#Aur me and two of my classmates were sitting side by side and just you know doing normal computer lab stuff

[hinsaa-paramo-dharma]

I did another punya karya today.

[aprilsrant]

Cariad | Young!Remus Lupin x Slytherin!Fem!Reader.

SUMMARY: (Y/N) absolutely hates when professors make their students work in pairs, but the outcome of this particular project may not be so bad.

WORD COUNT: 2,971, more or less.

REQUEST: can i request another half-blood slytherin reader x remus where she tries to learn welsh for him and i hope you can include smth with the lovespoon! 

This was requested by @cantstopmebitch Thank you so much for requesting something, I hope you enjoy it!

WARNINGS: a kiss? And nothing else I think.

A/N: Please remember English is not my first language, so if there are any mistakes, let me know! In this fic, I’ve used some Welsh words, which I didn’t know a single thing about so I did some research but it may be wrong, so sorry if these are not correct! 

Masterlist.

You can always reblog to help me or request something you’ll like. 

TRANSLATIONS: the title, cariad, means “love, affection, lover, darling”; the phrase fy annwyl un means “my dear one”; and the last one, fy nghariad aur  means “my golden darling”.

Advanced Arithmancy Studies, or simply Arithmancy, was not the most interesting subject Hogwarts offered as an elective course for sixth and seventh years, hence why there weren’t many people taking it, but (Y/N) seemed to be a natural — according to the professor’s opinion — and she loved being good at things without trying too much or else she would lose any interest immediately.  

Sitting down on one of the desks at the back of the classroom, she left her brown leather satchel on the cobblestone floor. (Y/N) watched as the students took their usual seats and started to chat with their partner, but all conversations were shut down by the loud voice of the professor, an old and strict woman who didn’t seem to have control of her voice’s volume as she was always screaming and someone who didn’t have any consideration with those who forgot to do her assignments. 

The minute the woman’s body was an inch inside the classroom, she began to give directions about a project expected for next week and how they would have to work in pairs, (Y/N)’s eyes rolling to the back of her head upon hearing the news. She absolutely detested working with other people for two reasons: the first one being that, if they happen to be from a different House, they would judge her for being a Slytherin; and the second, because she was always the one ending up doing it all on her own, but that was mostly her fault. She wanted to be in control all the time if it was something related to school. 

Once again, (Y/N) was observing how some of her classmates changed desks so they could work with whoever they wanted. No one took the empty seat beside her. She never minded being alone in this class (none of her close friends capable of dealing with the intensity of it or not being too interested in numbers), she was not going to start now. It was better anyways, not having a partner meant less headaches. 

But, apparently, the odds were not in her favor.

A diveleshed looking Remus Lupin crossed the entrance door with his arms full of books, parchments and quills; uniform poorly accommodated and a sad dog look on his eyes, definitely trying to avoid the professor’s rage for being late. His lips curved into a hesitant smile, that to (Y/N)’s opinion came out more as a grimace, and when she thought they all were about to hear a pathetic and improvised excuse from Perfect Remus, the old witch shook her hand into a dismissive gesture and signalised the wooden chair next to the Slytherin girl while she informed him about the task. 

Now that Lupin was beside her, shoulders almost touching, she took a closer look at him. (Y/N) had the impression he was sick because of the dark circles below his dull brown eyes, his skin a lot more paler than usual, and the small noise that left his mouth once he sat down, like his chest hurted. She had also noticed scratches and scars on his neck and cheeks, but kept quiet about them too. It wasn’t her place to ask. 

The first ten minutes passed slowly, neither of them uttering a word, and listening to the expectations the professor had for the project. Well, more like (Y/N) was the one actually listening, because Remus was busy running through his things while leaving them scattered all around their shared desk and muttering curses under his breath. She watched him with a weirded out expression on her face, eyes narrowing and eyebrows furrowing with her mouth pressed on a thin line, while he read the first lines of a parchment and then, obviously not being what he was looking for, leaving it on her side. 

