‘Why are they scared of this place?’ Dariush asked and supported himself by putting a hand on Vidhi’s shoulder. At that moment he also noticed her breasts.

He raised his eyes to look at the sky when he saw that the branches of the tree had intertwined themselves in a way that they had formed a sheet covering the gaps. One could not see the sky clearly only feel its presence there. The sheet sieved the sunlight delicately. He looked at Vidhi again, and then she said, ‘There used to be pythons here and that fear still discourages people to visit this place.’

‘Pythons! They’re very interesting,’ Dariush said and looked at Vidhi. He asked, ‘Can one still see those snakes around?’

‘No one has reported seeing them for many years. There is a possibility that you might see one today.’

They moved forward. Dariush guessed that somehow Vidhi was attracted to him. Vidhi’s eyes, her cheeks, her body, her odour were conspiring together to reveal this secret to Dariush. He thought that she had just hit puberty and hence was so desirous and willing. He had seen many newly adolescent girls being rather ‘kind’ to him before. So, there was no way any feeling could churn up inside his heart. They moved forward and the path became narrower. After a point, to save themselves from thorny bushes they had to bend their backs and walk. Dariush was thinking that he had needlessly got himself into this situation but as soon as the thorny bushes ended, he found himself standing in a circular area covered in greenery.

The scenic beauty of the place was stunning. It made him forget himself for a while. At one end were blue, yellow and pink flowers fluttering in the wind. After the flowers was a long chain of trees, behind which were pure green hills, at the end of which was white, milky mist. Dariush found himself lost in the hypnosis of that mist. He saw how a sheet of fog was rising in the wind. The sunrays seemed to play hide and seek. Everything was a phantasm. Seeing Dariush lost in the mesmerizing beauty of nature, Vidhi told him that earlier she used to come with women workers of the plantation quite often to see the hills. Dariush looked at her and said, ‘It is the fog.’