Noel dialed Ashley's number once again. But as soon as he touched the dialer image on his smart phone screen, the signal died. This is the fifteenth time since the morning that he had tried to talk to her. Mac had warned him earlier that signals are pretty weak in the hills.

It was an exciting proposition for Noel to spend a quite weekend with Ashley, away from the hustles of the city. In the last few weeks he had many times thought of proposing to her. But he waited for the right opportunity. He was talking to his buddy Max about it when the latter suggested that they visit his property in the Nilgiri Hills for the weekend. It seemed like a perfect outing. So he and Ashley had planned for the trip. Ashley was a little hesitant at first, but then she agreed and willingly tugged along. Everything went well throughout the week. They had shopped, packed and finished their offices early for the week and left Friday morning in Noel's car for the much anticipated long weekend. It was a six hour drive to the hills. They had a smooth and relaxing drive and reached around lunch time. It was a beautiful property with a firm house and a resort spread across one side of the hills. It was originally a coffee plantation, along with gardens of various spices and timber. In midst of high rising trees and abundantly grown shrubs, there were few cottages for the guests to stay. Max had already informed his staff. So the couple had a hearty welcome. They ate a nice meal of local dishes in the dining room with other guests after which they decided to retire to their allotted cottage. At sunset they strolled on the twisting path through the estate inhaling in the scents of nature as they matched their pace hand in hand. After a long walk they came to the cafeteria that laid evening platters and tea. A small crowd of guests had already gathered there. There was a family with few small kids who helped themselves at a big eight sitter table. There were three more couples seated at smaller tables. Noel and Ashley sat across a small tea table beside a huge window overlooking the evergreen hills. Ashley looked beautiful in her peach tee, blue jeans and scarlet coat; a lock of her hair streaked in brown and black was falling over her left eye which she pushed away occasionally. Her eyes were dark brown and when she lifted her round chin to give him a broad star smile Noel almost lost himself. However he gathered his wits when a waiter served them tea with hot onion pakodas and cheese sandwiches. Hilly weather has an element that makes you feel famished very quickly. They chewed on their food hungrily and sipped in hot aromatic coffee from the estate's plantation. After eating Ashley excused herself for the washroom. As he was sitting alone now Noel took a glance around the cafeteria. Diagonally opposite him was a couple seated at a similar tea table. The man was middle aged and looked quite stalwart with short trimmed hair and rimless spectacles. He had a deep mark over his left eye that cut straight through his brow. It gave him a more rugged look. The woman looked delicate and vernal with average features. Noel remembered the man from the afternoon. He was throwing repeated glances at them during lunch. Now they were seriously discussing something. Suddenly a saucer dropped off the table and there was a noise of shattering glass. Noel watched the woman leave the table indignantly. There were broken pieces of the saucer on the floor at the foot of the table. The waiter hurried to clean the mess. The man left after few moments and as if taking his cue Ashley returned to the table.

After an hour Noel was accompanying Ashley up the path to their cottage. The sky was clear with numerous stars. It seemed like hundreds of lanterns have been put up in the sky. There was a cool breeze caressing their naked arms and faces every now and then. It was a pleasant chill. Ashley clung to her coat tightly with one arm and wrapped the other arm around Noel's elbow. Noel looked at her and smiled. The moon's sublime glow reflected over the forest and made the night look divine. They crossed the cottages on their way. Some cottages had lit up by now as the guests had settled in, while others remained dark.

*********

Noel woke up at the sound of his cell phone's alarm. It was 7 AM. After tossing a few times on the bed he sat up. He had forgotten to turn off the alarm at night. He wanted to sleep till late on the weekend. He turned around to see a sleeping Ashley beside him. But her side of the bed was empty. Noel looked around and found the bathroom door ajar. Ashley's boots and coat were missing. She must have gone out. It was only six in the morning and the window panes dripped off water droplets from the fog outside. "Where would she have gone so early?" Noel muttered to himself. Then the memories of last night flooded his thoughts. They had not gone out after tea and ordered a room service for dinner. Night approached quickly in the hills. They had to shut the door and windows and pull all the curtains to keep the warmth inside. They chatted lying on the bed, holding each other. The fragrances of wild flowers seeping in the through the tiny slits of the glass paneled window near the dresser flooded their senses. They could hear the wind blowing hard outside. An ethereal world had slowly engulfed them in its spell.

Noel had planned to propose to Ashley after dinner. By the time housekeeping staff cleared their plates they were watching a movie on his laptop. Noel then suddenly held Ashley's left hand and slipped the solitaire into her ring finger. Ashley's eyes grew wide in surprise and there was a medley of expression over her face which Noel could not fathom. Momentarily they held each other with their longing eyes and then embraced one another in a passionate kiss. Everything went fine until Noel told her about the job offer which he had received recently. "You mean to say the job location is in Singapore and you want to take it?" Ashley concluded after listening to Noel.

"Yes baby! I have already said yes to them. This is very crucial for my career."

"What about us?"

"Of course, you will be coming with me. That's why I want us to get married as soon as we can"

"What about my job, my career, my family?"

