* * *
The next morning, Lucy awoke dazed and confused; where was she? Looking down with a yelp, she realized she was completely naked. Scrambling around to put some clothes on, she remembered she was in Bhutan on a research trip and her spirits soared once more. Feeling hungry, she grabbed a t-shirt and clambered through the bushes, ready to meet the other campers and hopefully, new friends.
As she entered the camp, her nose caught whiff of something cooking. Eggs! She quickened her speed to the location of the wonderful aroma. “Hi!” Lucy shouted at nobody in particular. “I’m Lucy.”
The replies were jumbled, some enthusiastic, others less so.
“Kevin, nice to meet you.”
“Charly!”
“Heather”
“Hi, I’m Lucas.”
“Hi, I’m Damcho,” Damcho’s eyes twinkled as he laughed at Lucy’s surprise.
“Good morning, Damcho! I didn’t see you there. I didn’t forget your name I promise. Good morning everyone, it’s lovely to meet you all.”
“Good morning Lucy. How was your sleep? Your new friends tell me you didn’t sleep in your bed, are you okay?”
Lucy blushed; waves of crimson making its way up her slender neck. “Um, I had a wash… and then I fell asleep by the lake. Sorry if I worried anyone.”
Damcho took pity on Lucy; he could see how embarrassed she was. “No, you’re fine. It’s good you can sleep anywhere; these bunks aren’t too comfortable.
Lucy smiled gratefully; it seemed nobody had seen her at the lake thank goodness. “What’s the plan for today, Damcho?”
“Well, there’s been a small change of plan actually,” Damcho frowned, “the other group that is coming didn’t want to sleep outside. So they are paying rent to stay in small barns and outhouses about a mile away. As they would have been staying with you, they decided to invite this group too. We’re packing up, ready to move site. As the others pack clothes back up, please eat some breakfast. When you’re done, you can help with the bunks and then I’ll show you the boundaries; remember I said not to wander?”
Lucy remembered his warning last night and nodded. She eagerly grabbed a plate and helped herself to some eggs. They were delicious! The others laughed at her enthusiasm and continued to pack their items. Lucy figured she’d get to know them on the walk, especially as they’d all be there together for a while.
As she ate, Lucy wondered why the second group didn’t want to sleep outside. The air was clean and fresh, the views were stunning, and it was so peaceful and lovely. Although she had only been in Bhutan for one day, she felt as if she could stay forever. She supposed that some people might not like being so close to nature; it could be the mosquitoes and other insects that stopped people wanting to stay here, perhaps? Lucy wasn’t frightened or bothered by creepy crawlies. As she understood it, they were part of nature too. As well as studying, she was excited to see what kinds of animals that were here; she’d read excitedly that Bhutan had a tiger population and was desperate to see one in its natural habitat.
After washing her bowl out, Lucy went to join the rest of the group, helping to dismantle bunks and roll up sleeping bags. She liked pitching in to help and enjoyed the chitchat, getting to know Charly and Lucas. Charly was around 30 and a pocket rocket of enthusiasm. She and Lucas made an entertaining duo and had Lucy rolling on the floor laughing within minutes. Kevin, although not as loud and confident as Lucas was lovely, helping Lucy with the packing and moving. He seemed very kind, advising her on suncream and making sure she had enough water in her canteen. Heather however, seemed quiet. Lucy tried talking with her, but Heather wasn’t interested, preferring to spent time alone. Heather didn’t seem to laugh at Lucas and Charly’s antics either. Well, Lucy thought she seems quite dull. Probably perfect for Rob.
Soon, it was time for lunch and they had a delicious fruit platter brought to them by Damcho.
“So why are there such strict boundaries?” asked Lucy, She had been conscious not to leave the camp all morning and was desperate to explore.
