of myriad hues and roadside blues...

she bit her lip and grimaced.the sudoku was taking longer time than usual to crack today.the road took a sharp bend prodding another bout of nausea to creep up her throat.it had been happenning since morning.ever since the car reached Haldwani.the bends and hair-pin turns had made her feel pukish,time after time.
she had tried finding comfort in the lush greenery outside-the pine,fern and deodar trees.in the cacophony of the twittering birds.in the derelict huts and cottages propped up against the hill.but nothing helped.another hair-pin curve and yet another bout of nausea came rushing back.
besides,it started drizzling halfway through the journey so that she had to shut the window.not because of the rain so much,but more because she couldn't endure the smell of wet earth.
the car combed through the hilly driveway.a truck came tearing from the otherside,honked twice and swerved past their car by dint of deft manoeuvring.
another stretch of insipid drive followed.
suddenly,darkness fell in the hillside.the pines and deodar silhouettes stood like soldiers on either side.the yellow headlight from the car investigated the road and apart from the occassional honking at every turn,silence hung in the dense night air.
she didnt even realise when the misty and smoky night fall had lulled her to sleep but when she woke up the sky was blushing a rosy pink and the red sun rose amidst the green hills.
there was about a mile of journey left.the bends turned steeper but somehow the sunny ambience could do nothing to perturb her spirits.when the journey ended they had reached the top of the hill.she got down form the car.inhaled a whiff of fresh air,closed her eyes and stretched out her arms as if embracing the valley that lay beneath her-thousands of miles below.
she then went back into the car,delicately plucked the deodar sapling from the seat unfurled the paper that held it and squatting on her haunches planted it in the wet earth.and after watering it with utmost dedications she got up,inspected it and retreated into the car without turning back once.
the engine gave a warm groan and started again.this time going downhill.
the same environ the same cacophony of twittering birds,the same pine ferns standing like alert soldiers...
the gusty morning breeze dishevelled her hair.and when she brushed them from her face,a weak smile adhered the corner of her lips.
her work done,she draped the shawl across her bosom and went off to sleep.

and up there on top of the hill
rukmini(thats what she had named teh sapling) swayed and glistened as the mellow sunlight bathed it in honey rays...