And that's how the perfect starry and romantic evening went untoward. Initially, they were talking in low voices, and later the pitch went higher. Noel was yelling, Ashley was sobbing, both blaming each other. They slept on the same bed but like strangers not facing each other.

Now it was morning and Ashley was not there. Noel tried to phone her, but there was no network in his cell phone. He quickly dressed in a pair of sweatpants, sweatshirt and trekking shoes. He hastily walked the gravel path that led out of the cottage and looked around. It was still foggy; dew drops were kissing the grass, the sweet scent of wild flowers from last night was still dense in the air. He went to the cafeteria, then the view point near the parking lot, and down the slippery forest trail inside the property. There were no sounds except the euphony of chirping birds and squeaking of squirrels on trees. The crickets had still not finished their piece, and their noises grew more and more as Noel walked. After almost an hour of searching and trying Ashley's phone for the fifteenth time he walked back to the cafeteria and took a seat. She was always more incoherent when she was upset. She would vanish for days after a fight and only replied his call when she was calm. But this was different; this was not his home or his city. This was some unknown woodland. The only relevant person he knew was Max, but he too was probably sleeping miles away in his home. Noel had spoken to the resort manager who also had tried Ashley's number. But her phone was not reachable. Noel was scared now and was blaming himself for everything. The manager told him to calm down and assured him that the surroundings were quite safe during the day. He tried to assure Noel that Ashley must have gone for a trek or to the market below. In both cases mobile signal would be possibly feeble. He suggested Noel to wait till afternoon. If she doesn't return by then Noel can have a look outside the property accompanied by the resort staff. But Noel kept on persuading that how irrational Ashley can be at times. The manager finally gave in and asked two of his staff to accompany Noel on a search around the resort and the nearby villages and forest. He assured that they will find Ashley soon. Noel somehow swallowed down half a cup of tea to cool his nerves; he was not carrying cigarettes as Ashley disliked them very much.

The three men then left the property around nine and spread out in two directions. One staff climbed down towards the village and the market below. Noel and the other staff climbed up the terrain. After a good thirty minute trek, they reached a hair pin bend. The fog had almost cleared by now. From this height Noel could see the small village outlines down in the valley. Though Noel was quite in shape, the steep climb had him exhausted. He unzipped the front of his sweat shirt and let the cool morning air hit his vest clad chest. It was soothing like soft and damp fingers brushing his skin. He ran his hands through his disheveled jet black hair and rubbed his temples repeatedly as if that would give him back his lost energy. His eye brows closed in over his black intense eyes in worry. The staff asked him to wait there and continued further. Noel took out his cell again, but it was as dead as a doornail. After ten minutes, he could sit no longer. He started climbing up the road. After half a kilometer, the road bifurcated. One continued as the wide road he had walked on till now and the other was a narrow trail. He took the latter, imagining that the staff would have unmistakably taken the wider road to the village. The trail was curtained at places by climbers hanging from tall trees, and wild shrubberies kissed the path on both sides. He carefully avoided getting bruises on his limbs as the path started narrowing. It was getting a little darker here. Noel wandered whether it is going to rain or not. Somehow he has to find Ashley. He worried if she would have hit herself in some way on a trek and might be now sitting in the wild with a hurt knee or back. He imagined his fiancé waiting helplessly for some rescue call fidgeting with a dead cell phone hoping to get connected over a call to him. He wished he would not have told her about the job in the first place. There is this right moment for everything in life and he messed it up. The trail ahead became rugged and steeper. After sometime the trail vanished among big ferns and wild bushes. It was time to turn back; this was certainly a wrong turn he had taken. But something in his heart persuaded him to go further.

He pushed his way through the bushes ahead. After walking almost a good fifty meters he came to a clearing. Ahead of him the cliff ended into an abyss. Noel had vertigo of heights. He didn't dare to walk closer to the cliff. Instead he looked around. On his left bushy outgrowth had climbed down the arm of the precipice. They were covered with vibrant pink wild flowers. On his right was a rocky wall which he had not noticed earlier because the barrier of bushes and trees on either sides of the trail. The rocky wall had advanced further and taken a bent to the far right. There it was, the missing trail following the wall earnestly. Here the trail was enough wide for Noel to pass without the fear of falling. He walked on the trail keeping to the right, close to the wall. Here the wind struck him really hard on his face and neck. Noel traced the path onward and after a while came to the other side of the cliff. What he saw ahead made his blood go chill. Nearly about 20 meters ahead he saw a man dragging a woman towards the cliff. It was the sturdy man from the cafeteria last night. He was so busy with the task in his hand that he didn't see or hear Noel coming. The woman seemed unconscious as her legs brushed the ground below. Her pants below the knee had soiled and she was not wearing her shoes. Noel could not see her face as it was ducked in the man's chest. The man walked with much effort towards the edge of the mountain. Suddenly, Noel noticed the woman's back. The hairs on his neck started pricking. It was the same scarlet coat that Ashley was wearing last night and the same one that went missing today morning with her. It was undoubtedly Ashley the man was carrying. He could now identify dark hair and brown streaked locks swaying with the wind. Before Noel could get the hang of what is happening the man threw her from the cliff.