― Augustine of Hippo

..And that is what we truly believe in. Rey has been on a few holidays in his 20 months, but mainly to the beaches and to the cities. Never to the hills.

What is life if not unpredictable? Sometimes, there are happy surprises too! This impromptu trip happened with arrangements made within less than 48 hours.

It was Papa who penned down our memoirs for us this time.. and beautifully so!

..In hindsight, it felt you were looking forward to it. From the moment we disturbed your deep slumber at the break of dawn to the metro ride to the railway station, lugging you around – uncomfortably, I must confess – in a mad frenzy lasting 10 minutes as we barely made the cut, you were a bundle of joy, happiness, and curiosity.

Your first train journey was no less memorable. Once perched on our seats, the sheer size of the coach dawned upon you. The first few seconds witnessed you bobbing your head sideways, clockwise and anticlockwise as you attempted sizing up the coach. The sheer curiosity made you walk the length of coach many times – sometimes with dad, other times with mom. You being you, slept on my shoulder as the train picked up the speed.

  

Your happiness knew no bounds at reaching our destination. It felt that your deep relation with the mountains goes beyond your tender age. You were like a bird whose wings were unclipped after years of captivity. Your insistence to be your own man while you attempted running downhill, much to the exasperation of your parents, your instinctive reaction of making a ‘boo’ sound at spotting monkeys, cows, and of course dogs, alike. And not to forget your love affair with ‘fan’ continued. A small market with a handful of shops was completely dissected by us, thanks to you wanting to point us to the ceiling fans in the shops. Much to our surprise you took fancy to the cobbled road as you greeted every step with an ear to ear grin.

Given your tender age, it should not surprise anyone to find you are uncomfortable in the presence of strangers. Here too, you defied the norm. You were your charming best, mesmerizing tourist and the locals with new antics that you either learned or discovered. One such antic was the eyebrow dance on an expressionless face.

Talking about you also helped us break the ice with the strangers. The relatively hassle free holiday in the mountains has given a much needed shot in the arm to us. While planning future holidays, we can either look down at the beaches or up at the mountains. Thanks Rey and cheers to many more holidays together.

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