“Bhutan is an ancient kingdom.” Damcho replied between mouthfuls of fruit. “There are few people that come here and only a tiny population. There are strict rules about entering. For example, you can only land a plane here between the hours of sunrise and sunset. This is due in part to the mountains, but also to control tourism in an unsullied part of the world. Some villagers are incredibly hostile to outsiders. Although I appreciate the need for diversity, I learned English to guide people here, not everyone has the same view. There are some wonderful people who would do anything for their neighbor, but don’t like new people.” Damcho paused. “I don’t want to paint a bad image; we are all good people. I just feel a responsibility to tell you all the risks.”
Lucy sensed it was hard for Damcho to have said these words; she knew he would feel like he betrayed his community. “Thank you for warning us. I agree that there must be wonderful people here; the chances of that happening are so slim. Especially with such a fantastic guide.”
Damcho blushed at the compliment; it was nice to be appreciated and know he was doing a good job. “Thank you, Lucy. Now, shall I show you the boundaries?”
“Yes please; I can’t wait to look around!”
Lucy and Damcho went for a walk; the others, already given this tour, wanted to bathe before setting off. Damcho pointed out many beautiful plants and trees. Soon, they came to some purple flowers.
“I planted these, Lucy. I wanted a way to mark safe places without damaging the environment. You must not cross these flowers.”
Lucy stared at the flowers, committing them to memory. Then she pointed at a small collection of houses. “What’s that?” she asked.
“That is where I live with my family, Damcho said. I’m sorry it’s not possible for you to come and visit. Sometimes, I find it hard to work. I love meeting new people, but some live there that are angry at what I do. Shall we turn back now? As long as you don’t pass the purple flowers, you will be fine.”
“Yes please. Thank you for showing me, your village is beautiful.”
The pair walked back together, Lucy feeling sorry for Damcho’s situation. She could see he was a good man who just wanted to provide for his family. They arrived back at camp, Lucy’s feelings becoming lost in the chatter and excitement of the impending move.
Chapter 2
The group soon left camp, excited to meet some more people. Lucy discovered that everyone was there to study different things. Kevin was interested in wildlife; keen to learn and study the habitats of various insects. Lucas had a great interest in the Himalayas but was scared of heights, which made the others laugh. Instead of climbing mountains, he visited places the mountains touched and were based. Charly was travelling; she wanted to go where none of her friends had been. Although she was amazed at how small and connected the world was now, she said she hated going to a new country just to have someone tell her where to visit or what to do. She liked exploring with a totally fresh and open mind. Lucy respected Charly’s views and laughed at her expressive face as she was talking. Charly was so refreshingly different to the limited and narrow-minded people she knew from home. Lucy knew she and Charly would get on very well. Heather was here to study tigers; she, like Lucy, read about the tiger population of Bhutan and was desperate to see them up close; although Lucy privately doubted whether Heather was brave enough.
The new friends arrived at their accommodation; Kevin made everyone giggle immediately: to his dismay, he wasn’t allowed to sleep outside near all of the insects. Lucy and Charly grabbed beds next to each other; throwing their bags down with excitement. Heather and Lucas brought up the rear. Lucas was admiring the spectacular views and Heather had been struggling with the weight of her rucksack: she seemed to have half a supermarket aisle in there, with enough teabags for an entire population. The group was in the middle of unpacking when a smooth, deep male voice said, “Aren’t you going to introduce yourselves?”
At the de
ep, attractive voice, the girls spun round immediately. Less interested in the new appearance, the boys turned slightly slower. Before them, was an incredibly gorgeous man. Well over six feet tall, he had broad shoulders and visibly powerful arms and legs. His entire body seemed carved from sinewy lean muscle, which was an easy assessment to make as he was in only a pair of shorts and a vest. Reluctantly pulling her eyes away from his perfect washboard stomach, Lucy saw the man had the most striking green eyes she had ever seen. They seemed to shine and sparkle like no eyes she had seen before, reminding her of fine emeralds and diamonds. He smiled, running his fingers through his dark red hair, knowing the girls were checking him out. When he smiled, Lucy noted his teeth were perfectly pearly white, his canine teeth perhaps sharper than the average grin.
