Pankhudi woke up next morning and found herself in his arms. He was awake and smiled at her. He had woken up early next morning. He could barely sleep in that uncomfortable position.
"Good morning cupcake" he said with a brief kiss on her lips. Even with her messed up hair and a drool spot on one side of her lips, she looked beautiful to him. "Are you feeling better now?" he asked.
Pankhudi smiled and nodded.
"Can you walk?" he asked her as he got up and tried to help her.
Pankhudi tried to stand on her feet but her feet were swollen by now, she winced and fell to her knees. He lifted her in his arms. "Don't worry, I'll carry you"
There was a pond nearby. He carried her to the pond and made her sit down. He plucked a broad leaf from a plant growing nearby and rolled it up to make a cup of out it and filled it with water for her. She smiled as she took the leaf cup from his hand and drank water to her heart's content.
"Can we eat those?" she said pointing at some berries growing nearby, "I am hungry"
"I am not sure" he said, "They could be poisonous. It's better to be hungry and healthy than ill."
Both of them drank as much water as they could. She crawled nearer to the pond and splashed some water on her face. He untied the piece of cloth he had tied on her feet and immersed her feet into the cool water of the lake and washed off all the mud. He wanted to make sure that her wound was clean. He then carried her on one shoulder as they began to find their way back to the road. When they began backtracking their steps, he picked up the charred pieces of wood from the fire had had lit last night and began to mark the trees on the way, just to make sure they had a retreat point in case they get lost. It was a thick tropical forest; it was very difficult for them to find a way out. They tried to remember when way they came, but in vain. After a few hours, he put her down and sat down to take some rest. They were hungry and it was very difficult for him to carry her all the way.
Pankhudi crawled to him and hugged him and said, "You've been carrying me for so long. Thank you so much."
He said nothing, but just smiled weakly and hugged her. Suddenly he noticed a monkey eating a fruit on from a nearby tree. "I think those fruits might be edible, let me try to get them" He climbed the tree and plucked as many as he could of those fruits. He brought them to her. "Have as many as you wish" he said with a smile.
"What about you?" she asked.
"I'll get more for myself later" he said as he watched her eat, she was so hungry she used both her hands to stuff those fruits into her mouth. He smiled at her. He went back to the tree after some time to get more fruits, but he could reach only a few. He chose to conserve them for later. He filled those in his pockets.
"You haven't eaten" she said.
"I am not hungry" he said as with a smile, he swept her feet off ground and continued on his way.
"Fuck! We are moving about in circles! It looks like we are officially lost now." he said as he recognized one of the marks he had left on a tree. That had been to this place before. He put her down and sat down next to her. It was past noon. His shoulders were paining badly due to carrying her for too long. If he was alone, he could have moved much faster, but leaving her alone would mean putting her in danger as she was unable to walk. She could be an easy prey to some wild animal. He had to take her along to ensure her well being.
"I'll try to walk" she said as she sensed his pain.
"You feet are in no position to carry your weight" he said.
"It's ok, I am fine" she said as she stood up on her wounded feet.
He saw her trying to hide the pain on her face. But the pain in his shoulders was too much to carry her any longer. They had to keep moving though, because they never informed anyone of their location and no one would come to rescue them otherwise.
"Put on my shoes Pankh" she said as he took them off. Although his sneakers were obviously of a larger size than hers, he pulled the lace tightly enough for them to hold on to her feet as she walked. Pankhudi was relatively comfortable and was able to walk at a reasonable speed. Tears of gratitude filled her eyes as her held her hand and walked barefoot next to her leading the way. Every time a thorn or a sharp stone pricked his feet, he just pulled it out and kept moving. The pain didn't seem to slow him down one bit.
The markings he put on the trees helped warned him every time he was about to choose the wrong path. He was determined to find a way out. They walked with all the energy they had, it was a matter of survival for them.
The sun set and it was about to get dark soon. He decided to camp under a tree. He thanked his stars that her had found the lighter in his pocket last night. Without fire, it would have been very difficult for them to survive. As the darkness grew, he lit the fire and took out the fruits he had plucked earlier.
"Dinner time!" he said as he held them out towards her.
Pankhudi was hungry, but she knew he hadn't eaten all day. She picked up a fruit and brought it to his lips. She didn't speak a word but her eyes requested him to eat. He ate a few fruits but he made sure, she had enough to eat. He could tolerate hunger more than her. Pankhudi crawled onto his lap. It was a very romantic feeling for her. She had never been so close to a man before. He rested his back against a tree. Pankhudi rested her head on his bare shoulder and began to move her hand gently across his bare chest.
