Falling in Sarang(Love)

Ready to Fly

It's an early Thursday morning for me - 5 a.m., I am usually just finishing my dream at this time. But today is the day to live my dream and a tough thing like waking up at 5 a.m. doesn't seem hard to a night owl like me. I wake up with the first ring of the alarm, there's a slight spring in my step, can't stop myself from doing a happy dance "Maldives, here I come… Maldives, here I come…" is all that I have been thinking about and singing from the time my tickets have been booked. I have been saving for this trip from a year and this is the first international trip in my entire lifetime, not that I am old, but neither am I young. I turned 28 this November and decided to gift myself a trip to Maldives. A full 4 days 3 nights solo trip. Nothing can dim my moment. The super organized person that I am, a borderline OCD, I have packed everything that I need for this dream trip a week ago after intensively googling the weather prospects.

Taxi pre booked and arrived on time, the flight is at 12 noon, need to be at the airport 3 hours early, considering the traffic and the distance in Bangalore, I have decided to leave at 6 a.m. which will give me plenty of time to reach the airport. A constant smile on my face on the way to airport and finally checked into the aircraft, I choose a veg sandwich and a hot coffee during the journey all settled and cozy and enjoy the view from window seat. Touch down at 2.30 p.m. we arrive at Male, the capital city of Maldives. As the flight attendant announces that we will be landing soon is when I start getting butterflies in my stomach, an inexplicable feeling, tears of joy subconsciously streaming down my cheeks which I absent mindedly wipe and smile from ear to ear…

Touch Down

"Maldives, here I am…."

A man from the hotel greets me at the airport entrance "Assalaamu alaikum Sameera Madam, Welcome to Maldives, I am Abbas from the Bliss International"

I meekly bow to Abbas and say "Hi" while he guides me to the hotel taxi.

"Sameera, please close your mouth" my inner voice wakes me up. I realized that my mouth was wide open, so wide that I could even devour the entire hotel. I quickly closed it. The mesmerizing hotel was nestled amidst the tranquil blue waters of North Malé Atoll, and I had booked a beachfront accommodation. The thatched-roof villas gave me spectacular views of the ocean which I had never seen before in 28 years of my life. Abbas handed over the keys to me "Have a nice stay Madam, Please let us know if you need anything"

"Thank You so much Abbas"

"Maruhaba (Welcome) Madam"

I made a note to learn the basic pleasantries which is good manners for any foreign traveler and makes them more approachable to the hard-working staff.

I jumped into my soft fluffy bed and bounced on it a few times like a kid and without even realizing fell into a deep sleep with all the travel exhaustion suddenly catching up. When I woke up it took me a good 30 seconds to realize that I was in Maldives which made me all excited again. The excitement was not going to wear off soon for a naturally enthusiastic person like me.

It was 7 p.m. My stomach rumbled due to hunger, I quickly showered, changed into a pretty yellow floral frock with my hair open since I loved them that way with my soft curls, put on my flip flops and went in search of food. I was on time for dinner and enjoyed the wide variety of options for a vegetarian like me. I filled my plate with all possible cuisine - Khau Suey, Pasta, Veg Stew, Rice and Soup. My dinner plate was definitely inclusive. Time for desserts – I live for desserts, my love for desserts is unmatched – muffins, pastries, ice creams and tarts made up my dessert plate. After a soul filling dinner, I quickly glanced through the options of activities to do post dinner, though not much, I was determined not to waste a single minute while I was in Maldives. There was a bonfire since the temperature dipped that day and I was in for luck, I found a cozy hammock and nestled myself on it enjoying the bonfire. There was a swimming pool across the bonfire which glistened from the light of fire.

The Grand Splash

Humming to myself and watching the sparks emerge from the bonfire with light breeze caressing my face and the sweet tropical scent that it carried made me feel like I was in a dreamland. It was a moment of true bliss. With my eyes half closed I was enjoying it. I wanted nothing else in the world.

SPLASSSSHHHHHHHHH

I immediately opened my eyes and saw a man jump into the common pool, I assumed him to be one of the tourists just like me, though the timing was a bit off since it was past 9 p.m. but who cares, people are free to do anything on holidays. I shut my eyes again and started swaying on the hammock. I could hear faint cries of help and mild struggle from the person who had jumped into the pool.

"This can't be happening to me on a holiday"

I went closer to take a look and found the person was actually drowning and struggling for breath, In a beat I jumped in and swam towards him, since the pool was huge, it took time for me to reach to him, finally I caught hold of his arms and he instinctively held on to me for his dear life. He was surprisingly light weight and cooperated with me instead of panicking. I guided him to the edge of the pool and helped him out.

I was mad at him for jumping into the pool when he clearly did not know how to swim and also mad at myself for helping him while I was wearing such a beautiful dress. Thanks to this unknown man, my dress was ruined and so was my night.

"Are you out of your mind to jump in without knowing how to swim"

"Oh, I am rrrearry sowwy, I didn't know what I was doing" "rrearry sowwy" he said

He had a thick accent and with whatever visibility I had from the dying embers of the bonfire, I could see he was beautiful for a man. If men are to be described as handsome, this man was beautiful, he looked like he had descended from another dimension, his skin gleaming and crystal clear, his hair now completely wet were falling on his forehead and reaching his eyes covering them, his eyes were barely visible underneath, but they were striking almond shaped grey sleepy eyes, small yet cute nose, his lips full, plump and pink, seemed like he had some lip tint on them, a sharp jawline defined like that of a Greek god, his waist line could put beauty queens to shame, tight jeans hugging him at the right places with his never ending long legs made me feel like I was shamelessly eyeing him from top to toe.

My anger subsided as soon as he apologized in his sugar syrupy voice which seemed more like a song than a sentence.

"It's ok, but why did you jump in?"

He looked helpless, since he also faced difficulty in communicating in English, it looked like English was not a language he was familiar with. He responded "I am not suuure" "I was seeing my phone and suddenly slipped into the pool" "sthank you so much for helping me" he sounded genuine and apologetic that I felt bad for raising my tone while questioning him.

I was about to say something when a very huge man in a black suit who looked like a bodyguard with a earpiece ran towards him and simultaneously speaking a foreign language into the earpiece immediately started guiding him inside. He looked back at me and thanked me again "Sthank you so much again"

I barely nodded since I was confused. I came back to my villa, quickly dried myself and changed into a comfortable t-shirt and pajamas, ordered a hot chocolate since I was feeling really cold after the pool episode. I thought "Sameera you should kick yourself for ruining your favorite dress on the first day of your trip to save some random stranger who did not even wait while being dragged away like a child by his bodyguard"

His striking god like appearance, his wet body, his aura, his genuineness kept me thinking for a long time till late night. "Stop thinking about a random guy who doesn't even have language as a common factor and sleep Sameera". I struggled to sleep that night and woke up completely groggy the next morning.