Trouble came knocking

As their weeklong tour in Paris came to an end, Joseph knew it was time to broach the topic of the job offer that required him to be away from Jemma for two to three months. He had wrestled with guilt and uncertainty about how to approach the conversation, knowing the impact it would have on Jemma.

"S-Jemma, there's something I need to talk to you about," Joseph began tentatively kneeling in front of Jemma, who was looking outside the window. Jemma turned and looked at hin, his voice tinged with apprehension. Jemma looked up at him, her expression a mix of confusion and concern.

"What is it, Joseph?" she asked softly, her brow furrowing in uncertainty.

Joseph took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he was about to say.

"Remember when we talked about the job offer in India? The one that requires me to be away for a while?" he started, choosing his words carefully.

Jemma's eyes clouded with confusion as she struggled to recall the conversation.

"I... I think so," she murmured, her voice faltering.

Joseph hesitated, then forged ahead with his plan.

"Well, Jemma, you actually agreed to it already," he said, his voice tinged with guilt.

"You said you understood and that it would be okay for me to go." Jemma's brow furrowed even deeper, a look of uncertainty crossing her face.

"I... I did?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Joseph nodded, his heart heavy with guilt.

"Yes, you did," he replied, forcing himself to maintain eye contact despite the turmoil inside him.

Jemma fell silent, her gaze distant as she tried to process Joseph' words. After a moment, she gave him a small, sad smile.

"I trust you, Joseph. If I agreed to it, then I guess it must be for the best," she said softly, her voice tinged with resignation.

Joseph felt a pang of remorse as he watched Jemma's gloomy smile, knowing that he had deceived her out of fear and uncertainty. Despite her words, he could sense that something wasn't quite right, that she was struggling to fully grasp the situation.

Joseph walked out of the hotel and took a deep breath to calm himself down, and walked in the street with tired eyes. He took out a torn out cigarette, and put it in his mouth just breathing the chilled air with a faint scent of tobacco. He walked down the bustling city roads of Paris, which he didn't like at all, he felt a sense of fake, he felt it's unreal, the area is too neat, people hear always walked in a manner that said I'm better, he didn't like this at all, he didn't like the one who pretend to be high and mighty. And the talk he just had with Jemma had already made his mood sour, and he just wanted to spend his energy. He wanted to find a gym, and release his frustration on that punching bag . And just for his luck, he didn't found any up close, and when he try to find a cab to go far, he found the rent of the cab was straight up robbery, so he just kick this idea out, and he just looked at the Eiffel Tower, and it looked small and obstructed by building and fog.

And while he was looking at that, he saw a sign board which had the location of a church on it. And he Inwardly moved in that direction, he believed in God pulling him in, and when he entered the church, he found the church outlandish, he involuntarily compared it one from home, this is definitely bigger and has a more antique look to it, but unlike in his hometown, this church was almost empty, and he sat on the long wooden benches and took out his cross and closed his eyes. And he heard an unfamiliar but calming voice.

" There was a man in his early thirties, named Arjun. Who lived near the boundaries of the mountain range of Himalaya . Since his childhood he has had a dream to climb that mountain of Himalaya, and he put his mind and body in everything. Arjun was met with skepticism when he first announced his ambitious goal of climbing Mount Himalaya. Some villagers scoffed at the idea, mocking him for daring to dream of such a feat.

"Arjun, you must be out of your mind! Climbing Mount Himalaya is no task for someone like you," exclaimed Ravi, a longtime resident of the village.

Others shook their heads in disbelief, unable to comprehend why Arjun would risk his life pursuing such a dangerous endeavor.

But Arjun paid no heed to their doubts and criticisms. Instead, he remained steadfast in his determination, pouring his heart and soul into his training, fueled by the fire of his own conviction.

As the months passed and Arjun's departure for the expedition drew near, the villagers watched with a mixture of curiosity and amusement. Some whispered behind his back, speculating about his chances of success, while others simply shook their heads in resignation, convinced that Arjun was destined to fail.

