Chris slapped Anna so tightly that tears rolled in her eyes and shouted at her,"Who the hell told you to play stupid games, if the snake would have bitten you a couple of times more I would have been talking to your dead body." Anna just said,"How dare you hit me, even my Father never hit me." Chris in his anger said,"That was a mistake he did, he should have given you a couple 4 days ago and made you to sit in one place only." Anna was now really angry and still tears rolling down her cheeks said,"Don't you dare to talk about my father like that, what would you know the importance of parents when you had none." Chris was shocked when he heard all this and now his anger turned into sadness, he became very quiet and simply told her,"Lets go home." Chris walked first and was slowly followed by Anna.

Even after reaching Chris' home they did not talk to each other but were sitting in two corners of the room. Anna was still sobbing and Chris was deeply thinking about what he had just heard. Then Anna stood up her back was facing Chris and said,"Why do you care what is going to happen to me?, if time comes I will die why do you want to save me?" Chris had heard enough he couldn't control his feelings for her any longer, he quickly ran upto her and hugged her tightly from behind and said softly in her ear," Because I Love You Anna, from depths of my heart." Now Anna was shocked at what she had heard, even she had such feelings for him because of his friendly and helpful nature but never thought he had such feelings for her, she was too stunned to speak anything. After hugging Anna for sometime and seeing that she was not replying anything Chris was heart broken and slowly left her and was walking away from her when she politely called out to him and when he turned back she also jumped into his arms and started crying over his shoulders hugging him tightly and said,"I Love You Too Chris with all my heart, promise me you will never be angry on me again." Chris hugged her back and said,"I shouted on you only because I thought I am going to loose you that's why, I have lost enough already and I don't want to loose anything anymore." They hugged each other tightly like that for some more time and each of them repeated the Three Magic Words again in each others ears. That was the happiest moment in the life of Chris and Anna. Chris had found his soul mate after he had lost all hopes of finding one in that jungle and Anna had found her Prince Charming in a place where she least expected to find one.

Later that day, Anna was really thinking was a lot about Chris and so was Chris. In the afternoon Chris saw that Anna was trying to walk by herself. So to cheer her up, he went to her and said,"Hey Anna I am going to search for something to eat as lunch." Anna just replied,"OK Chris I will be waiting for you here like a good girl." . Then Chris walked towards the door but stopped midway and asked,"Do you want to accompany me?" On hearing those words the little girl in Anna arose again and she happily replied,"Yes!" Chris gave his charming smile and said,"Then what are you waiting for come along.". Walking was difficult for Anna but still she tried hard and with a little help from Chris she was able to walk well. Anna saw everything with wonder in the beautiful and mystic forest they could hear strange and beautiful sounds at every step, While walking with Chris, Anna who was new to such environments asked a lot of doubts which Chris patiently answered. After walking some distance Chris found the path a bit too damaged and said to Anna,"Hey Anna rest here for sometime, the path is damaged from here but the best fruit is available on the other side, so I will go and get them soon, don't move anywhere." saying that he left and Anna sat on a big boulder nearby. After some 15 minutes Chris returned and found Anna missing. He was shocked and started shouting her name over and over again.

We find Anna behind a huge tree not very far from the place where Chris was standing, she wanted to play a prank on Chris and just wanted to see the expression on his face when she would be missing, she hid there for a while and all along she could hear Chris' screams but did not respond to any of them. After hiding for sometime she felt bored and was about to shout back to Chris but something she saw in front of her made her mute - a huge banded tree snake was dangling from a branch and was staring at her baring its fangs. Her jaw dropped, she had never been so close with any animal and that too a snake, she had never seen a snake in England and she could not utter a single word because of fear. She panicked and the snake got scared and bit Anna. Anna felt a sharp pang of pain in her good leg and when the snake got ready to bite her again Chris jumped from behind the tree and killed the snake with one blow on its head from his custom made AXE. Then Chris hurriedly asked Anna where the snake had bit her and she pointed towards her leg, remembering all he had learnt in his soldier training he sucked some blood from her leg and along with it came the poison which he spat on the ground. She was shivering all over and Chris held her tightly and said,"The snake's poison is not dangerous to humans." On hearing this Anna calmed down a little and was about to say,"Thank..", before she could complete her sentence Chris slapped her tightly on her cheek.

That night Chris returned with more firewood and extra berries and fruits for he not had to feed himself but also Anna. Anna was sitting and crying quietly in herself when Chris returned, so Chris went upto Anna and said,"Crying will not make you go back to your parents and you will only loose more energy." Then he stretched his hands and showed her some colorful berries. But Anna refused to eat anything and continued her sobbing now the tears flowing down her tender and fair cheeks had formed black marks and her eyes were also swollen. Chris was determined to make her eat something and said,"Look Anna at least to walk with your parents you need energy so eat this and you will get it." Anna innocently asked,"Really? will eating this give me energy?" Chris now happy that his plan was working said,"Yes the sooner you eat them the more energy you will gain and we can both look for your parents."

