The ancient temple of supreme lord Sun or Surya Temple of Rajwad was one of the oldest temples in the whole country. Every wall of this age old heritage exuded sparks of its magnificent history and culture. Being one of the most famous and busiest tourist attractions of the city , the temple was usually swarming with crowds of people. From history buffs to architects everyone visited to temple to study the long standing enormous cave like temple. Unlike other temples , this wasn't crowded by priest. That had turned this into more of a heritage site than devotional place. The centuries old temple was located in the midst of lush greenery and scenic mountains. Some people would visit the place in search of peace and tranquility in its serenity, while others would visit it to study or at times admire its rich cultural heritage.

For Aman it was more than an assignment. The refined beauty on the unrefined stones always enticed him as a child as did the mystery of the caves within . The caves were like an unsolved jigsaw puzzle to him when he visited them as a child with his parents. He would spend hours running through them with his father chasing him down and at times the same caves scared him when he would at times lose his way in them . But no matter where he was or however lost he was his father would always seek him out of that darkness. Years have passed since he lost his parents in an unfortunate but not so uncommon road accident and yet he still found himself engulfed in the darkness of uncertainty and loneliness far too often. There were days when he travelled all the way back from from Mumbai to his once upon a time hometown to seek that peace and tranquility that life had once offered seamlessly . But today it was more than that; he had taken it upon himself to revive the charm of these ancient ruins that had somewhere lost itself to the growing popularity of arcades , waterparks , malls and other places of recreation. He , along with his team had been chosen to capture the temple and its caves in their natural form and make it look captivating to the ordinary eye. That was the task his mind was assigned with but his heart seeked something more ......something meaningful.....something he didn't really understand.

The scenario today was unlike any image he could recall from his childhood ; the temple had even fewer visitors than his last visit , as did the surrounding architectural wonders; the manmade caves. He directed his crew on what they needed to get on their cameras from the old but formidable place of worship. He took some time to make them familiar to the historical aspects of the temple and in the process making them see through the vision he had for the video. As his crew started to set up their cameras and equipment , his feet dragged him away from the temple to the fondest of his memories. As he stepped inside the white maze of caverns , he could spot more people that he had initially missed from far. Some were kids playing around under their parents watchful eyes while others were curious teenagers. The beauty of this man made structure was that its roof was made in such a way that sunlight had easy passage into it ; thereby making it mysterious but friendly. He uncovered his camera to click the unfiltered laughters of the children running around him. As he moved further ahead, he could spot a couple lost in each others arms in a secluded corner of the cave. He wanted to capture the essence of that young love in his lenses discretely . He had just removed the cap from his eyepiece when something bright shone on his eyes from the other side . He instantly turned to face the source of the brightness with his camera still ready in his hands. As he squinted to see past the glaring reflection from the hand held mirror , he could barely see a lady in a light pink Indian dress , who he could swear by was eyeing him with disapproval . Without a second thought he raised his camera to lay hold of his perpetuator's face. Before he could click , she turned away leaving him with only the picture of her back. A quick glance into it showed him the simple yet long dress like light pink kurti from behind , with her long black and wavy tresses covering her neck. As he looked up from the camera , she was gone. He ran towards the place she was standing before and looked all around but couldn't find her. Was she real or was it just a figment of his imagination ? . Even if it was , he had never had such a beautiful one before. It was as if his lost self had found something to pursue. The faceless mirage had jolted his long in slumber heart back to activity. He looked closely from pillar to pillar , from wall to wall in search of the faintest hint that she existed , and not just in his mind. Suddenly he felt something move behind a far pillar, to conceal itself and he knew it was her. He walked towards her , carefully putting each step ahead , trying not make any noise alerting her . But before he could catch hold of his mirage , she peeked and ran away from him into the other direction. As she looked behind to check if she was being followed , his fingers moved fast and the shutter clicked capturing her face , not completely but enough to see her eyes this time. Her ocean blue eyes shone through all her apprehension and her dupatta covered face. He looked up from his camera to see her descend down the stairs into the more deeper caves with lesser light infiltration. She looked like a dream descending down the depths of night. He raised his hands trying to stop her but it only made her run faster. He pursued her further ,but this time out of concern than curiosity.

Shreya had only wanted to protect her friends and their privacy , becoming his muse was never the intention. She didn't understand why he was chasing her from pillar to post or why he was so hell bent on clicking her pictures. She had never been the kind who were naturally photogenic and she lacked the skills to look anything other than her natural self. So his interest in her intrigued her. Was she supposed to be scared by this stranger ? well probably yes , but she felt otherwise. Although she was trying her best to avoid his camera , it wasn't because she was afraid ; rather it had more to do with the fact that she never like being clicked. Infact the chasing around and the hide and seek were making her heart race like never before. His interest in her startled her , nobody had ever taken so much interest in her , for photograghs or otherwise. Hiding behind the half made wall , she could spot him searching for her in every possible direction. She hid herself behind the wall as he turned into her direction. When she looked back again , he was nowhere to be found. Shocked and a tad bit scared she looked again.

"Looking for me ?" his voice from behind startled her making her lose her foothold and stumble upon him. Aman caught hold of her hands in time preventing her from falling. She looked up to see him looking at her with what seemed to be worry. She steadied herself soon after ,letting go of his hands .

Shreya looked all around to find her way out of this maze she had so willingly entered. The darkness within and the ascending dusk was making it harder to find a way. She looked nervously at her watch , it was getting late. Then she looked back at the person who was responsible for her plight, he was no more trying to take her pictures but looked rather lost in thoughts.

