Noel stood transfixed in his place he did not know for how long. Then as if an alarm clock has rang somewhere inside him, the spell broke. He heard footsteps ahead on the gravel road. He did not know what to do first. His now conscious mind told him to first try and save Ashley. He ran towards the edge of the cliff, almost hoping that Ashley would be hanging there from some protruding rock or tree branch below. Despite his vertigo he bent down from the cliff holding the edge with his palms in a hope to locate her. First he could see nothing, all seemed blur to his eyes. Slowly he gained focus and looked into the depth below. To his respite the precipice was not as steep as he had thought. It had slope down and was jagged at several places by rows of red cedar, fig trees and wild rhododendrons, thus breaking the slope into parts like terraces. He could see the crooked figure in the scarlet coat lying on top of some bushes. He has to climb down two intercepted slopes to reach her. The hope of her survival was still flickering like a thin light. He needed someone's help to rescue her. With the thought of a third person he remembered about the perpetrator. He turned to find that the opening near the cliff was wider here and the gravel platform sloped down to meet a road at some distance. There was a SUV standing there, which Noel suspected belonged to the man. The man was getting into the driver's seat. Wasting no more time Noel sprinted to a run towards the SUV. But before he could reach the road the vehicle had taken speed and was running downhill. Within few seconds it took a hairpin bend on the opposite side of the cliff and vanished behind the hill. Noel ran a bit further until he realized that the man was out of his reach. He now hurried back to the cliff edge panting trying to figure out what to do. Though the precipice had a slope, it is impossible to climb down bare handed. He needed some expert help. He decided to try and shout to Ashley to check whether she was conscious. But when he looked down the cliff he got the shock of his life. There was no Ashley there over the bushes. Thinking she might have dropped further Noel ran to the left side and looked down from another angle. Though there were numerous bushes and trees on the slope they were spaced such that one can see further down. Noel could not locate Ashley. He repeated the same from different angles of the cliff. To his fear Ashley had vanished into thin air. Noel's head was spinning now. He slowly walked towards the trail and sat on a small rock. He felt very puzzled, his ears grew hot, his eyes started burning, and the surroundings started spinning. He sank into darkness.

***********

Noel was lying in his bed now. The staff who had accompanied him on his search had found him lying unconscious near the cliff. Two of them had then helped him back to the resort where he was forced to drink milk and laid down for a doctor check up. Though Noel had repeated the incident multiple times and expressed his grave concern about the survival of his girl friend, the manager reassured him that he will find her and if required he will inform the police. The other two men were again sent to the cliff to search for Ashley, but they returned empty-handed. Noel had again called Ashley's phone this time from the reception land phone for the sake of argument. It was not reachable. He insisted that the man would have grabbed her phone and damaged it. He also tried calling Max for help, but no one picked the call on the other side. The on call doctor diagnosed a rise in his blood pressure and instructed him to take rest, so he was almost locked inside his cottage. But how could Noel rest with Ashley still missing. It was 2 o'clock in the afternoon. He paced back and forth inside the cottage for some time, his shoes making the only noise. He now noticed that his hands and clothes were soiled. He went into the bathroom and ran the wash basin tap. He washed and rinsed his hands and face thoroughly. He took the towel from the wall hanger and wiped his face. His left temple was burning. He looked at it the mirror and found that he had somehow cut himself near the brow. This would have happened when he had passed out at the cliff and hit the ground. He walked back to the room and took out his medicine kit to clean the wound with spirited cotton. Once done he walked back into the bathroom to throw the cotton into the waste bin. As he threw the cotton he noticed a crumpled blue bill paper lying in the bin. Thinking that Ashley would have disposed the dinner bill by mistake, he picked it up. But it was the breakfast bill that Ashley had paid at a road side hotel on their way here. Noel felt a fresh pang of loss and helplessness. Noel again resolved to bring back Ashley with or without help. He crumpled the bill to throw away when he noticed that there was something written on the back of the bill. In a stylish slanting hand Ashley had written "I don't want to see your face now. So I am going out to the market below. Probably I will not be back before lunch. Enjoy your day alone."

