It should have just been her, alone with nothing but her backpack piled high with a bunch of history papers, her tablet to take notes and record as she admired the intricacies of the fallen empire's architecture to her heart's content.
An ideal work environment; something that she was forced to dismiss because of a bunch of know-it-alls and her own parent's distrust over her actions.
Aadhira sighed for the umpteenth time; the polite smile she plastered over her face melting away under the dual assault of both the heat of the sun and the people whom decided to participate along in her quest of truth.
"If we waited any longer under this heat, all of us are going to become a puddle of blood and flesh before your person arrives," the sarcastic voice of one Haranya broke the quiet gasps and sighs once again, her sweaty face and squinted eyes did nothing to deter her intimidating presence at all. "Are you sure that you didn't just got scammed, Ms. Aadhira?"
Veeyan, whom had already settled on a pavement, his backpack resting by his knee almost immediately bristled at the tone Haranya used even though Aadhira herself had remained silent.
"You know yourself that this island is a tourist hotspot but the roads here are quite underdeveloped. It's completely normal to be delayed, okay?"
"For a few minutes, maybe... but it's already an hour plus," Haranya lifted an eyebrow, her hands casually wiping off the beading sweat by her temple. "If you think that's normal too then I should ask auntie to consider sending you back to the old house. Your perception of the world need some serious work,"
"You!"
"Enough, Vee. What your cousin said is right," Aadhira sighed, her resignation evident in that somber tone of hers. Though her entire person seem dejected, her hand swiftly dived into her pocket to pull out her barely charged phone yet again.
Before she could skim through the notifications that suddenly popped up on her screen, Aadhira felt an uncomfortably warm hand press against her shoulder before the familiar sharp features of her best friend's came into view.
"Is that them?" Misha rasped out her question, her gaze fixated upon a black van that was speeding towards them.
Though unfortunately for her, no matter how much Aadhira squinted at the van - she was unable to see the number plate clearly thanks to the glaring sun.
Helpless - Aadhira's head dropped back to her phone as she looked through her messages to check out if she had missed any important updates.
Thankfully, she didn't have to look for long because the van had indeed had come to a stop before the 'half-roasted' people; both the driver and passenger seat's occupant jumping out to greet them.
"Hello, we're from the Quill Travel Agency. We're here for Ms. Aadhira Jayabalan?"
Almost instantly Misha, Veeyan, Naresh and Yuga let out a series of cheers and sighs of release like they had just awaken from death. Even Aadhira's tense form began to soften as she stepped forward, offering her freshly wiped palm in greeting. "Yes, that's me and these are my crew who will be following along us," Aadhira said, as she pointed at the few who were lingering behind her with renewed energy though Haranya couldn't exactly be grouped together among them.
The two agents nodded, the driver swiftly picking up the few luggage and bags lying by the group's feet before arranging them neatly in the van's storage compartment while the other also ushered them inside the van.
Though the van wasn't big, it was enough to accommodate the group of six - each of them leaning back on the prickly cushion as they let themselves enjoy the cool air from the air-conditioner brush against their damp skin.
It was pure bliss after the entire morning's ordeal.
"Our apologies for making all of you wait for over an hour there," The agent seated at the passenger seat said, a hint of guilt in his voice as he cut open a carton of small bottles of juices - passing them over to the exhausted passengers behind him.
"What did happen to cause such a delay though?" Haranya's displeased words came from the back; her expression twisting into a half scowl as she finished the bottled juice in her hands.
The passenger agent offered a sheepish smile as he said, "The accommodation our Chief initially prepared for you honored guests had.... an accident. Your original agent, Agent Neela had gone to deal with that problem -,"
"Wait... what do you mean by our prepared accommodation had an accident?" Veeyan interjected, his position at the far back of the man making it inconvenient for him to speak. He pressed himself forward; his knees digging into the back seat where Haranya was seated.
Even though his actions had earned him a light smack on his head from his cousin to make him retreat, his primary focus of questioning the two agents had still remained.
"If the accommodation prepared for us is unusable right now... where are we supposed to stay? And what about the deposit? Will it be returned in full?"
The driver and passenger both shared an awkward chuckle as they were subjugated to the intense stairs of six people from behind them although only one voiced his questions openly.
"There's nothing to be worried about, sir. Our Chief isn't someone who's unreasonable. She has already arranged another suitable accommodation for your team.... much more pricey than what you initially offered; but since this situation has happened because of us... she's willing to waive the extra charges for you," he said, his beady eyes scanning over the group's faces before settling on Aadhira's.
"Your primary agent is still Agent Nilla and she'll meet you at the new place directly after sorting through her tasks at hand. We were only assigned for the picking up-dropping off part,"
Translation: If there are any more questions, reserve it for the primary agent because either they have no authority to answer or they simply refused to do so.
Aadhira nodded as she offered a thumb's up to the passenger agent.
This action alone was enough for the other members of the crew to smother the questions arising in their hearts - their body and mind restless as they jostled their way through the winding, uneven roads towards an unknown destination.
Soon, the original uneven roads became even narrower; as more dense trees begun to appear by the sides - forming a natural tunnel towards their location.
