Five Times

Whalros slapped the whale one after the other furiously until he felt the pain in his hand.

“Don’t you feel ashamed of losing? What an idiot I have with me!” Whalros was in extreme anger and he roared in a thundering voice.

Every other whale just chose to be silent.

“We could have caught so many lives if you did everything as per my plan. But you fools failed me! You spoiled my plan! You spoiled EVERYTHING!” He was raging with annoyance, his eyes burning.

One of the whales gathered some courage and said, “We did everything as you said, king,”

Whalros glared at that particular whale for a second. Then he neared him with a dangerous look in his eyes. The whale couldn’t meet Whalros eyes and had his head hung down.

“What did you do? Tell me, what… did… you… do?” Whalros asked with a sarcastic tone and waited for that whale to answer.

Now, the whale was shivering in fear that he didn’t have the courage to raise a word against his king. Whalros lost his patience and barked at the particular whale with a deadly tone.

“I am asking YOU! Answer me now or you will face my rage!” The whale now raised his head a little and met Whalros’ eyes that were popping out like a fireball.

With a shaky voice, the whale answered, “We…We… hit the ferry.”

“Then how come no one was HURT?” Whalros couldn’t just digest the fact that they had lost. The whaling community had lost.

“Tell me now! How is everyone SAFE? Are you cheating me?” Whalros lost his temper and gripped the whales’ neck tighter and lifted it up. The whale was frightened and was wagging his legs continuously while begging to Whalros.

Another whale came to the rescue watching the pain the first whale was experiencing. “King, it is true that we hit the plank. But…”

Whalros shot a glance at the second whale without leaving the first one and asked, “But what?”

“But...Suddenly… some power stopped us.”

All of a sudden, Whalros’ grip on the first whale loosened and the whale fell on the floor cupping his neck, wailing in pain.

“What are you saying?” Whalros went near the second whale and shook him with his shoulders to repeat what he had just said.

“Some…power…stopped us.”

“No!” Whalros whizzed in shock. “How is that possible?” He was strolling on all directions to get some answers, but he couldn’t. He felt maddened and let out a giant roar that stunned the entire sea world. He suddenly left the place to check with Intelina.

Everyone in the ferry sighed aloud in relief on knowing that they had reached their destination safely. The mood instantly changed from sad to excited, once the ferry halted in the Havelock Island after experiencing an adventurous and thrilling journey.

A board which had letters, “Welcome to Havelock” greeted everyone. Havelock Island is one of the most pristine and scenic islands of Andaman. Although the Island is filled with peace and calmness, this particular place called Havelock Jetty, will be rush with flocks of people all over, as there will be many, boarding the ferry and many, getting down from it.

Adhi and Abi family took two taxis to reach the seashell resort, while Lara and James boarded another taxi to go to Dolphin resort.

The Dolphin resort was simply known for its welcoming ambiance and an addicting view. It was located right in front of Vijaynagar beach offering stunning views of the sea. Lara and James were given the keys for the super Duplex room and were guided to it. The room was very spacious and furnished. It was so neatly maintained and more than everything, it had a lovely balcony that provided a spectacular view of the beach.

Despite being surrounded by such a lovely place, Lara and James were in no position to enjoy it. They just hopped into the room and threw their luggage down on the floor. Lara lied flat on the bed while James made himself set on the sofa. They were really tired after what they had gone through back in the ferry. They felt exhausted both mentally and physically. The travel gave them a hard time that they didn’t even care to nourish the beauty of the room. The only thing that mattered to them was a bit of peaceful mind. They just wanted to rest and nothing else.

Lara and James dozed off the next second. The woody walls of the cottage kept them cozy and made them comfortable. Lara positioned herself in the bed with her arms stretched on both the sides, covering three fourth of the whole bed. James, on the other hand, had one of his legs being hung on the top of the sofa with his hands across his chest and a pillow supporting his head. They had the most peaceful sleep that day. But nothing is permanent right?

A knock at the door disturbed their sleep. Lara moaned in displeasure and twirled herself sideways, covering her face with the pillow. But the sound didn’t stop. It irritated Lara much. She popped up her head and looked at the entrance door which was still banging with the sound. She was annoyed at the constant knock and replied, “Wait! I am coming” with a dull voice.

She took slow steps and swayed the door open to find a young man standing with a tray containing two glasses of juice. Lara looked at him with the slightly parted eyes.

“Madam, Welcome drink for you two.” He said and looked at her confused.

Lara sighed sadly and signaled him to leave the juice in the table.