“You forgot the essay, didn’t you?,” she leaned closer to him and whispered in the boy’s ear. He turned around to look at her, but it wasn’t necessary for him to confirm it, (Y/N) already knew she was right. 

Picking her satchel from the floor, she took her own assignment, grabbed one piece of empty parchment and, making sure the professor wasn’t looking in their direction, she muttered a spell under her breath. Instantly, the black paragraphs on her paper copied and travelled to the empty one. With another flick of her wand, some of the words transformed, other changed places and a few of them even disappeared. Grabbing one of Lupin’s parchment that had his calligraphy, and corroborating once more the old witch had her back turned to them, (Y/N) copied his writing style to transfer it to the parchment she had just enchanted. With a proud smile on her face, she handed it to him. 

Lupin’s face was now a little brighter, of course he still had those horrendous bags, but it was an improvement. His eyes wide and shining with interest, his face less tired and his mouth opened in surprise. 

“How did you do that?”

“One of my cousins taught me. Him and his friends had been perfectioning this spell for a long time now,” she mumbled, trying not to catch the other’s attention, while she shrugged her shoulders. 

“That was amazing,” an astonish sound accompanying his words, “thank you, by the way, for helping me.”

“Oh no, I don’t accept thank you’s.” (Y/N) sat straighter on her chair, beaming at him while she crossed one of her legs on top of the other. Before he had the chance to ask what she meant, she spoke again. ”I did you a favor, now you owe me one.”

And after that particular conversation, Remus’s and (Y/N)’s destinies were sealed in an unbreakable and everlasting bond.

That following week was spent in the safety of the Room of Requirement, the place where none of their friends would bother them if they happened to see them together, a Gryffindor and a Slytherin, working together. (Y/N) believed it was stupid at first, not going to the library because someone may or may not catch them in such a forbiden act, but it was all forgotten when the idea that she could become the next target for one of their pranks popped in her head. She had seen what they’ve done to other housemates and she never wanted to be in the receiving end of one. 

The way the Room looked was another major point in why they continued to meet there. (Y/N) had never visited but she had heard about it and how it changed according to your needs. Right now, the chamber resembled a greenhouse, more beautiful than the ones where they had Herbology with Professor Sprout. All kinds of plants covered the walls (not one was the same as the next), coloured carpets underneath old white marble statues and high columns of the same material, reminding her of all the times she’d read a book about Ancient Greece and it’s Gods. In the middle of the Room were two dark red divans, contrasting against the green on the rest of the place, surrounded by piles of books — (Y/N) had the feeling they were all about Arithmancy and Numerology — and, in the centre, a small coffee table made of wood. 

Not even after hours of working in the assignment they were able to finish it in that afternoon. Both of them were perfectionists, ending up in some small arguments about how they should approach certain topics but had also pushed them in coming up with better and more interesting ideas. No one could deny the pair worked marvelously, complementing each other.

To (Y/N)’s astonishment, Remus Lupin didn’t fit the ideal her mind had set a long time ago for Gryffindors. All the ones she’d encountered were boisterous, incredibly annoying, short-tempered and just general prats. The boy with whom she had spent a whole afternoon was utterly the opposite and (Y/N) would’ve discovered that earlier if she’d hadn’t been so prejudiced.  

The day the assignment was due to, arrived quickly than expected and with it came a sudden and small pang of sadness that startled her. 

When she sat down beside Remus, he had made sure of arriving extra early to compensate the professor for the week before, the boy perceived something was off — his superpower according to his three best friends, he was always capable of reading a person perfectly, even if they hadn’t known each other for too long — because of how she was acting, trying too hard to show an unbothered facade but not hard enough for him to not notice.

