His mother was a Bolivian journalist, and he was born with her alluring and voluptuous features. His English was admiringly filled with metaphors and idioms. The way he carried himself showed that he was brought up in an environment of Western culture. For three days Vidhi and Dariush talked about herbs, wild plants and their various uses. Vidhi had no clue about the importance of plants that grew around her. Apart from his minute observational skills, his understanding and knowledge was another reason that made Vidhi go crazy about him. Vidhi wanted to know why the presence of Dariush released a spring in her body and she found herself inundated. That had never happened to her in the presence of the boy she loved at school, and neither had he attracted her so intensely. In Dariush’s presence, she would remember no one, neither her parents nor the classmate with whom she was having an affair. It was a holiday in Vidhi’s school on the fourth day. She took Dariush to the plantation; to reach it one had to cross a valley and a river. On one side of the river were dense forests. Because the route to the valley was through the plantations, very few people used that way. That day was also the weekly holiday for the labourers on the plantation; so she was confident that no one would come that way. She wore a red skirt and matched it with a corduroy coat. Dariush was busy collecting plant samples. Vidhi was looking at him continuously. It saddened her to feel that Dariush seemed to have no interest in her. He seemed interested only in the barks, branches, leaves and roots of the trees around. He would smell other leaves apart from tea and put them in his bag.

It took them an hour to reach the river. The water was up to the ankles. Beautiful, small pebbles and stones glistened through the clear water around which were swimming very small colourful fish. Dariush asked Vidhi if it was okay to collect the clear water from the river in a glass and drink it. Vidhi stopped him and said that there was a stream ten minutes away where the water was very sweet. Dariush took her suggestion. How was he to know that it was a trap that Vidhi had set? A narrow pathway seemed to unfold in the jungle. Vidhi walked on that path while Dariush followed her. They had just walked a little when Dariush’s leg got caught in a bamboo bush and he was about to fall on Vidhi, but she helped him out of it. Dariush apologized but Vidhi utilized the opportunity to the fullest and at that moment looked into his eyes silently. Then she said, ‘It is my fault that I got you into these bushes, where people avoid coming because of fear.’