Khwab #1

I was standing outside the hotel, looking over the road and across the dry river  filled with pebbles. The river ran parallel to the road, keeping its travelers company. I breathed into the air, watching my breath fly away in the cold air. I rubbed my glove covered hands, took a deep breath, and looked over the beautiful view in front of me. The snow clad mountain tops glistened far away, watching over the world below.

Picture Credits: Abhay Dixit

A small kid ran outside from the hotel behind me, I glanced at him. He picked up one pebble from the ground and attempted to throw it into the river, over the road. “Ahh…“, my voice barely made a whisper. The stone barely crossed the road. I squinted in the sunlight, looking out, hands tucked away in my warm pockets, my breath forming clouds. The crispness of the cold washed over me, as I breathed in the sharp air. There were hardly any cars on the road, it was too early in the morning for people to be up and about. Time passed slowly here, at its own leisurely pace, and the people here seemed to followed in tandem.

I saw a man, in a long black coat, a muffler around his neck, and a cap pulled down over his ears coming down the road. His head remain bowed to keep the cold air away. I looked back at the kid. He was busy picking up another one, to attempt another shot. I gasped loudly, and tried to warn him about the man on the road…both of them heard me, but it was too late. I looked back at the man with the long black coat in alarm and took a few steps towards him. Is he okay, did it hit him..?, my thoughts were rushed.

The stone had fallen a few feet in front of him, my gasp of alarm had made him look up at me as the kid ran away. The moment he looked up, our eyes met, and his face broke into this beautiful smile, a smile that made me stop dead in my tracks. I stared.

That’s how I met Khwab. Quite by accident, I wonder if I’m allowed to call it serendipity? Or maybe it was just fate closing in on a destiny I couldn’t avoid. Maybe it was neither, or maybe it was everything.

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Thanks to Abhay(@abhay_rajendra_dixit) for this beautiful picture, check out his Instagram for more travel pictures! 🙂