“Hi, I’m Lucy and this is Charly” Lucy said, as Charly bounced forward to shake his hand. “What’s your name? Are you from the other group? When did you get here? Are there many of you?”
“Woah, hold all the questions, Lucy! I’m Philip, 30 year old Sagittarius, my favourite colour is blue. I like eating seafood and travelling, dislike vinegar and standing in queues,” Philip teased. “Now, what were your other questions? I lost track.”
Kevin and Lucas laughed with Charly as Lucy looked momentarily embarrassed, despite her ear-splitting grin. Heather wasn’t there; she must have already gone for a walk.
“All joking aside, yes, I am with the other group. We just got here and I wanted to say hello and introduce myself. There are five others besides me in the other building. I wondered if anyone wanted to come for a hike. I’d love some company.”
Lucy readily agreed; she was desperate to explore the area and she could always unpack later, she couldn’t wait to see what was out there. The others decided to settle in and left Lucy to go with Philip.
Nobody from Philip’s group wanted to come either, it transpired, so the pair went alone. As they walked, they talked of other cultures. Lucy was impressed at his knowledge of other societies that did not stop at one continent; most anthropologists specialized in one area, but he was comfortable talking about Mayan culture, the Ndebele tribe and much more. It was as though he had lived their cultures, rather than just reading about them. Lucy felt intimidated at his vast knowledge at first but he soon put her at ease, telling her all about tigers. She learnt that around here, there would be Bengal tigers; the male paw being bigger in relation to its body than the female. She learnt to tell the difference with ease and made a mental note to talk about them with Heather later. She wondered why he was so interested in tigers; he claimed he was here to study the Monpa people like her, but he seemed to know an awful lot about the wildlife. Still, Lucy reasoned, she thought tigers were beautiful and hearing the information from him was interesting. She pushed the question from her mind and thought no more of it.
Soon, Lucy met with Philip every morning for a hike before breakfast. He contained his amusement as she unconsciously tried to be in front, to walk faster, and climb the rockiest terrain possible. He wanted to know why she was this way, why she pushed herself so hard and was so competitive. He didn’t want to pry too much though; after all, he had secrets of his own he didn’t want to reveal. Instead, he tried to pick up clues from her in conversation, silently storing everything he gathered in his brain.
As Lucy spent so much time leading the way during their hikes, Philip had several fantastic opportunities to check her out. He often ran an appreciative eye over her figure when she wasn’t looking and admired her independence and grit. He soon learned that she was not an emotional girly girl in the slightest. She cradled enormous spiders and shared the dirtiest jokes. She was thoughtful too, always on the lookout for things she could take back to make the others smile. They were lucky to have her. He was thankful she was on this trip too; the people in his group were terribly boring and he struggled to talk to them. He struggled to talk to anyone the way he spoke to Lucy; he really valued their friendship and time together. They spent time laughing at the blossoming romance between Charly and Lucas; they seemed perfect together in every way and complemented each other very well. Charly was tiny, bouncy and loud, Lucas was tall, funny and clumsy. They made a great pair and a great conversation starter; Philip asked every morning if he’d missed anything funny from the night before.
She never said so, but Lucy was also grateful Philip was there; he was a great conversationalist and was interested in her work, asking thoughtful questions about her degree and her plans for the future. He didn’t just nod vacantly at the answers either; he responded with insightful comments or observations from his own experiences. Lucy found Philip physically attractive, but she was aware he knew it. She only ever eyed his lean muscles when he wasn’t looking, for fear of flattering his ego further. She liked his experience with anthropology the most; she felt able to ask him questions of things she was unsure of. It seemed he had lived almost everywhere and he didn’t make her feel silly for not knowing. He praised her curiosity and interest in learning about other ways of life. She learned he was incredibly wealthy from a large share of inheritance he received, which enabled his trips around the world. As she had grown up comfortably, his money, didn’t interest or bother her in the slightest, which he found refreshing. They both saw money as an unfortunate necessity; needing it to get by, but not going out of their way to earn it. It made perfect sense to her that he had spent as much time as possible travelling; she would love to be able do the same and intended to stay away from England for as long as possible.