Noel stared at the note for some time trying to figure out what the note meant and why it was lying in the waste bin. He speculated that if Ashley had gone to the market then the man could not have simply kidnapped her in public. That meant Ashley would have been captured from the road even before she could reach a crowded place. The other option was what the resort staff said. That Ashley was perfectly fine roaming in the market, shopping. The incident was not real; it took place inside his mind. If not earlier, he was certainly going crazy now. There were few knocks on the door. Lost in his thoughts Noel walked to the door and opened it. He stood frozen at his spot, his intense eyes peering into the eyes of the caller.

*********

Ashley was standing the door looking deeply worried. She stepped forward and hugged Noel.

'Are you alright darling?" she enquired. Noel did not respond. He returned the hug pressing him tightly against her. Ashley could sense his rapid heartbeat.

"The manager told me everything. My phone is not working. I am so sorry, I did not inform you. I wrote a note for you. But then I was so mad at you and so hurt that I threw it away.

Ashley broke the embrace and looked into Noel's eyes. "I thought that would teach you a lesson. You would feel how it hurts if someone lets you down. She broke the eye contact and blabbered "But...but I never thought it would lead to all these. Oh Noel, I am feeling terrible now. Please say something".

Noel's composure broke finally. He started to shake with anger, badly hurt from betrayal. He was feeling like a fool now. He had made a joke of himself and troubled everyone. There she was fit and fine, probably her duffle bag was now loaded with souvenirs, and she would have enjoyed a nice meal. He was a fool to run around on the hill, misleading the resort staff, looking for her. He was in fact crazy, imagining the entire act at the cliff. He could feel tears running down his cheek. With a broken voice he spoke finally "I don't care for your explanations, Ashley. You have accomplished what you wanted. You had tormented me, made me feel guilty of fighting with you, made me feel horrible and I hated myself for not keeping you safe. You have also made me a laughing stock in front of the staff and now I have gone mad imagining a crime in my head. I think you are happy that we are quite even now!"

"Why do you speak like this? Please Noel; give me chance to make it up to you. You were the one who started all this last night. If not for you, I would not have gone out like that in the morning. Now I am apologizing and you say you don't care?" Ashley persuaded for quite some time more, but Noel went silent. They did not talk after that till dinner. They finished their meals quietly and walked back to their den. They packed their bags calmly and prepared the bed. Noel was still upset and Ashley didn't know what to do more. Her remorse was now slowly turning into chagrin. It was more chilly today, and the wind outside was wilder. The crickets were silent, probably dismayed by the wind.

Around 11 there was a sharp knock at the door following a muffled cough. Noel got up to take it. It was the manager. He requested to enter the cottage and have a word with both of them. Once inside he informed them that the man about whom Noel had told earlier was staying as a guest at the resort for the last two days. After Noel enquiring about his whereabouts in the resort, one of the staffs had checked his cottage in the evening, but it was locked. They had then waited till dinner but he had not returned. The manager had then taken the liberty to use the duplicated key to open the cottage and found that all his belongings were lying inside. His luggage, his spare shoes, even his toothbrush was there. The manager had tried calling his phone which was switched off. The manger found it odd, as none of the guests stay outside after the evening. The forest around is dense, the roads have minimal visibility. The only place for recreation is the market downhill. But none of the shops there or eat outs remain open after 10. Ashley looked intensely at Noel who was staring hard at her scarlet coat that lay folded on the top of her luggage. After a pause, the manager requested them to accompany him to his office as it was time to involve the cops.

Nearly at midnight Noel and Ashley were sitting at the manager's desk talking to the local police over the phone. They had called the station to report the missing man, but no one was ready to write down a report. After couple of tries they could reach the officer-in-charge. The officer dismissed Noel's story of a possible crime. He said that he could take down a missing person's report for the man in the morning. But he cannot document a crime which may not have happened. He questioned the manager about the woman. But neither the manager nor his staff could remember seeing a woman with the man. Even Ashley could not help, as she had seated with her back to the couple for tea the previous evening. The manager verified with the entry register that the man had boarded alone. However, he added that the woman could be a guest here and might be staying at a hotel near the market. Nothing materialized further and they had to call it a night.

Next morning Noel and Ashley checked out of the resort and went down to the police station with the manager. Noel had finally spoken to Max and given him a detail picture. Missing persons' reports were taken down for both the man and the woman from Noel's description. Noel and Ashley left the hill nearly at noon. The drive was not very cozy because of the past events. However, the tension eased between them and they were again talking casually by the time they entered their home city.