Bangalore Diaries - 03

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Sunday, November 22, 2028
8:02 AM, Diary Entry - 03
Place: Treehouse Hotel, Coorg In the midst of bone freezing winter in Coorg, the morning for Akash and Sahasra, is warm and serene, with birds chirping and strong wind blows making their way into the treehouse window. Sahasra wakes up to the cold wind touching her bare feet.
“Ugh, Ash, did you really forget to close the window here too?!” she muttered, stealing the blanket from Akash, eyes closed. “Great. I can’t sleep now, you really are sleeping like a log today. After that long walking, carrying me on your back, you do deserve a treat.” she said, looking at Akash’s innocent sleeping face, touching his face with her fingers. Akash seems to be sleeping soundly with no chance of easily waking up, on the other hand Sahasra knows just how to.
“Wake up, kanna. It’s already 8, didn’t you said you wanted to visit those waterfalls?” she said. Akash is still sleeping without a clue. “Oh, you want the hard way, huh? fine!” she said, opening a YouTube video on flight warning that repeatedly says “Terrain Pull Up! Terrain Pull Up! Terrain Pull Up!” with full volume and takes the phone near to Akash’s ears. “SHIT, OH MY GOD! NO!” he shouts and suddenly wakes up, all tensed. Sahasra looks at him and bursts laughing, rolling on the bed. “Ugh, I got a mini heart attack with that stupid flight warning. Please baby, 10 more minutes, I’ll wake up for sure. Put that damn warnings off! It’s so loud.” he said, trying to go back into bed. “Oh god, 10 more minutes? what can I do to make this lazy ass wake up?” she murmured, looking at Akash’s face. “Maybe, cuddles, coffee and a small dose of Sahasra?” he said, smiling behind the blanket. “Someone seems to be in the mood early today.” she said, getting inside the blanket, looking at his eyes. “That’s my secret cap, I’m always in the mood.” he said, imitating Hulk. Taking her into his arms. “I know that you think I fell for your jokes, but no, you’re so bad at picking hints and jokes, I fell for your goofy words, I want to hear you blabber all the time, My modern Shakespeare.” she said, closed eyes, blushing. “All I want to know is, how to take you in my arms, and caress you.” he said, smiling. “You already know that best, dummy.” she said, smiling back. “Hehe, I wanted to hear you say it.” he said. “Started your teasing pretty late today I see, I’ve missed them, now get up from bed!” she said, getting up and pulling Akash out. “I need a shower badly and coffee.” he said, going into the bathroom. “Make it quick, it’s quarter to 9 already.” she said, making the bed. They both get ready and dressed up for their adventure in Coorg. The weather is cloudy, just the perfect amount of sun and wind. Both Akash and Sahasra are getting out of their hotel room for their sightseeing. The clock hits 9:30 AM! “That jeans paired with blue top looks perfect, I can’t stop falling for your hair each day.” he said, complimenting Sahasra’s looks. “You flatter me always. Save the rest for later.” she said, adjusting her hair. “Words are never enough, Where did you put the car keys yesterday?” he said, searching the drawers. “Let’s leave the car here, we’ll go with local transport, I wanna feel the real Coorg!” she said, leaving the car keys. “Yes yes, your majesty. Let me just take my Glock.”