The truth was (Y/N) didn’t want this class to start since once it was over so would the partnership with Remus. She had enjoyed his calm and warm company, sometimes a little crazy, in the Room Requirement while they worked on the project. And she was one hundred percent sure she would miss the moments when they both agreed on taking a break after many hours of reading and began to talk about nothing and everything, all at once. Was she supposed to forget that he always carried one chocolate inside his bag, and that he’d started to bring one more after their first afternoon studying together? Was (Y/N) expected to ignore the fact Remus wanted to become a professor because he liked the idea of being there for young people in case they needed someone? Was this girl meant to fail to remember about how this boy had asked his mum to teach him Welsh so they, mother and son, could have one more thing in common? 

When the professor dismissed them, not without praising (Y/N)’s and Remus’s essay first, he noticed the girl next to him hadn’t even smiled at the mention of how perfect they’d worked. Now he knew for sure something was wrong with her and Remus Lupin was not the kind of person who saw his friends feeling down and did nothing about it. 

Following her across the corridor, he tried to catch her attention but she was either not listening or down right ignoring him. Finally being able to reach her, Remus grabbed her arm softly and called her name in a whisper. She turned around, head low and eyes fixated on her jet black loafers, not looking at him. 

“Are you alright? Because if something happened, you can talk to me,” Remus asked in a faint voice, almost swallowed by the noise the other students in the hallway were making, moving his hand towards her shoulder and rubbing tenderly the fabric of her grey sweater that covered her skin, “I know we hadn’t been friends for too long, but you can come to me for anything you may need.”

(Y/N) raised her head after hearing the last part.

“We are?” An incredulous look appearing on her face. “We are friends?”

“Of course we are, (Y/N),” Remus announced while letting out a snicker, as if the thought of the two of them not being friends sounded ridiculous in his mind, “I wouldn’t have shared my chocolate with you if we weren’t. And as a half blood… you are one of the few people who actually understands my movie or book references from the muggle world.”

Her mood better now that she knew Remus considered her a friend and for once since she initiated her education at Hogwarts, she was glad the Arithmancy professor had made them work in pairs.

|||

Weeks and months passed by, and with each one of them the friendship between Remus and (Y/N) grew stronger. There were still several things the Gryffindor was not ready to discuss, like him being a werewolf, his other friends becoming animagi to help him during the nights of a full moon; the creation of the Marauder’s Map and how much he wanted to kiss her whenever she began to ramble about a subject she was really passionate about. He kept quiet, and for several months he came up with excuses, not only for the scars and the nights on the Infirmary, but for the random loss of concentration every time she was too closed to him, cracking up a joke or cursing at the professors for thinking they couldn’t have five minutes without being buried in assignments and deadlines. 

His feelings, unknown to him, were not one sided. 

(Y/N) wasn’t one to go for the boys she liked, she was used to just admiring them from afar, never making the effort to start a conversation and she was fine with it. But Remus was a whole other story. She knew him, and his fears, and the books he would read over and over again, and how much of a good friend and amazing person he was. And all of that made it even harder for her to take that quick but impossible last step. Her friends had been trying to make her pursue him since the moment the Firewhisky in her system led her to overshare. They’d said he felt the same and for a moment she believed it, but long nights of overthinking convinced her that Remus was just being kind to her, his specialty.

She tried to push her feelings away, to calm her heart that couldn’t stop jumping whenever she saw him smiling, to control the sweat on her hands every time he whispered something funny in her ear; to put a stop to the flips her stomach suffered the moment he said her name; to even her breathing on the occasions he would utter random Welsh words — one of the reason why she started to learn the language four months after their friendship began —  to see her confused expression. 

One night after a long and stressful day in the midst of their seventh and last year at Hogwarts, while the last quarter moon shined down from above them and illuminated her features, Remus Lupin decided he would honor the reason he was supposed to be in Gryffindor.

Taking a small object from the pocket of his trousers and releasing a shaky breath, he took (Y/N)’s hand to catch her attention. She turned around, looking away momentarily from the moon and the stars, the things she admired the most, grinning softly at him with such alluring eyes.