That night Anna tried hard to sleep but could not do so as she was used to sleeping only in her warm cosy bed and not a pile of logs. But early in the morning she fell asleep due to tiredness and the next morning Chris went to wake her up but did not do and he spent some time admiring her beauty in her sleep, so without waking her up he went to collect some food and get some more firewood. After some time she woke up and called out for Chris but guessing that he must have gone out she tried to get up by herself and do some exploring but just as she was trying to get up her legs were not cooperating with her and she fell down and by this time Chris was at the door step and when she fell down she gave out a loud scream of pain, Chris dropped his firewood and some fruits he brought and rushed to see her down and crying in pain, he went near her helped her stand up and made her sit on "The Bed" and consoled her by saying many things. Anna was really hungry and asked him if anything was there to eat, Chris was happy that her mind had diverted from the pain and went outside and brought the fruits to her. She looked at them with wonder for sometime as she had not seen anything like those in the British Market. Understanding her problem Chris said,"Don't worry Anna they are not poisonous." Anna took a bite from one and it was the most heavenly taste she had ever experienced she said,"These fruits are so sweet thank you Chris." Chris replied,"Your welcome Madam." Then Anna asked,"Chris how come you are here all alone what's your story?" Then Chris remained silent for sometime and said,"Anna I was a soldier in Her Majesty's Service and I was What you call an Oracle- my job was to find out new areas for camping of soldiers and one day I came to this place and slipped on some marshy ground and hit my head hard then I don't know how for long I have waited for me to be found but nobody came, I think they presumed me to be dead. It's been over an year since I have seen any human in this area." Anna eyes widened when she heard that part about one year. Anna said,"Chris what if my parents also think I am dead and leave me." Chris replied,"Don't think about your folks like that Anna I am sure they would search for you until they find you, you have very good parents and you are very important for them, you are not a useless person without anyone like me." "Don't say that Chris you have me to think about you and when my parents find me we both can go back home.",said Anna. When Anna heard that Chris was all lonely in this forest for over a year and that no one really searched for him made Anna's eyes moist and she really wanted to give him a big hug and let him cry over her shoulders.

"One more boring day in my boring life.",thought Chris brushing his flowing golden hair from his face and continuing the work of chopping wood with an axe he himself made with a sharp flint and a piece of wood. After toiling all morning by chopping wood for that night's dinner he decided to take some rest and went near the river that was flowing near the place where he was cutting wood. He was washing his face with the cool refreshing water when he saw something he had never seen before - a limp lifeless body of a beautiful girl was flowing along with the water rapidly. Without thinking for another moment he pulled out the girl's body when she was just near him. Chris got the girl out of water and then kept her body down and started pressing her stomach region hoping that she would just wake up. After many unsuccessful trials, the girl suddenly coughed out some water and started breathing again heavily but she was not in her consciousness. She had fainted again but at least she was breathing. Chris was happy with his find of the day and took the girl home and laid her on what he considered as bed which was nothing but few logs put together over which soft tender leaves were carefully arranged.

Anna suddenly woke up as she had got all the day's events as a nightmare and when she woke up she saw a handsome youth with messy golden hair staring down at her, after a brief moment Anna gave out a loud scream and that youth was taken aback by her behavior, Anna tried to get up from the bed and run away from the place but she couldn't move and when she saw down at her leg, she found it heavily bandaged by leaves and twigs and it was impossible for her to move it. The guy understood what she trying to do and said,"Don't try so hard, your leg is sprained and it will take some time for it to heal, so better don't move it much" The girl then felt her helplessness and did only one thing she could do at that time - started crying bitterly. The boy went near her and said,"Hey don't cry, feel happy that I found you and that you are still alive. Anyway my name is Chris." The girl also felt happy that she was alive but the thought of her parents reminded her more of the day's events and made her cry more. Then after sometime when Anna could gain control of herself She said to Chris,"My name is Anna Wilkinson and I fell down from the waterfall." and everything about her and her family. Chris after listening to her story was bewildered - She fell down from a waterfall and she was still in talking condition, Gods must be existing. Then to comfort Anna he said to her,"Your family must now be looking for you everywhere. Which was true as Mr. and Mrs.Wilkinson along with Vijay and many others were really looking for everywhere since evening but now it had become really dark and nothing much was visible so they all returned back empty handed but more determined to find her the next morning.

The moment Anna saw the waterfall the little girl in her who was trapped for a long time could not be held back any longer. A big smile crept over Anna's beautiful and delicate face and she started running around the place in pure ecstasy. Her parents had never seen her so happy and they also did not stop her from doing what she wanted.

