Wandering Into the Nostalgic Lane to Seal a Promise

Distantly, what caught their breadth was the seraphic view of snow-capped Himalayas at the backdrops, partially covered in the thin blanket of white clouds. The air was crisp with a hint of Nostalgia as the sound of the nearby streams whispered tales of their past.

- Ankur R. Gupta

It's still the same, says Riya to her husband, admiring the empyrean landscape from the taxi's window, slowly moving on the highway to Manali. Hmmm… not precisely, grumbled Aryan, looking at the trail of vehicles on the road. Uff…you are still grumpy about the traffic jam. 

Why don't we leave the car until traffic clears? Let's enjoy the sanctity of these Himalayas, once the witness of our love that blossomed in this valley, she suggested. Nope… I am not in the mood to step out, and you also don't. It's cold, mumbled Aryan, sinking deeply into the car seat and tightly wrapping a shawl around him with eyes glued on the phone screen.

Riya rolled her eyes in despair and said, there was a time when you used to rush to take such offers to spend time with me. Oh, come on, it's been a long, say, twenty years. Since we last visited here, quipped Aryan. Twenty-two years, to be precise. Twenty years of our marriage plus two years of our courtship, Riya snubbed sarcastically. Ya, whatever, he nodded vaguely. It was a phase that was appropriate for the age. I still spend time with you, and we are always beside each other. Aryan shrugged his shoulder in a disinterested way.

Urgh, you call this spending time together she pointed to his phone in hand. She chided in a disappointed tone how unromantic you have gone with time. Aryan looked at her perplexedly and wondered why she was upset about such a petty thing. Usually, she was a silent and contented self. But since their taxi had started maneuvering on the way to Manali, she has been behaving in unpredictable moods; sometimes, unusually chirpy or irritated.