“I don’t know how to say this and what I’m doing is barely planned, and so many things could wrong but…,” Remus started, taking a large gulp of air before talking again, “I can’t help myself with you sitting there like that.”

She didn’t respond, understanding there was something bugging him and that it was crying out for someone to just let it out.

“I like you and not as a friend, I mean, yes, I do like you as a friend but I also like you as much more than that,” he confessed briskly, shortly after closing his eyes and chewing his bottom lip, “and I did this for you.”

(Y/N) took the tiny object silently, not knowing what to say, and held it up towards the sky so the moon would cast a light upon it. 

The minute she realised what it was, she confirmed that Remus’s feelings were the same as hers. With a large smile on her face, she traced her fingers delicately across the wooden figure. It had an intricate design, with two hearts in the middle and two fine lines lacing with each other, reminding her of a simple braid. On top of the heart, were three threads forming a knot.

“It’s a lovespoon, isn’t it?,” she mumbled just to be sure this was all truly happening. Remus nodded, still not knowing if she liked him too, “It’s gorgeous, Rem.” 

Locking eyes with her, he didn’t need her to say she liked him back because he already knew the answer. (Y/N)’s eyes were brimming with a few tears, holding such intense emotions and staring at him the way his mum did whenever his dad was in front of her. 

“I like you too, fy annwyl un,” she confessed back. A laugh escaped his mouth while he shook his head.

“Since when do you know Welsh, fy nghariad aur?”

“I learned it to impress someone.”

Remus leaned his body closer towards her, putting his hand over her cheek and running his thumb gracefully across it. Both of them shift their weight at the same time to be nearer each other. 

(Y/N)’s heart shaking violently in her chest, anticipating what was going to be her first kiss. 

“Remember that favor you owe me since last year?,” she reminded him. Their warm breaths mixing, lips so close and yet so far away. Remus nodded slightly as his hand descended from her cheek to caress cautiously one of her bottom lip’s corners. His other hand travelled to the back of her head, intertwining slowly with her hair, “well, I’m asking for it now.”

He smiled while their lips brushed against one another. Taking the lead, Remus finally pressed their mouths together. And it was everything and so much more than she had ever imagined. Eyes closed but still capable of seeing a mixture of red bright fireworks and shining stars.

One of her hands, the one clutching the lovespoon tightly, stayed put on his arm, while the other moved towards his neck, not knowing where else to leave it. Instantly, Remus dropped his hand from her cheeks to her waist, pulling her closer and almost sitting her on top of his lap. He moved her head slightly backwards, making (Y/N) to open his lips more and allowing him to explore her mouth with his tongue. 

None of them cared about what the rest of the school would think when they entered the Great Hall, hand in hand, a dark brown lovespoon decorating (Y/N)’s satchel.

Under the moonlight, no one else had felt more alive than them.

[songareum07]

ESL

Late at night when your friend calls you to pick her up in a bar. You hint that your friend was wasted and can’t even help herself text an uber to take her home. Good thing, you can now use your car since window hour had extinguished. Would you mind listening at her rants for a while? Or you’ll just take her home so you can have your peaceful sleep? For tomorrow you still have tons of paperworks to finish off.

-------------

You were checking your email for your prepared schedule when your phone rang like there’s no tomorrow. Being irritated, you hastily picked it up, only to find out ‘twas your friend calling you.

“Hello?" You waited for minutes but no one answered, all you hear was high volumes of sound playing in the background.

After waiting for minutes that almost felt like years, you were about to hang the call when the person on the other line spoke at the top of her lungs.

"What the heck? You’ll get yourself drunk and can’t make it to your home? Where’s Hanna?… What?! Shit!… Okay stay there, don’t move! Do you hear me?! Never do something that will put yourself to trouble! Where’s that bar specifically?!… I’ll go and get you.” Then you hang up.

