Note: I am reproducing this article from my diary that i had taken with me on my trip up to the hills wherein i stayed all by myself for 5 days having no contact with the outside world. This is the first article that i wrote upon reaching there.

Hey,

Finally felt like writing, its my first evening and night here all by myself in this secluded cottage up in the hills. Honestly speaking, a part of me is totally freaked out, scared of the loneliness. Having spent all my life with people nearby or all around, i guess i have never been this lonely or alone, there is no soul front,back, left or right of me for at-least 15 kms. The other part of me, however, is enjoying this seclusion. I wish i could state the reason WHY? but i guess it can’t be explained, just the fact that a part of me was loving been all alone up there.

I reached my cottage at around 4 in the evening today. Its quite a walk from the main road and the steep road leading to the cottage was all covered up in moss, making i very slippery and difficult to walk upon. The thick moss on the path also showed how much less people tread upon it. The cottage was very old(more than around 80 year) but was still breathtakingly beautiful(would dedicate a full post to the story of the cottage). The houses in the hills have their own aura and esp. the ones built by the English-men.  Also, the houses in the hills have a longer life due to there being less pollution in the air here.

So, upon reaching the cottage, the caretaker handed over the keys to me and left. I didn’t allow him to open up the house as i myself wanted to explore it. The cottage even had a really old table resting outside in the open area so i could take my chair outside and work/rest/enjoy there during the day. I am so glad that am here. On all sides of the cottage is just forest except for a small clearing in the front. My only source of water is a spring right near my cottage. Also, i can hear the sound of water gurgling somewhere nearby which indicates that a small stream is somewhere nearby, would check that out tomorrow. Coming back to the part where i was all alone, its so silent here that i don’t even feel like uttering a single word(another point is that i don’t even have anyone to utter it to but that hadn’t started bothering me yet). I didn’t feel like speaking lest i may break the silence or the peace of this part of the world. I don’t want to be an intruder here. I am here to blend into it, to be one with the surroundings. One part(the major one) is enjoying this silence, the other is just finding it eerie or creepy. Today’s evening was spent in reading books and just sitting quietly trying to just loosen up and not think about any work or the things that  i left behind.

It has been just 6 hours here and i have realized already some of my addictions, I will write separately about them tomorrow so as to understand them better. Have to catch some sleep now.

Nakul