When he left, he gave Lara a sorry look and said, “Sorry for disturbing your sleep, Madam,”

Lara nodded in response and locked the room once he left. Now, she didn’t feel like sleeping as her sleep was disturbed in between. So she thought of refreshing a little. The splash of cold water on her face made her feel light. She took a sip of the welcome juice and admired the room silently. While looking around the room, her eyes got fixed at the thick blue curtain that touched the floor beside the bed. She looked at the curtain quizzically and neared it. The curtains were pushed to either side that projected a massive and clean transparent glass fixed on the walls. The bright streaks of sunlight pierced the glass and lit the room. Lara squeezed her eyes and backed off a little to get rid of the sudden brightness.

After a while, Lara parted her eyes slowly to see the balcony that was present, through the glass wall. Also, her eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the beach from inside the glass and it gave a perfect picture with no blurs. She quickened her steps towards the balcony door and swung it open. She stood there mesmerized at the beauty of the green cover of the trees mixed with the blue waters.

At the same time, James too got up, not able to sleep with the bright light striking his face. He slowly got down from the sofa and joined Lara at the balcony. They both stood there forgetting the world until their stomach ached.

Soon both decided to enjoy the trip after a quick breakfast. They got ready and reached the restaurant in the same resort. The delectable dished were served for them to cherish it to the fullest. They stuffed their mouth with a lot of items that their stomach could take and were finally ready for the journey.

The first thing that they had planned was kayaking. Vijaynagar beach is one of the best kayaking places. Lara and James booked for a private two member kayaking and they reached the kayaking site. They were instructed on how to use the kayak. Soon, Lara and James got into the boat and geared up for their journey.

James was the one who chose to paddle the kayak as it will be tough for Lara to handle. He took the kayak and positioned it on his right. He gently dipped the paddle in the water and pushed it hard backward. Wow! The boat started moving forward. Initially, it was hard to handle as it required more of an arm and shoulder strength to propel the boat forward. After few times of repeating the same, his arms got used to it and James did it with ease.

For nearly 10 to 15 minutes they kayaked in the sea and enjoyed the waves that were pushed backward, that in turn pushed the boat forward. Lara and James chuckled at the sight of it. Great surprises awaited them when they neared the spot of the tropical forest. James paddled along the sides of the lush green scenery and was just astonished at the sight of the canopy of trees. Lara didn’t forget to take a click of nature. They reached the serene backwaters of Andaman where the dense mangroves are located. James even stopped paddling and soaked in the rich and diverse ecosystem. Not only the mangroves mattered, but the chirping of the birds in that calm environment added to their goose-bump moment. After some moments of clicking the memories, they again paddled much inside the mangroves.

Suddenly great aroma filled the air. Lara and James took a deep breath relishing the sweet and greatest smell that caressed their nose. Those were the aromas of some rare wild plants.

Nature is always great!

Lara and James wanted to take a break there right at where they good get the essence of the aroma. Lara was busy clicking pictures of the dense canopy and the staggering view. James noticed Lara who had lost herself in Mother Nature.

His mind had a plan and his lips twirled at the thought of it. He carefully held the kayak with his left hand, and dipped his right hand into the water, before splashing handful of waters straight at Lara’s face.

Thank God. The camera was saved.

Lara swiftly turned and looked at James with a wave of fake anger in her eyes. “What did you do, James,” She yelled at him, pointing at her wet top.

James just smiled at her and again started dipping his hands. “No, No, James, Please” Lara pleaded but in vain. So, Lara too decided to join him.

OMG! Can you imagine what she did? Lara dipped her right hand (the one which has the ring) into the water, and the next second she took it out and splashed at James forcefully, exactly the same way he did. James too was wet now. And you know what? She didn’t stop with that. She repeated the same thing again.

Lara was about to dip her hand for the third time when James stopped her.

“Hey, enough Lara. See, we had lost the ring once and you know how hard we tried to get it back. So be careful with the ring. If you dip your hand inside the water, it may fall into it. Then we couldn’t get it back at all.”

“Oh!! Sorry, James, I forgot about it. Thanks for reminding me.” Lara said and both resumed with their kayaking.

They breathed in and breathed out multiple times till they were out of the smell. They didn’t want to leave the place so soon. But the time constraint made them do it. They believed that kayaking would refresh them, but actually, it gave them more than that.

Wow! Two ropes at a time loosened and fell on the floor leaving Intelina’s face to brighten. Her lips extended widely in joy and her happiness knew no bounds on seeing a total of three ropes down at the floor.

“Thanks a lot for whoever is helping me!” Intelina squealed in delight, a little louder than usual. God! Her joyous voice had reached Whalros who was on his way to meet her.