You glanced on your phone to check the time and it says, 11:15pm.

Really, 11:15 and yet she’s in the bar drowning herself as if there’s no work tomorrow? Unbelievable, you thought to yourself.

After changing your clothes from a barthrobe, which you were actually wearing after taking a bath earlier right before checking your email, you hurriedly went to your car and drove off. Worried of what horrible things your friend could do whenever she’s drunk.

------------------

You stopped your car in front of a classy bar. But bar is still a bar, you said to yourself. It differs no from any other bar that serves alcoholic beverages and full of smoke from various chain smokers. Eventhough still hesitant, whether to step in your feet inside, you wiped away all doubts and moved forward. Telling yourself, you won’t stay inside for long. You’re just going to pick her up and take her home so you can finally have a sound sleep. Easy as pie right? So you went inside, astounded by different scenes you’ve watched since this was your first time getting inside a bar, you accidentally stepped on someone’s foot.

“Ooops, sorry…. I’m really sorry.. sorry I didn’t mean it," explaining yourself repeatedly.

Your eyes unknowingly landed with the person whose feet you just stepped on.

Wait do I know her? you aksed yourself.

It’s hard for you to recognize the lady due to dim and flickering lights the bar has. But, the complexion, her body size looks like her, short hair? Is this... Hesitant at first, you kept away some strands of messy hair in her face.

“あらららら！酔ってきたら、あなたは全体の災害です。” you said before taking the seat beside her.

She twitched by the fact that your skin touched hers while you're occupying the space.

“Mmm…” She hummed

“Daryl, let’s go~” you replied as soft as you can get.

“Y/N???” She asked eyes half-opened

“Hmm.. mm.. Let’s go.”

Instead of moving, she stayed still. Eyes locked on the ground as if she’s in deep thoughts. You were about to grab her shoulders and help her to stand when she suddenly talked.

“Y/N, how to be you?”

This made you stop and decided to sit back and answer her with a question.

“W-what do you mean?”

She responded with a sigh.

“Well as you can see, I also want to be loved back by those people whom I love–”

“Why did you suddenly bring that up? You already know my answer with that right?” You answered then looked away.

“Yeah, I know. It’s just that, why can’t he just love me back? After I have given my all! There’s nothing left to me. I--”

And there, her voice broke. You quickly glanced at her only to find hot tears were already running down her cheeks. But she immediately wiped it, afraid of being seen by others.

“Sorry, I just can’t help but to cry.”

You closed the distance between the two of you and hugged her while brushing her back saying,

“It’s okay, you can cry all you want. There’s no reason for you to hide those feelings and wait for it to subside.” Assuring her

“Y/N, I wish I was as tough as you. I wish… I was as brave as you. Y/N it hurts! It pains me a lot! I never thought that this could be this painful. I-I .. never thought that we will end up like this.”

--------------

“So who’s the fucking retard, mind telling me??” You asked

“Mark.” She simply answered.

Your eyes widen upon hearing the name. You even spit out the juice you were drinking.

“Mark? Mark who? Mark Aure?! Mark whose love interest of Kim way back in highschool?! Our CLASSMATE?!”

“Of course NOT Y/N!” She answered defensively.

You heaved out a sigh of relief.

“Thank God! I was relieved by that,”

She was about to take her drink when you continued talking.

“Since, I can’t imagine the two of you being together. Holding each other’s hands, exchanging sweet words, having a public display of affection ew, gross!!!” You said while making face.

“Wow ha, coming from the forever VIRGIN.” She snaps.

“Wait, are you trying to dis me? Just because of me, being still a virgin? That I have never slept with someone for my entire life? Is that what you are trying to imply now Daryl?”

“Woah.. chill there. I didn't say anything like that! I just want you to teach a lesson, how dare you dis Mark for him not being that attractive in your sight?”