Vijay took the water for the horses in a small bucket he brought along with himself and told Mr.Wilkinson,"Sahib there are a lot of plants which are very rare, do you want to see them?"

Mr.Wilkinson was interested in plants and he would never miss an opportunity to observe plants in their natural habitat. So, he told Mrs.Wilkinson that he would take a little walk in the forest and left with Vijay.

Mrs.Wilkinson was not an outdoor person and she silently sat on a rock nearby and was seeing her teen daughter become a kid again. Anna had a lot of whims and fancies but never shared them with anyone or showed any interest because of the environment in which she was bought up in. She spotted an exotic bird and called out to her mother,"Mama look how beautiful this bird is."

Her mother was a little over protective about her precious little daughter and said,"Anna don't you go close to that bird,it might be wild and dangerous."

Anna replied,"Something this beautiful cannot be dangerous."

The bird was sitting on a rock near the falls and Anna was hopping from one rock to another and was moving near the bird.

Anna's mother cried,"Anna those rocks are slippery, watch your step."

The stones which were in the river were covered with moss and they had become really slippery.
Even as her mother was completing her sentence Anna was hopping from one stone to another and going towards the bird.

The bird naturally got scared and flew away and Anna slipped on a heavily moss covered stone and her head hit a stone nearby and she fainted. The water was moving very fast and her motionless body was carried away in the rapids. All this was happening so fast that Mrs.Wilkinson couldn't react at all. For a few brief moments she did not understand what had happened then everything came rushing into her head and she screamed.

Mr.Wilkinson had come to that spot by that time and on hearing his wife's cries came rushing to know what had happened. Even he saw Anna's body being carried by water and was just as shocked as his wife to react in any logical way.But he was quicker to get back to his senses and rushed near the river and wanted to jump into the river but was stopped by Vijay.

Vijay said," Sahib, The water is moving very fast,it will drown you also."

Mr.Wilkinson asked with tension and fear in his voice,"Where does the water lead to?"

Vijay replied,"There is another waterfall down this river and there the water becomes calm."

By this time Anna's frail body was carried by the water currents and it crossed the second waterfall also. Mr. and Mrs.Wilkinson along with Vijay rushed to the second waterfall with a little hope of finding her but to no use. She was nowhere to be found. The place was really beautiful but no one were really in the mood of admiring the beauty of the place.

Mr.Wilkinson hurriedly asked Vijay,"How quickly can we get away from here and get back some men."

Vijay said,"If we leave now we can come back at evening to search for Little Madam."

The year is 1850, it was a hot summer afternoon, a carriage is moving slowly on the winding roads of the hills in Shimla. The occupants of the carriage were a rich influential British man by the name of Henry Wilkinson, his wife and his teenage daughter - Anna Wilkinson. The driver of the carriage was Vijay, a poor Indian.

They were going to the new summer house which Mr.Henry had bought recently. The family members were not talking much with each other but Mr.Henry was occasionally talking to Vijay.

Mr.Henry asked,"Vijay, how long is it still going to take to reach the house."

To this Vijay replied,"Sahib, with this speed we will reach in another two hours."

Then suddenly a tire of the carriage disjointed from its place and the carriage came to a sudden halt.

The Wilkinson family panicked a lot and quickly got down from the carriage.

Mr.Wilkinson asked,"Vijay what happened."

To this Vijay replied,"Sahib,the wheel came from its position,it's going to take some time to fix it."

"Vijay do you expect us to stand in this hot sun while you are fixing it.",asked Mr.Wilkinson angrily.

Vijay sensing anger in his master's voice said humbly,"Sahib don't get angry there are a lot of things that you can see around here- There is a waterfall nearby, even the horses are tired and I need to get some water for them anyway."

Mr.Wilkinson was about to say "NO" but his teen daughter Anna on hearing the word Waterfall was very excited and the little girl who was dormant in her came springing up and said,"Father, I have never seen a waterfall before I would be really happy if we visit."

Even Mrs.Wilkinson said,"Henry, we are all tired by the journey it would really nice if we all take a little break."

Mr.Henry couldn't say "NO" to his two favorite ladies and said,"Vijay lead the way to the waterfall."

Vijay was happy that he made his master happy so he said,"Follow me sahib we should go thorough this forest here." They were walking through the forest which had winding pathways. They walked for sometime and reached the waterfall about which Vijay was telling so much. The waterfall was really a marvelous sight, they all would have been sorry later if they had missed such a beautiful sight.

This is the story of Chris and Anna set in the pre-independent India. It is a story of how people find love in the most unexpected places and how far they can go to fight for that love. I know romantic tragedy is not my genre of writing but I will try to bring full justice to my friend's idea on which it is based.