The forest slowly began to thin as they climbed higher. The dense pine canopy that had surrounded them for most of the trek started opening up, allowing warm streaks of evening sunlight to spill across the trail. The ground became rockier, and the air carried a sharper chill that hadn't been there before.
Riya was still walking ahead, stopping every few minutes to take pictures.
"Guys," she said, turning around while walking backwards, "this lighting is insane."
Kabir didn't even look up from his phone. "Every lighting is insane for you."
"That's because I have an eye for aesthetics," she replied proudly.
"You have an eye for Instagram," Kabir corrected.
Meera was several steps behind them, breathing heavily.
Kabir smirked at her. "Your fitness level is a national concern."
She picked up a pine cone and threw it at him.
After another ten minutes, the trail began to slope upward more steeply before suddenly leveling out. Aarav stepped forward first and then stopped.
"Well," he said quietly. "Here we are."
The others walked past him and stepped out of the forest.
The ridge stretched out before them like a narrow balcony carved into the mountain. Beyond it, endless layers of hills faded into the distance, each one darker than the last as the sun slowly dropped behind them. The sky was glowing orange and gold, casting long shadows across the ridge.
Riya's eyes widened.
"Whoa."
She immediately lifted her phone again.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Kabir stretched his back and looked around. "Okay... I admit it. This view is ridiculous."
Meera slowly walked to a large rock and dropped onto it, leaning back dramatically.
"If I die tomorrow," she said between breaths, "tell people it was because of cardio."
Kabir sat beside her. "Your obituary will say: 'Victim of poor stamina.'"
She threw a pine cone at him.
A cool breeze moved across the ridge, rustling the tall grass and distant trees.
Riya slowly walked toward the edge, scanning the slope below through her phone camera.
"Wait," she said suddenly.
The others looked up.
"Is that the hotel?"
Aarav and Kabir walked over.
Far below the ridge, partially hidden among tall deodar trees, stood a large wooden building. Two stories tall, with long wooden balconies and a slanted roof darkened by age.
From this distance it looked abandoned.
Yet one of the upper windows seemed slightly open.
Meera squinted. "That's where we're staying?"
Kabir shook his head. "No."
Riya zoomed her camera further. "It looks kinda nice though."
Meera immediately turned toward the boys.
"Don't even think about it."
Riya lowered her phone. "So where are we staying?"
Kabir pointed farther along the slope.
At first they saw nothing.
Then Riya noticed wooden platforms hidden among the trees.
Treehouses.
Several of them stood raised above the forest floor, connected by narrow wooden walkways and rope bridges. Small warm lights were already glowing around them.
Riya's excitement returned instantly.
"Oh my god."
"That looks amazing."
Meera leaned forward slightly, trying to see more clearly.
Aarav picked up his backpack.
"Come on. If we stand here any longer it'll get dark before we reach."
The walk down the ridge took another twenty minutes.
By the time they reached the treehouse area, the sun had almost disappeared behind the mountains. Small yellow lights hung along the wooden pathways connecting the treehouses, gently swaying in the evening breeze.
Up close, the place looked even more unusual.
Each room was built around tall pine trees, raised several feet above the ground on wooden stilts. Narrow bridges connected them like a suspended village hidden in the forest.
Riya immediately pulled out her phone again.
"This place is insane."
Kabir looked around quietly.
"It's... quieter than I expected."
The reception area was a small wooden cabin near the entrance. A single lantern hung outside, casting warm light onto the wooden counter.
Behind it sat an elderly woman wrapped in a thick wool shawl.
She looked up slowly as they approached.
"Room?" she asked calmly.
Aarav nodded politely. "Yes. Four people."
The woman studied them for a moment before pulling out an old register book.
"You are late," she said.
Kabir glanced at the darkening sky. "We came trekking."
She nodded slowly as if that explained everything.
"Only one treehouse is left," she said, sliding the register toward Aarav. "Though it does have two double beds."
Aarav picked up the pen and began filling in their details.
Riya leaned against the counter, looking around curiously.
The reception area was strangely simple. No computers. No card machines. Just a lantern, the register book, and a small wooden shelf behind the counter.
Meera noticed something written on a wooden board near the wall.
"Excuse me," she said. "It says there's no bathroom in the rooms?"
The woman nodded calmly.
"Toilet only."
Kabir frowned slightly. "So... shower?"
"Public Steam House."
She pointed toward a narrow path leading deeper into the forest.
"Separate for men and women."
Riya looked excited again.
"A mountain sauna?"
Kabir glanced down the path for a moment longer than the others.
"That place looks older than the rest of the hotel," he muttered.
Aarav closed the register and handed it back.
The woman pushed two old-fashioned metal keys toward them.
"Treehouse three. Treehouse four."
She then looked at them again—this time slightly longer.
"Steam House closes at night," she added quietly.
"Better to go early."
None of them noticed the strange way she said it.
Riya grabbed one of the keys excitedly.
"Treehouse!"
Meera smiled tiredly. "Please tell me there's a bed."
Kabir picked up his backpack again.
"If there isn't, I'm using Aarav as a mattress."
Aarav laughed.
"Come on."
They followed the lantern-lit pathway toward the treehouses.
Behind them, the elderly woman watched silently from the reception counter, her eyes following them long after they disappeared along the wooden walkway.
And somewhere deeper in the forest, beyond the dim lights and rope bridges, stood a low wooden structure with a slanted roof.
No lights.
Yet faint steam drifted slowly into the cold evening air.
The Steam House.
The forest around it had grown unusually quiet.