“I’m just telling the truth, THAT the two of you DON’T LOOK GOOD TOGETHER.”

“And what if I’m saying the truth Y/N?”

“You know what? That’s what you get from reading pile of smuts, you try to perform what you read!” You countered.

She looked at you eyes wide open. She never expected that to came out of your mouth neither you, it just slipped out! Then there, hurt and disappointment registered from her face. She looked away and never argue. After that, no one dared to talk again. Until you decided to break the silence.

“Look, sorry for what I said earlier I know it added the pain you are feeling now. When, I should be helping you ease your pain," you apologized but she remained still

“So it wasn’t Mark whom we both know?” you decided to do the talking now

“No.” She answered.

“Who?”

“Tuan.”

“Ooh.. Tuan.” You repeat

The bell rang when you heard the name.

Mark Tuan? Where did I heard that again?

“Aaah!!! Mark Tuan!” You said as if you won from a Million-lottery sweepstakes.

“Yeah. Mark Tuan," she said before taking the shot of her drink.

"Mark Tuan? Who’s that?”

From a lively facial expression, your face turned into a total frown real quick.

“Mark Tuan of Got7," she said lifeless.

“Got7??? Isn’t that a korean boygroup? Am I right?”

“Yeah, in fact they’re well-known," then she took a shot once again.

“You know what? I didn't know that you have this talent of being a clown when drunk,” you mockily said.

You glanced with your phone to check the time.

2:30am

After seeing the time you stood up and made a stretch. You looked at Daryl whose sulking with alcohol again.

“You almost got me there, let’s go~ you’re too intoxicated already.”

She whined when you held her shoulders.

“Let’s go Daryl~ I’m taking you home.”

“No~ lesh drinnkkk~!” She protested

“Listen Daryl," you leaned closer to her as you try to explain your side.

"It’s already 2:30 in the morning and yet, I am here having an argument with you. I’ve been from a wedding earlier, I haven’t been rested since I went home. Then here you are calling my number as if there’s no tomorrow asking me to take you home for you can’t handle to get home all by yourself. So here I am! Just so you know, I still have tons of paperworks to finish off tomorrow! So please," you stopped for a while to compose yourself as you start to lose your patience.

"cooperate." you exclaimed exasperately.

But instead of getting an audible answer. You just heard a snore and right there, she was fast asleep.

[storytellerstuti-blog]

A New Year Spent Like Never Before!