But Arjun refused to let their skepticism dampen his spirits. With each passing day, his resolve only grew stronger, fueled by a burning desire to prove his detractors wrong.

Finally, the day arrived when Arjun set out on his journey to conquer Mount Himalaya. As he bid farewell to his family and friends, he was met with a mixture of well-wishes and lingering doubts.

"Take care, Arjun. The mountain is unforgiving, but I believe in you," said his mother, her voice trembling with emotion.

But even as he embarked on his epic adventure, Arjun couldn't shake the nagging feeling of doubt that lingered in the back of his mind. What if they were right? What if he wasn't strong enough, skilled enough, brave enough to reach the summit?

But Arjun pushed aside his doubts and focused on the task at hand. With each step he took, he drew closer to his goal, fueled by a fierce determination to prove himself worthy of the challenge.

Days turned into weeks as Arjun battled his way up the treacherous slopes of Mount Himalaya, facing countless obstacles along the way. There were moments when he questioned his sanity, moments when he longed to turn back and retreat to the safety of the village below.

But then he would think of the villagers, the ones who had doubted him, mocked him, underestimated him. And with renewed determination, he would press on, driven by a burning desire to prove them wrong.

And finally, after what felt like an eternity, Arjun stood at the summit of Mount Himalaya, gazing out at the world below with a sense of awe and wonder. In that moment, all the doubts and fears that had plagued him melted away, replaced by a profound sense of accomplishment and triumph.

But as Arjun descended from the summit and returned to the village below, he found that the reception he received was not quite what he had expected. Instead of the mockery and skepticism that had greeted him before, he was met with admiration and praise.

"Arjun, you've done the impossible! You've shown us all what it means to pursue your dreams with courage and determination," exclaimed Ravi, his voice filled with genuine awe.

Others echoed his sentiments, showering Arjun with accolades and admiration, their doubts and skepticism forgotten in the face of his remarkable achievement.

For a time, Arjun basked in the glow of his newfound fame, reveling in the adulation of his fellow villagers. But as the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, he found that the spotlight began to fade, the praise and admiration dwindling as quickly as it had come.

Soon, Arjun found himself once again just another face in the crowd, his remarkable achievement relegated to little more than a distant memory in the minds of the villagers. And though he had achieved his dream of climbing Mount Himalaya, he couldn't help but feel a sense of emptiness creeping in, a longing for something more.

But as he looked around at the familiar faces of his village, Arjun realized that perhaps he had been searching for fulfillment in all the wrong places. Perhaps true happiness wasn't to be found in the adulation of others or the pursuit of grand achievements, but in the simple moments of joy and connection that we often overlook!

But! In the end, does it really matter ? Arjun looked around and found himself alone, not physically but mentally. He felt something was lost. He has fulfilled his dream, but what next?He climbed a few more mountains, got some sponsorship, but it didn't feel anything special. The view from the top was great, but he didn't feel that sense of satisfaction that he felt in the climbing of the Himalaya.

And for a time, he decided to settle down. .

And in the end, he couldn't find anything that could satisfy him as much as it could do.

And the audio ended, and Joseph looked sharply at the speaker where the sound was coming from, and he saw the person who played the video, leaving. And after listing to this small story, he decided to leave thinking about the story he heard, and he decided to leave the church, but before he did, he looked at the couple far off, arguing about something in a hush manner but their eyes said everything, and when he was going back, he saw a couple holding there hands, looking at each with care and love.

Joseph didn't know nor care about some deep meaning in this world, he just wanted to stand alone and forget his past and live a small happy life . But he remembered one line that he had heard from his friend.

" In the battle of life and love, life always wins. " And he has seen it and lived it in his life, and knows that, Jemma has proven that, he can not win against diseases, life is merciless, and that's why he never set a goal for his life, he believes in being simple, and clean, chaos wasn't his cake, he likes peace but his life a tendency to attract chaos, and he also has tendency to beat that chaos out.