She liked passing on his knowledge to her new roommates; she told Charly of unexplored lands he mentioned; places he had never been but heard of, all with low levels of tourism. Charly loved this information and used it to plan the rest of her travels, hinting to Lucas that he ought to accompany her. Lucy brought rocks back from her hikes in the mountains, trying to tempt Lucas into joining her, although he never said yes. Lucy photographed interesting insects and spiders for Kevin to use in his research, giggling when he flicked through his camera to find her grinning, holding an enormous tarantula. Every day she would come back with an update for Heather; all Heather cared about was if Lucy had seen a tiger yet. Lucy had not and Heather spent a large portion of the day sat in her bed, reading. The rest of the group was beginning to become worried about her; they wanted her to have an amazing trip and not just visit Bhutan to read books.
Lucy’s favorite activity by far was bathing in the lake. Bathing and washing had always been incredibly relaxing for Lucy and it became her routine after breakfast each morning to walk back to their original camp and bathe in ‘her spot’. She loved the privacy and the view; relishing her daily dip. With each day that passed, Lucy forgot a little more of home. She didn’t realize that the last time she spoke to Rob or her family was the day she arrived: Her focus no longer on England, but on beautiful Bhutan.
Lucy drew sketches in the afternoon and pored over maps, trying to work out why villages had sprung up where they did. She loved figuring out details like this and felt a sense of satisfaction when she learned something new. She worked for many hours making notes, sketching and taking photos, wishing desperately she could go to a Monpa village. Damcho took pity on her and sometimes sneaked things out for her to photograph and document. She had seen some fascinating hunting equipment and love to see it in action, instead settling for documenting everything on camera. Damcho was a fascinating man and he told her stories of growing up in Bhutan. She complimented his English; although he worked as a tour guide, he was the only one for miles as the tourism industry in Bhutan was almost non-existent.
Lucy was incredibly grateful to Damcho for everything he had done for her and the group. It was thanks to him that they all felt so comfortable and safe; the purple flowers were a strike of genius. There were not offensive or permanent and did not damage the beautiful natural habitats of Bhutan. She could not believe she was learning and having so much fun doing it. Being in Bhutan was Lucy’s idea of heaven on Earth.
&n
bsp; Chapter 3
One morning when the Lucy, Charly, Lucas, and Kevin awoke, Heather was missing. Kevin was particularly worried; he had now become the father of the group, always checking or fussing over something, wanting them all to be safe and happy.
“I’m sure she’ll be fine!” Charly reassured him. “She’s spent a lot of time inside since we got here. It’s good for her to have gotten some fresh air. I bet she’ll be back soon and everything will be right as rain.”
Almost instantly, Heather walked into their room, as if summoned by the mention of her name.
“Look at the wild flowers I picked, aren’t they lovely!” she said, showing off the bouquet in her hands. “I went for a walk today because I just needed to get out. I’m sorry if I’ve worried anyone, I thought I’d be back before you all woke up. These flowers have really brightened me up, they’re just so gorgeous!”
The others were quick to agree; they had felt she was perhaps homesick, so wanted her to keep the happy mood the flowers had given her. All of them were relieved she was safely back. Suddenly, Lucy spotted flashes of purple in with the flowers.
“Wait a minute, aren’t those Damcho’s flowers? The boundary markers?” she shrieked.
Heather faltered, not knowing how to reply. “I thought Damcho’s flowers were more of a blue… it’s been so long since I saw them. I’m so sorry everyone, I’m sure we’ll all be fine. I don’t think I went too far.”
Lucy rolled her eyes, instantly regretting it as Heather burst into tears. Sometimes she forgot that she was perhaps less outwardly emotional than other girls. She felt bad for upsetting Heather, but she was also furious that someone could be so stupid and inconsiderate. How could she forget what they looked like? Those flowers were their safety net.
Jacob (Alexander Shifter Brothers Book 3) Page 63