Deep was walking along the trail rather listlessly. It had been two days since he came to Assam; already he had visited Guwahati and was walking deep in the pathways of the Kaziranga National Park.
“Well, maybe, there, yes that’s the tree house that the Park Rangers were talking about”, Deep thought to himself. Surrounded by nature, he felt at peace, and also glad that he finally found the place he was looking for.
The wooden staircase that wound up around the treehouse was a little rickety, but it had handrails so he could manage to handle the climb without falling. Finally, he got to the Treehouse.
As he looked around, he realized that nature’s soothing sounds were interrupted by a faint repetitive sound of clothes being washed.
His curiosity piqued, and Deep looked in the direction of the sound. He saw a beautiful, woman, cleaning clothes along the banks of a small, tricking rivulet. Her vigorous beating of clothes belied her shapely, delicate form, and her red and white sari, translucent with dripping river water, clung closely to her beautiful, heaving breasts down to her waist, while she continued her thankless labor. She was regularly wiping the sweat off her forehead and was too busy at her work to see Deep approach.
“Hi, how would you find this spot by the river?” Deep asked. “There are barely any people around in the vicinity.”
The beautiful lady, startled by the intrusion, replied, “Who are you, to interrupt me in my daily activities?”, looking up and down at the standing man with some trepidation, and a little interest.
“Hi, my name is Deep. It wasn’t my intention to startle you, I simply sought to meet the source of daily humdrum sounds of civilization in this park.”
“Of course, there is civilization here. Who do you think helps with the daily activities around this place? We live here, it has been our native for quite some time.” she said, as she discreetly checked him out. Unlike most city people, his tummy was flat, he was wearing jeans and a black sweater shirt. His shirt collar was jutting out above the sweater, accentuating his sharp jawline. He seemed like a guy who enjoyed outdoor recreational activities.
“Oh, it is fine then, I didn’t mean to interrupt, I sought to look around here. It’s fine, I don’t intend to disturb you,” he said confidently, his amber eyes crinkling as he smiled at her warmly. He observed, in turn, the previous hostility in her eyes melting, allowing the sun to bring a sparkle of joy glinting into a myriad of colors, as she leaned towards him.
“No, no, it’s really no trouble. You startled me, that’s all. You’re quite courteous but it’s really no trouble. My name is Maya, it’s a pleasure to meet you Deep.” Maya said.
“Actually, my house is not far from here. You just be thirsty. Would you like to have a cup of water?” Maya asked.
“Sure, would love to,” Deep replied.
Maya arched her back and winced in pain. She then picked up all the clothing she washed up. Deep was finding it hard not to look at her. Such a lovely figure, no one I know could hold a candle to her beauty.
Maya raised the clothes, put the heap into her basket, placed it securely around her lissome waist, and walked primly, her hips swaying gently as she kept going.
“Come, what are you waiting for?” she said over her shoulder, as she walked along.
Deep, dumbfounded by her retreating figure, catching up to his senses, hastily caught up to her.
“I have my in-laws and family community living close by,” Maya said.
“Ever since my husband died, it’s been tough taking care of family, and my kid just recovered from his illness. It’s been a rough couple of months, but I’m managing.”
“So, where all did you visit in Assam?” she asked.
“Oh, I visited my uncle and aunt in Guwahati, saw Tegheria Falls in Durang, and now I’m here,” Deep said.
“Listen, I’m sorry if my presence would be an intrusion at the house, I can go if you’d like.” Deep said.
“Oh, it’s no trouble, though if you’re in a hurry, you can go it’s fine,” replied Maya, smiling demurely.
“You have a lovely smile, Maya, I’m glad I met you,” said Deep.
“Oh, it’s fine, silly. Look, we’re almost here. My in-laws are not home, they said they’re spending some time with my kid at the nearby village with relatives. Come in.”
Deep took off his shoes and entered the house.
“I will be back in a moment, Deep. I will change out of these clothes” Maya said, as she went into a room. Deep looked around, marveling at the simple dwelling.
It was a beautiful, well-kept home, with rays of light coming through recessed gaps between the roof and walls, setting out patterns of light and dark, against richly colored woven tapestries hanging on the wall.
Deep heard the door behind him open, and turned, and gaped.
Maya was wearing a light grey lissome gown, with the waist rope pulled around her waist, accentuating her figure. Her top was slightly open above, showing her burgeoning breasts pressed against the gown.
Maya walked swiftly to the table to fill the glass of water, her hips swaying, unaware of the complete sense of temporary immobility and tantalizing sensations that possessed Deep.
She took the glass, filled it near the brim with water carefully, and turned to hand it to Deep.
Deep, who had recovered somewhat by then, mumbled his thanks and started to drink the freshening glass of water.
“What a polite gentleman you are,” Maya said, “with your silly thank yous and all.”
“Well, haha. Again, thank you for the hospitality. I don’t wish to intrude upon you further, I will get going now,” Deep said laughingly.
“Alright, goodnight, it was nice to meet you,” said Maya demurely.
As he turned and placed his foot out the door, Deep’s ankle twisted suddenly, sending jolts of pain up his ankle. He fell on his elbows, grazing them on the ground.
“Ahh” he cried.
“What happened??” asked Maya.
“I think my ankle got twisted. My phone is out of network coverage. Can you call a doctor?” Deep asked.
“Oh, yeah let me check. Damn, no, my phone battery is down. Come, let me get you to the charpoy,” Maya said, as she helped him up to his feet and supported him to the charpoy (a light bedstead).
Deep couldn’t get much sleep through the night. As he somehow slept in his room, the door opened and Deep turned to see Maya in a translucent nightie. He could see the shape of her body framed against the doorway, the light from behind her, accentuating her supple breasts, her lissom waist, and her shapely legs. He was in pain, so he knew he wasn’t in heaven, but it certainly felt like that.
Maya slowly walked up to his charpoy. Their breathing intensified as they looked at each other.
“You know, I like you, and I don’t wanna see you in pain,” Maya said, keeping her hand on his chest, sitting next to him. She smelled like jasmine mixed with a soft fragrance of neem; it was light but intoxicating.
“I am helping you with this through the night, Deep. I also couldn’t get any sleep through the night. I was lying in my bed thinking about you,” she said, as she leaned in to kiss. They started kissing gently, then more passionately as their hunger for each other intensified.
They took off each other’s clothes, Maya taking care not to hurt his ankle. “You silly idiot,” she said in between kisses, “you do all this trekking and you sprain your ankle?”
Deep enjoyed the mix of pain and pleasure he felt, looking at her soft yet passionate smile between kisses, his hands feeling Maya’s beautiful body, cupping her breasts, teasing her nipples, kissing her from her mouth down to her neck, and going down further, sucking and licking her beautiful, gorgeous, pink areolas and bosom.
They looked into each other’s eyes as they made love to each other. Their rhythm intensified as they explored each other’s bodies, finally dissolving into a slow, gentle rhythm that felt deeply familiar and soothing to the aches in their minds and bodies.
The next morning Deep woke up, to see Maya asleep, gently breathing, with her neck on his shoulder, daybreak’s sunlight glinting through and illuminating her beautiful features. And he felt truly happy and at ease, for the first time in a long time.