he said, putting his Glock 21 in his back. “We seriously don’t need your buddy, come on, Ash.” she said, looking at him. “No. We can never be too careful, crazy folks out there. Can’t risk putting you in danger.” he said, checking .45 ACP magazine. They both head out. “Hello uncle, where can we find some bus or taxi around?” she asked the hotel’s watchman. “Madam, it’s very hard to find transport here since our hotel is far from locality, you have to walk around 1 or 1.5 KM straight, I suggest going in your own vehicle.” said the Oldman, pointing at the uneven road. Akash looks at Sahasra, holding laughter. “Come on, Ash. Don’t give me that look, you’ve just ate 4 Ghee Roast Dosas, this is gonna be our gym time together, let’s go.” she said, starting jogging into the empty open road. “I’m gonna beat you in jogging as always, you’ll weep asking me to slow down!” he said, picking up speed with Sahasra. They both jog, seeing the vast Coffee plantations around. The blue sky, covered with brown clouds adds a poetic touch to their adventure. “I’ve read about Mercara Gold Estate Coffee plantations, I really wanna visit their place and see how coffee is made, we source our coffee powder from Coorg, I totally forgot about it.” she said, looking at the coffee plants. “I’m all in as long as there’s coffee and trees.” he said, keeping an even jogging pace. “Why did we chose to jog again? we only got one pair of clothes, it’d be sweaty as hell, walking would be a better choice, Ash.” she said, stopping the jog, panting. “Just tell me that you’re done already, dumb-ass. No need to cover it up. I can understand, seeing you pant.” he said, laughing at her. “Ugh, this idiot, sees straight through me.” she murmured, tight lipped. “Were you saying something? want me to carry you? you know carrying you around is literally my second job, taking you piggyback is my life’s purpose.” he said, looking straight into Sahasra’s eyes. Serious face. “Aw, you are such a gentleman, Ash. Please take me piggyback.” she said, opening her arms towards Akash, putting a puppy eyes expression. “Oh yeah? you ate 3 Masala Dosas and 2 plates of masala Vada, no way, walk. We can lay on the grass fields if you want to.” he said, closing her arms with his own, laughing. “My god, if we’re not outside, I’d have beaten you badly, you’re saved since we’re outside.” she said, sarcastically, sitting on one of the side of coffee plantations. “The sky is beautiful, I’m thinking about coming here more often, it really is peaceful, what do you say?” he said, laying on the grass field. “Mr. Busy is speculating again, don’t give me hope. With your schedule, coming out for dinner with you seems like a cosmic event that never happens.” she said, pouting. Laying beside Akash. “I’ll zip my mouth, let’s forget about that stuff, we’ll sort that out once we reach home. I promise.” he said, reassuring her. “I’m sorry, Ash. I’m spoiling the mood.” she said, looking down on the grass, picking small rocks out. “Come here, you aren’t spoiling anything, whatever you do or say, I’m all down for it. Look into my eyes when you feel sad, I’ll understand it. No need to be vocal, just sigh and I’ll be in your arms.” he said, comforting her. “Ahh, I don’t wanna think about anything, I want coffee, please, please.” she said, getting up. “Let’s try asking for lift.” he said, moving towards the road. To their surprise, there seems to be an old Toyota car coming. Akash asks for a lift and the old couple inside agreed. “Mercara Coffee plantations right? it’s been a lot of years since we went there, it’d be an amazing experience, for you two of course.” said the Oldman in driving seat. “Where are you two coming from? you don’t seem to be from around here.” said the old lady sitting beside the driver seat. “We’re from Bangalore, aunty. We came to visit Coorg, I’m Sahasra, he is Akash. Thank you for the lift.” she said, smiling. “We actually came in a car, she’s the one with that wanderlust that made us stranded in middle of nowhere, she preferred public transport!” he said, looking at her. “Come on, you two, no need to fight, we’re going that way too, we’ll drop you. I’m Rohit, she is Anshika.” said the Oldman, driving slowly. “Let them quarrel, Rohit. It is important in a relationship. They remind me of our old days, clueless and innocent.” said the old lady. While the old couple kept on talking, Akash and Sahasra just sat there silently, like a pair of mischievous kids. “One thing I would like to say is, never give up on each other, there will be times where we decide to end things on bad terms, but we will regret them. Whatever happens, have faith in each other. This is especially for you, Akash. Whenever she goes to sleep angry, pamper her and say your sorry.” said the Oldman, looking at his beloved. “The Mercara Gold Estate can be seen now, if you keep on listening, he will tell you two philosophy you would regret hearing, now go on and enjoy your time, here’s our business card, we have a restaurant nearby, do visit us before you leave.” said the old lady. “Thank you so much, Aunty and Uncle. It has been fun riding with you two, we will definitely come, take care!” said Sahasra, waving her hand to the couple. “Now, that’s some great advice, don’t you think? the smell is amazing here.” he said, walking towards the plantations and processing units. “Indeed, I’ll be more angry now. To make you pamper me.” she said, laughing. They both spent their afternoon visiting the coffee processing units in Mercara Gold Estate, drinking lots of coffee and spending their time in the lush greenery. “I’m full, let’s go to abbey waterfalls and head to hotel!” he said. “Let’s try talking with some people around, we can book a taxi.” she said, looking for taxis around. They booked a taxi to abbey waterfalls and return to their hotel altogether. They reached the waterfalls and spent their time enjoying the serene weather. In the evening they both reach their hotel, tired from today’s adventure. The cult member that tailed them yesterday sensed no danger from them and left the watch. “So, we had quite the weekend, how do you feel?” he said, crashing into bed. “It was a good time, I loved it, the same I love you.” she said, sitting beside him. “Oh, it’s not everyday that you say it, must be my lucky day, I love you a lot!” he said, holding her. “You do know that I’m shy, but I do say it whenever you are sleeping.” she said, smiling. “The day just couldn’t get more better, I’m tired, do we really have to go that old couple’s restaurant?” he said, dragging the blanket. “Not now of course, it’s only 4 right, we’ll rest for an hour and go around 5, we will check out around 7 or 7:30 and start our return to Bangalore.” she said, getting inside the blanket. “That’s sorted, but tomorrow is Monday, I don’t want Sunday to end!” he said. “Ash, we literally have weekends again, we can plan for Chikmagalur next weekend, I’ve heard it’s nice too.” she said, hugging him. “Your hugs and Coorg coffee, I just can’t get enough of them.” he said, getting lost in her warm arms. They both spent their evening eating dinner at the old couple’s restaurant, chatting about Coorg and it’s rich heritage with a pinch of Uncle Rohit’s relationship philosophy. 
