Chapter 1
“Two weeks in the Amazon rainforest when it’s raining torrents? You’ve lost it completely!” Ariya smiled at her older sister, Siri. Her eyes glowed with excitement as she packed her large bag. “Why have I lost it?”
“You won’t survive a day in the downpour and most importantly without a clean bathroom.”
“It’s not like I’m floating on the river in a rowboat the entire time.” Ariya teased, “The crew will have a villa for the entire time and will camp out for a day or two.” Ariya was excited about her photography assignment in the Amazon rainforest—a long-awaited one.
“I doubt it.” Her sister scrunched her nose.
“I’m excited. You know I prefer nature more than people posing for pictures.”
Siri smiled. “For the record, you are good at taking people’s pictures, and aren’t you taking pictures of that celebrity animal doctor?”
“Yeah… but him with the animals in the wild.”
“When did animal doctors become celebrities?” Siri pulled out her phone and started typing.
“Are you looking him up online?” Ariya laughed.
“Mother of God, he has eight hundred thousand followers, and he is hot!” Siri flipped her phone screen for Ariya to look.
“I’ve seen his profile. The goal of my assignment is to get him to a million followers in the two weeks and publish a story about him.”
“That’s easy, look at him, Ariya. How does he not have a million followers already, and he looks interesting?” Her sister laughed looking at her phone.
“He is famous,” Ariya stated.
“He didn’t become a celebrity overnight. Find out why he is so famous.” Siri looked up from her phone.
“That’s my story, Siri.” Ariya smiled.
“I think there is more to this pretty face and rock-solid body.” Siri laughed.
“Yes, I will find out for you.” Ariya knew her sister was impressed with the animal doctor as she continued to scroll through the guy’s pictures.
“Stop drooling on your phone. You’ll make Rohan jealous.”
“He’ll be fine. Rohan and I will most likely pick a date and the location for the wedding in the next few weeks.” Siri put her phone away. “I want you to take our wedding pictures.”
“You don’t have to ask, Siri.” Ariya smiled, happy for her sister and excited about the wedding.
“Did you know this guy went off the grid for almost six months and then came back… and came back with long hair looking even hotter.” Siri wouldn’t stop looking through the pictures.
“Yeah, and something about how he hasn’t had one photographer for more than a week.” Ariya rolled her eyes.
“You got this, Ariya. Don’t let him intimidate you.” Her sister laughed.
“I told Stefan when he asked me to take the assignment that I don’t work on celebrity photography, but he thought I should try it out.” Stefan, her best friend from college, was the producer of the TV show and had begged her to take up the assignment after running out of photographers for this celebrity. She agreed for old times’ sake and because it was in the Amazon rainforest.
“This guy seems interesting.” Siri wouldn’t stop staring at her phone.
“Siri, stop obsessing over him.”
Her sister laughed. “This guy’s story is interesting. He is the single heir to a multi-million-dollar company, he chose to be an animal doctor and then moved on to the television broadcasting industry.”
“Intrigued, huh?” She teased her sister.
“Yeah… he is out there on a mission to save the animals all over the world, and he is doing it without getting preachy.”
“I’m told he is good at what he does. Stefan is good friends with him, but I don’t know what he has against photographers.” Ariya shrugged.
“Is he married? Does he have a girlfriend?”
“I’m sure he does, but I got nothing online about his personal life.” Ariya pushed together the contents of her bag and closed it shut.
“Find out if he has a girlfriend.” Her sister’s eyes were glued to the phone.
“Should I tell him you are his fan?”
“No, tell him I want to know if he is single, so I can set him up with my sister who is single,” Siri teased.
“Very cute, Siri!”
“Did you pack the bug spray I got you last week?”
“Yes, Siri.” She smiled.
“I will miss you.”
I will miss you, too.” She hugged her sister.
“Call me when you get there,” her sister ordered, affectionately.
“Yes, I will. You be good to Mom. I don’t want you guys to get into silly arguments.”
“You know I won’t until she decides to remind me about how she wants a certain relative to be at the wedding.” Siri rolled her eyes, and Ariya went silent.