Despite the suppressive atmosphere thanks to the trees towering over the roads; these group of people couldn't help but feel grateful for the natural shade offered by the trees.
Both Veeyan and Naresh even dared to ask the two agents in front to stop the air-conditioner so that they could role down the window to enjoy the breeze despite the threat of heat still looming over them.
Everyone apart from Haranya whom had already succumbed to a brief nap took advantage of this comfortable atmosphere to get to know each other.
After all, this is the first time they actually met in person. If it wasn't for Aadhira's goal to produce a movie about ancient history of a fallen General and their interest in participating something that could potentially be ground-breaking success, none of them would have actually be on this trip right now.
"How come I didn't know that you and Dhira were childhood sweethearts? She had never mentioned this once!"
Aadhira's eyebrow twitched when she heard Misha's whisper-shout; her accusing glare cutting deep even when Aadhira personally understood that this is nothing but a huge misunderstanding.
"We're not. Our parents were colleagues and they often participated in dinners or get-togethers where families are invited too. I got to know him through those but we were never that close,"
"Ouch... Dhira. That hurt so deep!" Veeyan clutched his chest, his face contorting in mock pain as if his heart has truly suffered a huge blow. "I even fought both your parents and mine to support your dream!"
"So, that's why they've sent your overachieving cousin along this trip... to be their spy!" Yuga, the usual quiet entity of the group suddenly exclaimed, though she managed to control her excitement within a bearable range. She wasn't really keen on waking a sleeping dragon - no matter how excited she was to see her idol up close.
"You know her?" Naresh asked; his fingers pushing back his curls which had fallen over his eyes once more.
Yuga suppressing the tremor of excitement coursing through her veins nodded her head with restrain though the adoration in her eyes were another matter entirely. "Before I was recruited into the acting industry, I was dabbling in multiple works including investments,"
"Haranya Velayutham, at the age of 20 was the youngest prodigy who was invited to one of the courses I've attended. Her achievements and talent in the finance world at such a young age was enough to shake the world. Some even claimed that the projects Haranya personally participated are always destined to succeed," Yuga said, the corner of her lips lifting up into a smug smile.
Almost immediately Misha's gaze brightened, her body turning to face Aadhira's indifferent temperament. "If what Yuga said is true... doesn't that mean your project is also a guaranteed success Dhira?"
"Eh... you do understand that what Yuga said is all exaggeration, right? Haranya is my cousin... and I can assure you that this temperamental tyrant has been fooling the entire world with her fake aloof persona, okay? A good movie needs a good script and an editor who could do the director's vision justice to succeed. What does that have to do with the power of choosing a good project to invest on or money in general?"
"I mean... if it wasn't for her money, we wouldn't have been able to secure this trip in the first place?" Naresh said, his eyebrows wiggling playfully as he looked at Veeyan's sulking face.
"Besides this trip, we also need to hire more actors and actresses - crew for the lightings, sounds... to assemble and deconstruct the space for shooting,"
"The food, lodgings, frequent travels... not to mention the miniscule issues beyond our capabilities like the weather - wear and tear of the instruments...,"
"Okay... okay. I get it! I get it! You don't have to rub salt over my wounds anymore,"
Listening to the young man's dejected voice - Misha and Yuga couldn't help but to burst out into restrained laughter while Naresh remained with a huge grin plastered on his face.
"Are you sure... you're really capable of handling the editing for the movie later on?" Misha teased, her neck stretching towards the back of the van to look at the red faced Veeyan.
Aadhira however had quickly tuned out the surrounding chaos, her gaze flickering towards the bright blue sky and the vast greenness blurring together.
So much so, that she was the first to notice the dense trees gradually thinning to reveal a landscape of white as far as their sight could reach.
Aadhira blinked once, her heart starting to hammer against her chest.
"Damn.... what a view!" Misha leaned closer towards the open window. If it wasn't for her human decency, Aadhira was sure that she would have shoved her whole head out the window. "Where exactly are we?"
"Myrvelk Island," Haranya who had just woken up by the strong scent of salt in the air, only for her gaze to be subjected to endless sea of white answered.
Although the answer was intended for someone else, it was Aadhira's breath that had got hitched when the full weight of that name settled over her heart.
And as if she could sense the turbulent emotions underneath Aadhira's calm facade, Haranya looked over- her gaze connecting with Aadhira's own.
"Myrvelk Island..... isn't this the place where the archeologists discovered General Rudrakshi's hideout?" Naresh's own eyes were fixated on the outside, though his question carried the tone of uncertainty.
"Yes...but no," Haranya answered, her back lazily leaning on the leather seat of the van - her eyes closing once again. "Although the archologists claimed that the general hid in this Island before he was killed... the facts just didn't add up to their theory when it was analyzed in a deeper level,"
Misha and Yuga, the closest at the front shared a look before simultaneously looking over at Aadhira - their expression screaming "I don't understand... explain!"
Aadhira chuckled as she said, "You'll understand what she means soon enough if we're heading to where I think we're going,"
The answer was certainly not satisfactory, but Misha couldn't bring herself to ask more questions when she saw the excited smile on Aadhira's lips.