous life decided to mess with the unknown gorgeous guest standing in front of him.

" care to tell me what those jobs are? maybe i can join you too you know considering what weather i have just witnessed now, i might be bored"
Abhishek took slow deliberate steps in Vritra's direction making her heart throb against her chest not knowing what was happening with her.

She knew she was affected by him. the way he looked at her as if talking through her soul with a smile so gorgeous and eyes so deep it was hard to figure out what to do at the given moment.

his eyes were so intense that she wanted to look away, or never look away she couldn't really decide. she didn't expected to have an encounter with a man while being stuck in a dark hotel who affected her in such a way that she was never before.

He was the first person for Vitra with his mischevious glint in eyes that she felt both Wildly unsure and unwaveringly certain of . it was like a magnet his presence was undeniably attracting.

" Are you also stuck in this dark scary hotel like me with no contact to outside world? " he asked again with a voice that carried a gentle reminder that he was way too interested in sharing a conversation.

but his choice of words made it hard to not turn and give him a look as if asking what was he exactly doing. " you don't exactly look like you were stuck in the hotel all the time ?" Vritra asked raising a brow seeing the condition of his wet clothes being pretty sure he was out in the rain.

but instead of saying anything he just laughed softly a Sound so beautiful and appealing that Vritra craved to hear more. but before he could say something else. the power came back and the whole dark hall came alive with lights and LEDs turning on in every corner.

with the power coming back to life, and the whole hotel lights getting their little magic back,Vritra was also broken away from her spell she didn't realised she was casted in with checking out the random stranger present there. 

" i am once again sorry for the inconvineince sir and mam you both can go back to your respective rooms now." The receptionist was quick enough to rush back to her place giving another apologetic smile to both Abhishek and Vritra.

" oh no its alright why are you apologising. i should be sorry too i was really frustrated should have been more respectful." Abhishek nodded returning the same gorgeous smile back to her.

" its alright sir and as you both are aware due to bad weather no one can really go out, the hotel has arranged everything to be indoors. in case you need anything you can inform us." She replied back to Abhishek and giving a nod to Vitra informing about the trouble they both were gonna face in upcoming week.

Vitra decided to make her way back towards her room whispering a thank you of acknowledgement towards the receptionist and turning to walk towards the lift to get away from the stranger.

" by the way i am allowed to know the name of a girl as gorgeous as you right?"

she again heard the same voice letting out a frustated sigh she turned to face him with a clenched jaw but her cheeks a rosy shade of hue with a throbbing heart inside her chest. and that smirk on his face really irked her.

" and what if i am not interested in telling you my name Mr. flirt?" she asked narrowing her eyes at him letting out a scoff, wanting to rush back in her room because his presence really made things a bit difficult for her to understand.

while he just shook his head at her in pure amusement . before leaned close to Vritra's face his lips went near the shell of her ear with his hot breath fanning against her neck whispering in a low husky tone.
" i am not flirting, i am just being extra nice to someone who is extra gorgeous miss unknown."

Vritra's eyes widened with the proximity as she felt all the air being knocked out of her lungs gulping hard she felt his faint cologne and the scent of wet soil during rain shower took over her whole mind. she happen to forget about what to exactly say.

But Abhishek was clearly having fun with this, he smirked and stepped back his eyes lingering to the woman in front of him like he was reading a poetry " we are stuck together and its not like we both can always have opportunities to share a hotel as gorgeous people as us . so miss unknown i am gonna be extra nice to you as long as you are here. be ready for unexpectedly complimented."

saying this he gave her a last cheeky grin before rushing towards upstairs on such a pace that looked like as if pants had gotten fire.

while vritra still.stood there blinking in a daze not exactly realising what just happened. maybe it was all calling for a new adventure and a phase of memoriy she was always gonna cherish or despise only the time could tell.

@abhisheksharma_4

liked by @riyanparag, @shubmangill and 450,234 others.

Abhishek.Sharma : glimpses of Darjeeling before i got stuck in a one week curfew.

Comments :

Shubman Gill good, now you will be less offline and won't eat my head.

Abhishek Sharma ➜ that ain't happening.

Riyan Parag You should stay there we don't miss you at all.

Abhishek Sharma ➜ Respectfully go to hell Riyan.

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Well...

here is the first chapter and i know its so long. but i promise i wont make long chapters after this.

forgive me people for such a long chapter.

sending you lots of love and hugs. love you all so much.