They checked out of Treehouse Hotel, at 7:30 PM and started their return journey to Bangalore. “The wind feels nice, cool and cozy.” she said, looking outside the car window. “We had a great time, baby.” he said, looking at the road, cruising slowly. “Ash, tell me why do I keep falling for you again and again, even though I’m already yours? I want you more, more of you than I could ever imagine.” she said, looking at Akash. Akash pulls over. “Take me all, don’t give me back to myself, I’m yours to keep. Take my everything, my essence, my life, my breath.” he said, gazing deep into her eyes, softly kissing her on the lips. They merged into each other in the car, with soft breezes and the moon aiding in their romance. After a few hours of journey, they reached their apartment around 12 AM. Tired from journey, Akash straight up crashes into the bed. Sahasra finds a letter in their letterbox, she opens the letter with the logo of Indian Air Force. ###############################################################
CONFIDENTIAL - BURN AFTER READ
URGENT ACTION REQUIRED From
Director,
Office of External Affairs,
Counter Terrorism Wing,
Indian Air Force,
New Delhi. Dated: November 22, 2028. To
Akash Ceil,
Threat Intelligence Wing,
DeThreat - IAF Personnel,
Bengaluru. Sub: Immediate Allocation to №223 Squadron and Relocation to Sri Nagar Air Base. Agent Akash,

It is with utmost urgency that we share the news; you are hereby deployed to handle a terrorist threat on our Sri Nagar Air base, J&K. It is believed that the terrorists have been sabotaging our operations from the past 1 week with an insider help. In this regard, we have commissioned you from DeThreat, to identify and eradicate the threat at the earliest. All the details will be briefed once you reach the base. You will be disguised as a fighter pilot under №223 Squadron. We have deployed a special Task Force for you to lead. Goodluck with the mission. Proceed with utmost caution. Regards,
Director,
Headquarters - CT WING.
############################################################### Seeing the letter, Sahasra felt the danger in her heart, a tear drop falling from her eye, she kept the letter aside. She reached Akash, who is sleeping soundly. She gently caressed his face with her fingers, kissing his forehead. Adjusting the blanket to his comfort. She sat beside him, out of words, to comprehend that her love is going into potential danger, she understood that it’s important for Akash to serve his mission. To have the eyes that never blink, out in the air, for the sake of the country, it’s his duty. Sahasra gets into the bed, cuddles Akash and holds him from his back. “I’m scared of a world without you, I’ll hold you until morning, till my heart’s content, I wish for the night to be longer, just for today. I don’t want my knight in shining armor to leave my embrace tomorrow.” she murmured, falling asleep with teary eyes. They both fall asleep, as for the night, it’s cold. The window is still open in their apartment, the wind is rising. For now, they both are together, as they crave deeply for each other. God has a few tests on their way. What will happen on the Monday morning? How will Akash digest the news and part with Sahasra for a few days? 
Find out in the next part. End Notes
Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it. I’m aware of blunders here and there, I apologize for them, I actually wanted to write more parts and more interesting arcs, but finding free time became hard these days. So, I had thought to finish part-3 and start new security blogs soon, I will write Bangalore Diaries again but not anytime sooner, I want them to be in a state of ‘together’, I don’t want to separate them, but life never works out the way we wish right?

• SpaceC