Anita loved her early morning walks. It helped that her house was the last abutting the forested area that stretched out over more than a few acres and beyond leading up to the river. She would wake up at the crack of dawn, much before her parents or even her immediate neighbours, the Sharmas’, whose daughter Pia and she were best pals at high school.

Sunday morning was no different and by the time she had unlocked the front gates and stepped off into the wilderness, the first signs of dawn were threatening to pierce through the leafy spread in the sky. A slight nip in the air, though, forced her to hurriedly tuck her hands inside her jacket pockets.

She walked through the rocky landscape, occasionally taking long strides, at times even making a quick dash uphill and then resting herself atop a hard rock.

Continue reading here