He was eating at a restaurant silently while the world was doing their own things, eating a small sandwich with black shades on, when a British accented woman started shouting at him, and accused him of staring at her, and people starts to gather around them making a fuss listening a woman blaber about nonsense, and joseph just kept eating and ignore the woman and other people around him, and slowly finished his lunch, and the public's opinion starts to rise against him, and joseph ignoring that, finished his food, and put the money on the table started to leave, but the woman being a karen didn't let him leave, and slap him on the face, and Joseph like a brick wall didn't even blink, and ignore that loud slap like it was nothing, and left the area without any expression.

" I don't seek trouble, trouble seeks me."

And at that same time in the dark of night of jungles, a person was running in the rainy wildwerness in a frenzy with a wounded shoulder, holding a gun in the injured arm.

" Ohh my god,,,please,,,,, please,,,, I . " The wounded man mutters and keeps on running.

" I can't ... I didn't. " The man yelled out to no one and fell forward yelling in pain. And yet the man didn't stop, and looked for the gun that he held. And when he found it, his wound got open, and he yelled in pain.

" I can do it,,, please ... give me time ... I don't know . " The man yelled in pain, when an accented feminine voice came from behind with a gunshot that hit him on his raised hand.

" I don't think so. '' he yelled in pain but he in a swift move flipped back, and then shot at the direction of the sound with a smaller gun from his belt, but to his surprise there was no one. And being the person he was, he immediately got his berings back and then heard a sound from his left, and fired without seeing, and his gun got empty, but he kept on firing . And after a time, he fell back, and breathed heavily and coughed blood, and then cried, and that damn sexy voice came again.

" SUB: RR - 378 .

DESIGNATION : SHREEKANT " THE STUDENT #24 "

HEIGHT : 5 FEET 8 INCHES

PROFESSION : UNEMPLOYED

PERSONALLY : INTROVERT WITH SUPERIORITY COMPLEX.

A GENIUS INTELLECT WITH A KEEN DESIRE OF SUCCESS. " and the woman came into view, and she was none other than Ms Nakamura. And she looked quite different, she was wearing a black shirt with a white tie and black pants and she had a golden choker on her neck not a ounce of water on her clothes , like they were waterproof, and her eyes showed a sense of cunningness and greed behind.

" You have quite a resume for a student there." And she took out a bent bullet from her chest, where his bullet hit, but couldn't penetrate the thin armour she has.

" And quite the aim as well. " and she threw the bullet at his face.

" Please, don't kill me,,,, I don't know where he is? Please, leave me. " And the man cried openly. And the woman shot the man on his other shoulder, and she saw him squirm in pain, and when he stopped, he knelt to his face, and looked at him.

" Ara-ara. I never asked about him, did I? And you should be proud, you are started to become a real nuisance," She asked, brushing his silky hair from his bloody forehead and a look of pity came over her.

" You are just a kid, you shouldn't have joined him. " And when his eyes met her, he shot him in the head. Blood splattering on his face, and silence descends on the rainy forest.

She stayed at the same position for a time till her bodyguards came close to her. They were the same, and they wore white shirts and black ties.

She slowly stood up, and the bodyguard provided her with a handkerchief, which she used to wipe her face, and then looked at them.

" Dispose the body, and let him know." she said in Japanese.

" Yes. '' They said in unison.

She get under the shade of a tree seeing the rain starts to fall, and she took out a black cigarette from his pocket, and his bodyguard automatically lit it up, and she took a small puff from it, and looked at the shining moon at the top.

" Ms. Nakamura, your ride has been confirmed, and the driver is according to your requirements. Do you wanna know the details about him? " and she looked at the one who spoke, and saw his emotionless face.

She sighs, and looks back at the moon.

" Sometimes I wonder why I have brainless dummies like you. " and she grabbed his handsome face, and removed his shades, and looked at his emotionless blank eyes.

She shook his head, and looked back at the moon, and puffed a huge amount of smoke in the air.

" Isn't it beautiful Shreekant! " and she looked at the stars above.

And soon his body was packed, and one of her bodyguards opened a black umbrella for her.

" Are we ready to go Ma'am! " That wasn't a question.

" How rude . " she murmurs. And she starts to leave the beautiful jungle behind.