Miles to Marvel Part 4

‘Rishi! Rishi!’ ‘Rishi wake up!’ shouted Sunaina

I was reluctant to wake up, after a long time I had acquired a tension-free sleep. But the next thing I felt on my face was a hard hand. Slap!

‘What the hell!’ I shouted. ‘What the hell?! You idiot this is not just your vacation, it’s mine too’

‘Where are we? How long did I sleep?’

‘Nearly four hours, you sleep like a drone. And we are nearing Sakleshpur. Mangalore is just a few hundred miles away. Sunaina stopped the car. I let myself out of the car. Suddenly my neck started to ache. ‘Ouch!’ I said

‘It’s because of your posture. I have got a spray in my bag, use it’ She said. I obeyed.

After applying the spray, the pain subsided. Sunaina did some stretches after getting out of the car ‘Keeps blood circulation in check’ she spoke. After taking a short break, we resumed with our travel. Sunaina sat at the back seat. ‘Hey switch on the stereo please’ she said

‘We are in a no-signal zone Sunaina’

‘So what? Here, use my pendrive’. She handed me the thing. Plugged in, we are on! If you go by Sunaina’s get up, I was expecting to listen a lot of death metal and punk rock music (personally I am not fond of punk rock or heavy metal). Surprisingly, her choice of music was certainly not how she was dressed currently. The opening song was To Brazil by the evergreen Vengaboys. A relief that I wouldn’t be listening to any unpleasant music. Later the music changed to various artists from the really old to the really new. I was enjoying and so was she.

‘By the way, since I am following a new style I would like you to call me Su’

‘Su?’  That’s how she addressed herself when we first met two years ago. Till now this girl had been the same like she was two years ago. But I had this feeling that she is different now.

‘Yeah, I had stopped using it. But I think it’s right now the best name to call me’

‘Sure is. Though if you don’t mind me asking when did you shift from Canada?’

‘Long time back, I have been in India for more than a year now’

‘What about your family?’

‘My parents are in Canada and so is my younger brother’

‘Why did you shift to India out of all places?’

‘Long story but lets put it this way “I love my country way too much”’ She said that in very funny tone, I laughed and so did she.

‘Okay, I see you are full of surprises’

‘You bet! Listen, you slept for a good time. So please’

‘Off course’ I lowered down the stereo volume. The road was filled with moderate traffic. Usually NH 48 is busy with trucks but I guess we got lucky. An hour or so and we will be in Mangalore. So far so good.

***

Mangalore, a beautiful port city in the state of Karnataka. Hoardings of resorts and hotels increased as we entered the city. The coast was still a little far.

‘So this is it, our first stop over!’ said Su excitedly. I had once visited Mangalore but that was long time back. Everything that I now saw was very different from what I had seen around seven eight years ago. A lot of development had taken place within the city and in the outskirts. ‘Now where are we stopping?’ I asked. I was feeling tired, though Su showed no signs of being tired. She was brimming with joy. 

‘How do girls do this?’ I thought.

‘Where are we staying?’ Su asked and looked at me.

‘Please, don’t joke and tell me where are we staying?’

‘I think we should be able to find room at a lodge’

I gave her an incredulous look ‘What? You haven’t booked a place?’

‘Why would I do that?’ she said very easily.

‘ARE YOU OUTTA YOUR MIND! ARE WE SUPPOSED TO STAY IN THIS CAR FOR THE WHOLE WEEK!!’

‘Stop overreacting, see that’s the problem with you, you take everything so damn seriously’

‘So you have made a booking’

‘When did I say that?’

‘And you tell me not to overreact’

‘Relax, its the smartphone age’ She took out her Iphone and did some tick-tocking. I should have changed my phone too. ‘A place called Uncle’s Lodge near Someshwara beach, sounds cool and decently priced’

‘Rooms available?’

‘Well must be! It’s offseason’

There was no point arguing. We somehow made it to the Uncle’s Lodge (Trust me asking Kannada men directions is as hard as making a donkey move). At the reception we were greeted by a South Indian lady.

‘Can we have a room please?’ I asked

‘Room? Yes re. One?’ She looked at me and Su.

‘No, two rooms’ I said

‘No two, we got one. Take or no take’ she said in South Indian accent

I gave Su a look. Just one room, no way!

‘We will take it’ Su said

‘Woah, wait. One room that means one bed’

‘I know, you take it, I will sleep in the car’

‘Are you crazy? I promised Sid that I will take care of you’

‘I am not a kid. Besides this is the closest place to all our sightseeings. Grab it now!’

‘We will find-’

‘Hello, we will take it. Can I have the keys’

The receptionist handed the keys. I could have argued but I was too tired already. The room was of good size and the bed could easily fit two of us. I would have said something but  “We can both sleep together” will sound weird. Instead I came up with a different scheme ‘We can ask her for an extra mattress’ ‘Yeah, the room is big enough and for the price totally worth it. Lets eat something first and then think about it’. I looked at my watch, it was already six, and our lunch was nothing but packed wafers and softdrinks. I was starving. The Uncle’s had a small eating area. After filling our stomachs, we went for a stroll.

‘Want to walk till the beach?’

‘Not now, I am really tired’

‘Actually I was really hoping you would say so, I am tired myself’

Luckily, our mattress had been placed in our room. I was courteous enough and offered her the bed. ‘Hey don’t be formal, in Goa you can sleep on the bed’ ‘In Goa we are having two rooms and I will book them in advance.’ I said firmly.

‘Okay!’  

‘Plan of action for tomorrow?’ I asked

‘ Roam about in Mangalore and leave for Goa day after’

‘What about the temple?’ I said casually

‘All tomorrow, now goodnight!’

And the room lights were turned off!