It was Christmas already, and as each day passed, I could sense the gravity of the impending situation more than the fervor of the burning candles and the purity of the scent from the potpourri. Even after countless persuasion from my friends, I had not bought tickets to any of the New Years bashes that were going to rock the city in about a week’s time. My parents had been calling me every weekend for the past one month to confirm my arrival at my “sweet home” as they were too excited to celebrate the New Years with me. My school friends had planned a trip to Goa, and they were going to have the time of their lives as they ascertained in their never-ending pitch. Every time I spoke to any of them, all I could say was that I was still not decided as to how I wanted to spend the New Year’s evening. Neither my friends nor my family could understand what I was actually up to. But it was something else that scared me even more! The very fact that even I did not exactly know what I wanted from myself had given me sleepless nights in a row now. I am a regular college going girl, and I had spent the last 22 new years of my life either with friends or with family. Until now it had all made sense to me, you should spend your time with your near and dear ones, more so on a special occasion. But of late I had wanted to spend time with myself more than anyone else. It was 27th December, and everyone around in my hostel was packing their stuff. Most of them were headed back home, the rest were leaving for a trip with their friends, a few others had bought tickets to the hottest parties in Delhi itself. I plugged in my earphones and started making my way through the corridors to escape the probing questions that were destined to come my way. Furious but thoughtful, I started taking huge steps to flee as soon as possible. As I reached the main gate, my classmate who was loading his luggage in the taxi said, “Hey! Where are you headed without luggage?” For a while, his question made my anxiety come to life. I could only revert that I was planning to take a small walk in the park outside as it was a beautiful sunny day in winters. As I moved forward, I breathed in the air of consciousness and thanked God several times as this question was easier to dodge than the one I had imagined, “What is your plan for the New Years?” I reached for my cellphone and started playing motivational songs like “Zinda hai toh!” to feel good about myself. Surprisingly, most of the arrangements in Goa for my friends were made by me as I had been there a couple of times before but much more than that, my favorite pastime was to wanderlust. I had spent half of the lectures sleeping while half were dedicated to browsing endlessly about travel on the internet. Only if there were a quiz on places to roam about in the world, I would have topped any and every exam that I would have written. But unfortunately, we are taught only a few subjects, especially the ones that get us jobs. How about getting a life but a job? Quite difficult to answer in this seemingly deceptive world that values money and security above all. I had been reading stories about some unbelievably great startups and geniuses that were shaping the future of the mankind. Yet incredibly I had given in to the systems and norms around me. The feeling of being trapped by the dogma seemed to exacerbate as I took restless steps on the road that led to nowhere, in thoughts and reality. I came across the dhaba on the other side of the street, where I had spent almost two years now, with my friends, having tea and chit-chatting, doing nothing. Today, I felt like having a cup of tea to beat the chill in solitude as I pondered hard about life. “Bhaiya! Ek chai aur Maggi dena”, I said as I looked for the corner place to have a seat. In a couple of minutes, a huge crowd of students approached the tea stall and started placing orders of Maggi and tea in volumes. The only guy, who maintained the dhaba, acceded to their requests and served them with utter patience. His smile was as warm as the tea. Unperturbed by the chaos that the huge rush caused all the time he would always stay chirpy and optimistic. He had aspired to scale up for long and had resolved to inaugurate another tea stall next year. I could gather this from overhearing the conversations he used to have with his regular customers. He said he just loved preparing tea and serving it to people and though he had a choice of driving a taxi in Dubai and making more money he chose not to take that up. He loved his country, his people, and above all, he loved what he did. I reached for my cellphone again, to change the song, as the motivational playlist had played for long. The moment my screen came to life, it got loaded with bulk WhatsApp messages. As I kept sliding my thumb towards right, while still on the screen, to kill the notifications, one of them caught my attention. A travel app had just asked me, “Where are you travelling this New Year?” The train of thought came to a lull as I glanced at it and then read it almost thrice. Without giving another thought, I got up and started running back towards my hostel. I was happy as I knew what I was going to do this New Years. I packed my backpack by putting in all the stuff that I needed and booked my tickets to Mussoorie online. I boarded the late evening bus and with all the hopes up left for a place where I could get lost in the eternity of the Great Himalayas. If Ruskin Bond would have known me, he would have loved me for sure!

