The next morning, the ship headed towards the direction of Port Redi harbour. The announcement has been given that the ship would be reaching there in an hour and would be taking its Port of call there till evening.

Listening to the announcement.. Karan got ready and went towards Monami's room as it was getting late and they still needed to have their breakfast.

Karan ( knocking on the door) : Monami, come out soon.. It's getting late.

Monami : I'm coming.. 2 minutes!

Listening to her reply, Karan leaned on the door, scrolling his phone..

After 2 minutes he heard the door unlocking sound and shifted his sight up from his mobile, to find Monami adjusting her saree and coming out of her room.

She looked breathtaking beautiful and Karan couldn't just take his eyes off her. No doubt that she looked pretty everyday but today she looked a bit more beautiful in her traditional attire, saree.

Monami ( breaking his trance) : Karan kese lag rahi hu?

In response to this., Karan just moved closer to her.. looking straight into her eyes, leaned towards her, fanning his hot breath over her face.. took some kohl from her eyes with his ring finger and placed a dark black dot behind her ear., whispering in a husky tone, "Iss saree mai aap bohot khoobsurat lag rahi hai Rani Sahiba..! Kahi mere he nazar na lag jaaye aapko."
Saying this he moved back, leaving a red tint blush on Monami's cheeks.
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The passengers gathered on the deck as the ship honked loud as it reached the port. The passengers got down the ship and they needed to take bus from there to reach the temple. It was a one hour journey from the port to the temple area.
The passengers stood in a queue waiting for the bus to arrive., as the bus arrived, Karan told Monami to go inside as he would come in once he makes sure that all the people have got into the bus, so that no one goes misplaced. Monami agreed to this and took her seat in the bus by the window. She had left place beside her for Karan but as the bus slowly got filled with the passengers.. a man came and sat in the empty seat beside her.
Karan got into the bus ensuring that everyone is in and searched for Monami. Finding her sitting in a backside row he went towards her to see that some other person has already sat beside her.. He instantly walked upto the person and said," Excuse me.. I am sorry but this is my place. Could you please get up and sit in the back row?" to which the person agreed, got up and sat at the back.

Karan sat beside Monami and lifted up the seat handle that was placed between their seats and questioned her,"Who was that?" to which Monami gave an idk expression and shrugged her shoulders.

Karan: "Why was he sitting beside you?" he asked in an irritated tone.

Monami : "Karan the seats got filled so maybe he found a place here to sit. What's wrong in that?"

Karan: "It is wrong!! A seat beside yours is always mine. Note that.." he stated in an annoyed tone.

Monami: "Ok.. okay, Agreed. Leave that now."
He hummed and nodded his head in yes.

The bus started and headed its journey to the Mandir. Monami opened the window glass to enjoy the fresh air and morning atmosphere. The Mandir was located in a small, remote village so they got to see many beautiful sceneries on their way. The road had trees on its either sides and the birds chirping and the green hills seen at a distance was adding more to its beauty.

Monami felt happy and serene looking at the nature.

Monami: "Karan bahar dekho na kitni sundar jagah hai. This is my first time travelling to some village like this." she said excitedly, holding his hand and pulling him closer in order to show him those refreshing greeneries of nature and narrating about their beauty.
But Karan was more focused and admired Monami's cute way of narration than the sceneries outside.

Monami closed her eyes and moved closer to the window to feel the fresh cool air coming from outside and feeling relaxed after few moments.. she turned her face to the other side still closing her eyes and due to Karan sitting closer to her,their faces landed being very close to each other and their noses touched. Monami still didn't open her eyes feeling the close proximity between them and Karan moved more closer to her.. rubbing his nose with hers playfully., due to that tingling sensation her smile widened more and she opened her eyes to find Karan already staring at her, being lost in her beautiful smile. She too looked into his eyes and then slowly pinched his nose slightly and moved his face away from hers by pushing the tip of his nose with her finger. He moved back to his seat rubbing his nose with his palm cutely while she chuckled seeing his antics..
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After an hour's journey, the bus finally reached the temple premises and the passengers made their way for Durga maa's darshan. The aarti was going on as the devotees entered the temple and the people joined their hands, bowed their heads and said their heartfelt prayers and wished for their wellness in front of Durga maa's idol. After the aarti was done, the prasad was distributed among the devotees and they felt peace listening to the enchanting mantras and absorbing the devotional vibes.

After their darshan, the people divided themselves into smaller groups and went in different directions to enjoy the mela.

Karan and Monami went around the stalls, watching the handmade crafts, arts and clothes.. when Karan's eyes caught a stall in his sight. He held Monami's hand and took her towards the stall.
Monami: "Karan kaha leke jaa rahe ho?"
Karan: "Just wait and see."

He took her to a bangles stall and asked the stallkeeper to give pink coloured bangles. As the stallkeeper gave him the bangles, Karan took Monami's right hand and adorned it with those bangles.

Monami felt happy seeing this sweet gesture of his. He ran his fingers over her bangles listening to their tinkling sound and then held her hand firmly again.

Karan: "Abh tumhari yeh traditional look bilkul perfect hai!'

Monami: "And I loved this gift of yours.. Thankyou." she said passing him her beautiful smile.

Karan paid the stallkeeper for the bangles and they left for giant wheel's ride.

Karan and Monami both sat together in one compartment of the giant wheel and enjoyed the ride. As the wheel reached the highest point, they could see the complete view of the village from there. It looked heart captivating and pleasant.

Monami: "Kabhi socha nahi tha Karan ki mai ese akele yaha tak aaungi.. Mummy ke jaane ke baad papa ne mujhe kabhi bhi bahar jaane nahi diye. Home to school and then back again from school to home.., aur ab sirf ghar se hospital aur university jaane ka permission hai mera. That's what my world is limited upto.. Bohot choti thi jab mummy ke saath ek baar gaanv dekhe gayi thi aur ab dekh rahi hu.. yaha se.. after these long years. Soo nostalgic!" she said looking at the view..

Karan listened to her words and spoke,"Life has given you a chance now to see this world Monami.. Yaha se iss view ko dekhne se he itna khush ho rahe ho.. What if I ask you to come along with me to see the village in detail..?
He forwarded his hand in front of her and asked," Dr.Monami Mahajan kya aap hamare sath gaav dekhe chalenge? Would you like to experience this hamlet life?"
Monami looked at him with extreme happiness and joy and then immediately placed her hand in his and replied,"Yes.. I will! I will Karan."
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* To be continued in Part 9 *

Thankyou for reading!!
~Happysoul.