Chapter 1. Sweet dreams

He was holding her hands, they both were walking slowly in the snow, it was yet to dawn. Due to the cold, both were shivering and tumbling to walk, the trail was covered with snow and it was difficult to find the way in the dark. It had been a while since both started walking and they were a bit far from their tents. As they reached the mountain cliff, both stood still and silently, they were mesmerized by the panoramic view of gigantic mountains, looked like there was no end for these massifs. As the sun emerged, white peaks turned golden. Sara was dumbstruck seeing the beautiful view and perfect chemistry between mountains and sunrise. She was lost in nature. Suddenly she felt his hands around her waist pulling towards him and she was surprised by his move. They were so close that she could feel his warm breath touching her skin and he told: "I was waiting for this moment for a long time, I love you, Sara".

For a second she felt like an electric shock running through her spine, her frozen body came alive and she was feeling warm in that cold. She raises her head to have a close look at him, all she could see was his attractive brown eye and pink lips. He looked into her eyes deeply and glared at her lips, for the next second his lips covered hers and they both were kissing intensely. His lips were parting hers and they were deeply lost in their world. As his fingers touched her cheeks she felt impulsive and all her senses were craving for more and more of him and she wants that moment to be frozen and be in his arms forever.

Suddenly Sara could hear someone calling her name and it was her roommate Rina's voice, then she realized she was in her dreams. Reluctant to come out of her romantic dream but with no other choice she woke up from her bed to start her routine.

Sara was an average-looking Indian girl in her late 20's, with a dusky- complexion and less sense of fashion, because of her complexion she got reject twice and from then her perception towards guys changed and she thought all guy-like only fair girls. She was affable but still, it was hard for her to get a boyfriend. She always wanted to be adventurous and go on a solo trek in the Himalayas but she lacked confidence and was scared to travel alone. Most of the time she was accompanied by her roommate Rina. Both were best friends and roommates for the past five years.

Since the day Sara dreamt about mountain Love, she started fantasizing about mountain guys every night and creating her own stories until she fell asleep. she gradually developed a habit of visually hallucinating and imitate the story from romantic series, novels, or movies, as if she was the only attractive girl who could impress a handsome guy and fall in love with him. This becomes her daily night routine. She thought dreams are the only mode where she can fulfill all her wishes which she couldn't get in real life. But in reality, she never met that kind of guy and her inferiority never allowed her to explore herself further.

Sara used to work in Bengaluru MNC as a market research analyst, though she was a hard-working girl it was difficult for her to get recognized, the reason she thought was her complexion. She was always busy at her work and liked to play with numbers. That day her manager scheduled a quick meeting to introduce a new guy to her team. Sara was least bothered about her teammates or their whereabouts, so she was not interested in these kinds of meetings but her manager specifically wanted her to be there. Everyone entered the meeting room and greeted each other like always Sara was silent. Finally, the new guy introduced himself and mentioned one of his hobbies was trekking. The word trekking resonated in Sara's mind, she raised her head to see the guy. This was because of her unforgettable dream about mountain guy.

His name was Arjun, at first sight, he looked like a model, with a perfect gym body, broad shoulders, stylish with a trimmed beard and quiff haircut, he was wearing a white formal shirt and grey trousers. Glancing at him Sara felt a spark in her heart.

All these days there was no particular face to imagine about mountain guy but that night she had one face which struck in her mind and it was Arjun. he became her dream boy replacing her mountain guy. Gradually she developed feelings for him and started to hallucinate stories like the perfect date, hug him, kissing him. Some nights her stories prolonged until 2-3 am and she didn't even realize. She was happy with her dreams and achieve everything which she couldn't do in real life.

It had been three months since Arjun joined and Sara never spoke to him due to a lack of confidence. One day Sara's Manager assigned a task for which Sara had to work with Arjun. She felt a kind of fluttering in her heart but at the same time, she was nervous. All these days she only dreamt about Arjun and now she got a chance to talk and work with him. She thought her good days are coming.

Arjun came to her desk with a broad smile which made Sara blush and she tried to control her emotions on her face. He said, "Hi Sara, I never got a chance to talk to you, I heard a lot about you from teammates and now I'm lucky to work with you". Arjun sat next to her and both started working, Sara was feeling joy inside and butterflies in her stomach, whenever she got a chance she glanced at him and secretly admired him. Arjun had a charm that could make any girl fall for him and Sara had already fallen for him at first sight.

Sara was on cloud nine that day, her face was blushing even after reaching home. Looking at her blushed face Rina asked "Hey Sara babe did you get a promotion or What? You look so happy today". Sara told about Arjun and her one side love story. Sara wanted to upgrade herself and look beautiful to impress Arjun, so she asked for her help. Rina was always supportive like an elder sister to Sara and they both shared most of their secrets. Rina was happy to see the changes in Sara's behaviour, like always she encouraged her agreed to help her.

In the following days, Arjun and Sara worked together and both became good friends. He was polite and caring towards her, he understood Sara very well and supported her, which made her think that even Arjun had feelings for her and she trusted him. It was the last day of work submission and they both worked until late at night to finish the task. Arjun offered to drop Sara and she agreed. While on the way back home Arjun asked "Sara do you have a boyfriend?" Sara hesitated to answer him because she likes him and was waiting for a chance to impress him. He looked at her for few seconds waiting for an answer and later she replied "no, Girls like me will not get a boyfriend". Arjun was surprised by her answer, Sara was confident at her work but when it came to herself she was timid and he continued talking "What kind of guy do you like?". Sara got scared that Arjun came to know about her feelings towards him. Arjun repeated, "Hey what are you thinking, Was it a difficult question to answer?". Sara became nervous and remained silent, her hands were sweating. Arjun stopped the car and held her hands, looking into her eyes he told: "Don't worry, everything will be in place soon".

That night Sara was in deep thought trying to decipher Arjun's words. Rina saw her confused face and asked "Hey Sara babe, what happen you are lost in thoughts?". Sara explained about the car conversation and looked at Rina for an answer. Rina jumped to the conclusion that "Hey I think he likes you, Guys never say anything directly we girls must understand it". Listening to those words Sara felt happy and confused "but Rina How will I get to know his feelings towards me? He never told me that he likes me". Rina suggests "Why don't you attend weekend office party and try to figure out what he feels for you?". Sara never attended any of the office parties but this time she agreed to go.