Welcome to this week’s blog post and Happy Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all. I can’t quite believe the festive season has come and almost gone but f you’re like me you’re going to be celebrating with family and friends well into the New Year too!
It was about this time in 2017 that my boyfriend and I booked our flights to New Delhi and over the next two weeks or so he spent hours on the internet mapping out our route from one city to the next; we were both determined to do India our way and not as part of an organised tour group.
In the end we planned a three and half week trip n February 2018 which took in New Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Kajuraho, Varanasi and Mumbai. To say it was an epic Indian adventure is an understatement.
The sights and sounds of the country, the people and places, the colours and the smells lingered on in my mind – and my heart – long after returning.
When I saw a short story competition with Spread the Word something in me steered me towards the memories still held dear from that trip of a few months ago and so Unlocked was born.
So today, I’m sharing an excerpt of that story, which came in the top 14% to have a second read by the judges, and which I have since released as a quick-read, short story on Amazon, in ebook format, and through Falcon Oast
Graphic as a miniature-sized paperback.
EXCERPT:
‘Come with me, don’t be afraid.’
Trailing behind him, her heart racing, she glances over her shoulder, her eyes wide, but the wedding guests are enjoying the celebrations too much to notice her leaving the party. Her entire body is damp from dancing and the oppressive Indian heat.
Careful to avoid the discarded plates and plastic cups abandoned on the periphery of the hotel gardens after the luxurious buffet was served, she follows the dusty imprints of his feet in the dry earth of the meandering path. She discerns what awaits her and the anticipation catches in her throat. A sigh eludes her. She catches the floating end of her sari, the pallu, now unfastened from her shoulder, and covers her mouth with it, stifling her fervent longing.
She walks deeper into the cluster of trees and the music and merriment descend into mute as the rhythmic sounds of nature engulf her. She is pulled gently into this calming oasis, as the track leads them away from the hotel complex; an otherwise concrete jungle.
His hand grips hers, as he guides her through the woodland; the path disappearing with each step. The sound of their footsteps are absorbed by the cushion of mossy undergrowth; a soft stray patchwork of leaves branching and snaking into the depths of the forest.
It seems she has waited for this moment of escape, all her life, but in reality it has only been three days. Three days of hedonistic colour and taste and of textures and bare skin; hot, sweaty, brown. So many points in time… all destined to lead to this…
Thank you so much for joining me and if you’d like to read Unlocked you can
or you can order your special edition, personally signed paperback copy in miniature direct from me by sending me an email at [email protected]
Until next time, enjoy your celebrations and Happy Beautiful Holidays to you all.
Lots of love, Soulla xxx
