‘Four’ever more!

16 December 2018

“That’s it, I cannot go on any more!” It was a sentence that distracted me; a sentence that shattered me….for it was coming from the person I had just gotten married to, exactly 10 days ago. This moment was four years ago, and till date this sentence scares the hell out of me.

There were a million thoughts running through my mind, that moonlit night. ‘Wherever had I gone wrong?’ was a predominant thought. For there we were, under a clear sky with the moon shining upon our path….stuck or rather struggling through snow, knee deep!

As two individuals who met in the forests of India, it was only fitting that we paid tribute by a visit to one more Indian forest, to celebrate the beginning of our marriage. What brought a twist to this idyllic holiday, was the destination we headed to from there. From the beautiful forest of Corbett, we headed out through torrential rains to the less – explored hamlet of Almora. A cosy and picturesque ‘bungalow’ awaited us upon arrival at the Itmenaan Estate and we were thrilled to bits at how lovingly we were welcomed by the staff. They ensured we stayed warm as the December chill spread all around, and stuffed us with delicious food until we were fit to burst. A perfect ‘honeymoon’ vacation, would you believe?!

Two days passed by in such a blissful state and the third morning awoke us to a surprise. Sleepily, my husband walked into the toilet, only to yell loudly from inside, “It’s snowing!” I jumped up and out of bed, and rushed to the window. Soft white snow was falling outside, covering the tufts of grass outside. In a rush of excitement, I pulled on a few more layers of clothing and dragged my husband outside. It was a magical moment, one that I embraced with all my might. After absolute hours of playing around in the snow, we were pleasantly surprised to see a steaming breakfast coming our way and had to interrupt our romance with the snow. Little did we know then, that this snow was not planning to be interrupted any time soon!

As the day stretched on, the snow kept piling on. By the end of the day, the snow still hadn’t stopped. Imagine our horror when we were informed that the unexpected snowfall had exceeded its usual limit in those areas, and that if it didn’t rain the next day, we were stuck there for good. “How long?” we questioned, only to be given the answer, “Perhaps till March?” We were in an off – beat destination….one that was away from the main road. And the cherry on the top, we were the only guests there! So not only were we stuck there, but our presence ensured the staff were stuck there too.

Almost 36 hours later, the manager of the estate came over and said to us, “There is one way to get out of here….walk our way to the nearest village. We can carry your bags for you, but only if you wouldn’t mind walking.” At the moment he was talking to us, we were supposed to be on the flight back home. We had already missed our connecting train, not been with electricity all that while and were freezing our butts off. Anything to get out from there, despite the raw beauty all around! We nodded Yes almost immediately, and there on began the adventure of a lifetime!

It was uphill for about 500 metres, a climb through approximately 2.5 feet snow that took us almost an hour! We hit the highway only to realise that every inch of available surface was covered with sparkling snow. And so the only thing that we could do, was to keep walking. We couldn’t stop walking, because the snow seeped into our shoes. We couldn’t sit for a while to rest, since there was snow all around. We started this walk at 2.30 pm and covered a distance of about 4 kilometres to reach the nearest village. And the time at which we reached? 8.30 pm! Imagine picking up each foot knee high and putting it back down again. Imagine doing that for 6 hours. Imagine doing that while the sun sets and the moon comes up; as the temperature falls even further and the legs begin to hurt…..which is exactly when my husband uttered those dreaded words that started off this write – up.

A moment that defined the life that was going to follow, for on that cold night, I almost thought I was going to lose him already. And so my instincts kicked in as I began to motivate him to walk just one more step….and not give up until we reached our destination.

It has been something that we keep doing for each other, ever since. Shouting words of encouragement when the other one is down, cheering on each other’s achievements, being horrified at the thought of losing each other, and also knowing that it won’t happen anytime soon!

And today, as we celebrate four years of being married to each other with lots of happy and adventurous moments shaping up the years, I think back to that cold and tiring walk through snow….on a night that broke the ice between a husband and a wife, leading to an adventure that today we can safely laugh over in the warmth of our living room, and building up a memory that destined the path of our marriage….for now and ‘four’ever more!

P.S : Click here to read what I wrote a few months into the marriage…..the journey that it has been, from then till now.