Siri put her hand on her sister’s shoulder. “I don’t want anyone but you and Mom to give me away at the wedding ceremony. I don’t need a father figure to give me away.”
Ariya nodded.
“Promise me you will take a cab and not wait for a bus.” Her sister was quick to switch subjects.
“I like to use local transportation when I travel, Siri.” Wanting to experience the local transportation was one reason, and a car accident when Ariya was ten was another reason she didn’t feel comfortable driving or riding in the front seat of a car. Living in a large city like San Francisco didn’t require her to do either.
“No excuses. I don’t want you to wait for a bus at midnight.”
“Yes, I got it, Siri.” Ariya smiled at her sister.
*****
Ariya stepped out into the fresh, humid, and warm air outside a local airport. It was her first time in Ecuador even though she had been to other South American countries. After an hour ride in a small, shaky plane, she was glad to be on solid ground. She couldn’t contain her excitement as she waited for the bus that would take her right to the resort where the team was staying. She was a day late in getting to the destination as she needed to finish her previous assignment. It was late afternoon, and for April, the weather was perfect. It felt like the rain cleared up so that she could take the bus instead of a cab. She wouldn’t want to miss any travel experiences and take every opportunity to avoid being stuck in the back seat of a car.
After a few minutes of waiting, the rain started to come down, and to her relief, she saw the bus approach her. She smiled to herself, excited about riding with the locals. She hopped on the bus and confirmed the stop she was planning on getting off was the right one, so it would be a short walk to the lodge.
The producer of the TV show, Stefan, was her classmate in college where she studied journalism. He was also a good friend, and when he called her about the assignment, she was over the moon. One, because it was in the Amazon rainforest and the other that they were finally working together after many years. The last time she worked with him was when she was in the broadcasting business. It was a few years ago when she decided to move away from being in front of the camera and get behind the camera choosing to be a travel journalist for a local news channel in San Francisco.
She texted her sister and mother as soon as she got into the bus and put her phone away. She looked around and smiled at the other passengers and started a conversation with the limited Spanish she learned in high school and what she had picked up from her travels. The rain was lashing against the windows, and some of the seats were getting went because of a missing glass window pane.
Ariya pulled out her camera and took the opportunity to take pictures of the locals traveling with her and made mental notes as she took the pictures. She knew her destination was next when the driver announced the upcoming bus stop. She gathered her bags and stood in a position where she could get a picture of the entire bus with its passengers.
“Smile!” She was happy she had a cooperative group of people and was excited about the pictures. She looked through the large window at the back of the bus at the rain and squinted her eyes when she saw a vehicle come closer to the bus. It was small, not another bus, and not a bike because it was pretty high up.
She moved to the middle of the bus where one of the windows was open and stuck her head out to see what was approaching the bus from behind. She gasped when she saw a man on a horse moving fast enough to go right past the bus.
Ariya treasured her camera, but it would be of no use if she couldn’t use it. She stuck the long lens of her camera through the open window and started clicking the pictures. The rain slashing against the muddy road didn’t stop the horse or its rider.
The man looked confident and didn’t seem to be bothered by the rain. He looked like he was enjoying the ride. The horse slowed down enough when it was right next to the bus for Ariya to get good pictures.
It was a marvelous sight, and there was no denying the beauty of the man and the beast as they rode through the rain. The man had thick, long, dark hair that was drenched but bounced on his broad shoulders as he enjoyed his ride. His sharp features were accentuated by his full beard. His eyes looked intense, framed by thick eyelashes, even as he squinted in the rain. His wet t-shirt clung to him putting his strong body on display.
The man smiled and waved to the passengers on the bus who cheered him as he rode next to them. He finally looked at Ariya. She let out a surprised groan, and her lips parted in surprise when her dark eyes met his sparkling brown eyes.
The man gave her an amused look and rode ahead of the bus. She sat back on the seat smiling to herself—smiling at the coincidence of running into Veer Thakur, the celebrity animal doctor and the subject of her assignment.
Veer Thakur, let’s hope the rest of the assignment is going to be as interesting as the first impromptu photo shoot.