Two days had passed, and I still could not get enough of the beautiful place Mussoorie was! It was just perfect with the clouds abound and temperatures that formed captivating smoke while I spoke. Winters had fascinated me since childhood, but living all on my own on a hill station, with the silence that stretched to infinity, was once in a lifetime kind of an experience for me. But something even more fascinating had happened! I had met a woman from New Zealand during the dinner buffet at my place of abode for these two days. She had promised to see me again at the Little Llama café today. I wanted to talk to her and know more about her as she was a solo traveler and had held me captive with her extraordinary tales of travel the other day. Being in my regular rather ordinary environment, I had never come across such a personality. She was in her mid-thirties, charming and elegant, her eyes spoke volumes about her maturity as they seemed to be wrinkled around the corners. She had an aura of optimism and exuberance. She had straight blonde hair and blue eyes. She would wear kurta, afghani salwar, and a pahadi topi to look like someone just from the hills. I reached the Little Llama café before time and waited for her. I ordered for the delicious food out there and her favorite burger as a token of my love to make her smile. She was just on time and impressed me even more with her punctuality and the fact that she had lived up to her promise. Where do you plan to travel next? I enquired in an innocuous tone. I will be traveling to Nepal in a week’s time she replied. She was surprised to see me there, sitting right across the table as she was not expecting me to come over to see her again at her favorite café. I had asked her everything about her travel and life in the first meeting itself, and that had inspired me to the core to meet her again. But there were still some questions beyond that, that hadn’t been answered. I did not want to lose this opportunity to satiate my inquisitiveness. I asked her that being a woman didn’t she fear to take such huge travel stints across the globe, where does she get the money and the luxury to be doing that, didn’t she fear the fact that in case things don’t work out well she is just gonna be wandering alone. I kept going on and on as I bombarded her with my silly questions. She waited for me to stop before she could start speaking. In the meanwhile, she started munching the delicious burger but heeded complete attention to what I had to say! Finally, when I was done with my blabbering, she spoke something to me that still reverberates in my mind like a sound in the hills. Those words made my New Years as special as it could be, and gave me a reason to live when I returned to Delhi. I had read it in the books, watched it in the films, dreamt about such people in my mind, but speaking to a living legend reinvigorated the flame of setting myself free in me. All the questions that had haunted me all this life seemed to have taken a backseat. My fear had surprisingly tapered off with every day that passed post that encounter. I had realized that everything I had wanted in my life started and ended on travel. The only thing that had ever made me feel good about myself was travel, and yet, unfortunately, travel was the only thing I had been most reluctant to take up. I returned back with the focus of taking this up for the rest half of my life. I ditched any other opportunity to work that came my way with just one resolution – It was just travel that was all I was going to do from now on. This New Year resolution seemed to be much more ecstatic than the false promises of shedding weight that I had made to myself in the recent years! I felt liberated, calm, determined and freed as I resolved to live my dream and face all the odds that came my way to protect my only reason of existence – traveling. That New Year proved to be a turning point in my life. It wouldn’t have been the same, had I not decided to spend some time with myself.

The words of the mystic traveler from New Zealand

Do what you love, and everything else follows. You can make others happy only if you are happy from within. Think about what you want to own 10 years down the line. It is Ok to be satisfied with a car or a bungalow if that’s what you really want. It would get much scary with time if it is actually something that you don’t want. I had realized it only when I had started traveling on my own that it was only traveling that I had wanted from life. I have been divorced thrice because the men I married ran for money. But while I live my dream every day I am happy with all the bad decisions I took as they have just made me realize even stronger - I want to travel. Every person has a story, and it is their journey that sets them apart from others. You need not be wealthy or impoverished to be successful. Success isn’t measured regarding money. It can be measured only regarding the fact that were you really able to do what you wanted to do. If it is travel that you seek, shed your inhibitions and accept the fact that you already have the answer to all the questions and just get going with what you want. Questions are the face of fear but remember that on the other side of fear lies freedom.  

Though she uttered many more words of wisdom that day, her final words left me puzzled, intrigued, speechless yet thoughtful.

Do you really think that Mahatma Gandhi or Warren Buffet are the only people who are successful? They are for sure, but there are quite a few of them around you as well, it’s just that you see them but do not notice them. Although, it’s still a fraction of the entire population but not really difficult to find. Who in your vicinity do you think is really happy, satisfied and successful? Your teacher, friends, relatives?

Much to my amazement, I could not think of any of them including myself. All of them had wanted something, but they were trapped in the rat race and ended up doing something blatantly different. All of them had enough money, moreover, quest for more money. But none of them ever seemed satisfied with what they did. Lightning struck me as I could finally think of a name and had an answer. I didn’t have the guts to speak it aloud as it somehow pinched my ego more than anything else. I had finally bid the mystic traveler adieu silently without speaking up a single word. But on my way back to the hotel I could still see only one name that flashed all over again in my mind. It was Bablu, the guy who owned the dhaba, near to my hostel!