"Lost your way ?" he asked rather casually .

She nodded her way into affirmation ,still not comfortable speaking to her stranger.

" I can help you out , if you let me" He stated.

"You are the reason I am here in the first place" she replied curtly.

"Sorry didn't mean to scare you . Just wanted one picture ."

"Stalker !!" she mumbled under her breath.

"Journalist" he pulled out his ID and flashed it in front of her " ...a photo-journalist, working on a project for the tourism aspect of this place."

"Then why take my picture ?"

"Don't know. For some reason your silhouette was the most aesthetic picture I could capture all day."

Shreya was taken back by his honest and crisp confession. He didn't mince his words to make them believable. In fact it sounded as if he was himself taken aback by the confession. She was flattered and as the same time she felt quite self aware. The small bit of compliment made her heart flutter like never before. And in all this, her lips kept shut , not uttering a single word.

"Lets save the talk for the way back. Lets move before it gets too dark in here" he suggested to break the bubble of awkwardness that had engulfed them " You can trust me ."

" Can I though ?" she replied instantly.

"Okay. Fair enough. I am leaving . If you want , you can follow me out , into the light ." saying so he started walking out of the caves in a direction he seemed to be fairly sure about. Shreya followed him reluctantly.

Shreya walked behind Aman for a while , before walking besides him. There was awkwardness in the air between them but there wasn't any discomfort.

" Why wouldn't you let me take your pictures ?" he asked as they reached a somewhat brighter part of the cavern. " Most people love getting clicked , especially by a professional !!"

" I don't . Besides how was I supposed to know you were a professional ?" She looked at him for a flickering second and found him looking at her only.

" Why not ?" he looked genuinely intrigued.

" I just don't. I feel conscious and self aware everytime I see a camera ." she replied looking at the ground below.

" Self aware of what exactly ?"

" My flaws !!" she replied in a tone that would have drowned in the air had it not been for the pin drop silence the caves offered at this time.

" Flaws ?? I don't see any !!"

His reply took her by surprise. She didn't expect it......not from a total stranger. All her life she had felt flawed , some way or the other and nobody had done anything to make her feel otherwise , probably because no one could feel her vulnerability. But here with a complete stranger , in the silence of the evening sky her vulnerabilities felt exposed and at the same time her doubtful self was feeling reassured . Strange !!

"Shouldn't you need permission before clicking pictures , especially of people's private moments ?" she made efforts to get over the air of strangeness that was slowly making its way inside. " You don't have any idea what would have happened had their parents found out ."

"Oh ! so you were trying to protect your friends by blinding me ?'' he chuckled loudly.

"I wouldn't have had you understood the concept of consent."

" I was never going to reveal their faces ; I am professional . I just wanted to capture the moment."

" I didn't know that. Had to protect my friends ."

"Besides yours is the only face I have tried so hard to get on my frame the whole day." He spoke unabashed

What followed was drop dead silence which was only enhanced by the quietness of the cold evening air.

They walked some more steps without conversing. There were no words exchanged as they walked past the point that had started their game of hide and seek. Shreya could see her friends had left their place.

" Seems your friends aren't as concerned about you" he pointed out much to her annoyance.

" They must be waiting outside" she replied with utmost confidence.

" Okay okay. I am sure they will be" he laughed at her annoyed face.

Few more steps and they could see the light at the entry of the cave. Aman could spot his crew at the far end of the temple still engrossed in their work. Suddenly it seemed as if his feet were getting heavier by the second. He didn't want to put any more step forward , towards his monotonous life. To any outsider his life seemed exciting and adventurous, which no doubt it was from outside but from within he hadn't felt alive in a long time .......till he met her. He was not the kind that believed in cosmic connections or chance occurrences but something about her felt different, it made him feel different.........feel alive....like he hadn't felt in so long. He didn't want this moment to end and wished his slowed steps could hold this dream for a moment longer. He stalled there just watching his steps and not moving ahead.

Shreya had walked a few steps ahead of him when she realised he wasn't besides her. She turned back to see him still standing at the spot she had left him. Without another thought she walked right back to him " What happened ?" she asked .

" Nothing ."

" Then why aren't you moving ?" she asked trying to read his eyes.

" Don't know. Just don't want to go back to my reality yet ."

" Is your reality so bad ?"

" No. Its just too real. Today felt different."

"Oh !" she looked here and there , everywhere except his eyes because she didn't have an answer to what he had just admitted. Today had been different for her too. It was unlike anything she had ever felt. The familiarity she felt with someone so unfamiliar was nothing she could express in words. She didn't quite understand it herself.

" But we cant stay here forever either" Aman smiled " your friends must be waiting , so is my crew."

" Yeah !"

Slowly and together they stepped towards their different realities. As they got closer towards the temple , Aman could spot his crew taking shots of the wall on the right side of the temple and Shreya saw her friends waving at her from the exit gate on the left side. Together they reached the point that marked the start of their separate ways.

There were no exchange of words between them, because there weren't many to say. Aman smiled at her his most wide yet not so genuine smile and waved her goodbye as he turned to face his crew.

"For how long are you going to shoot ?" he heard her say from behind.

Surprised he turned around to see her still standing there facing him " for long as it takes."

" I will see you around then." She smiled at him before leaving from there. This time he smiled for real . He stood there watching her leave , watching her catch up with the friends she had protected, watching her make her way to the exit and watching her look back at him one last time before she finally left.

==THE END==