1.

I wake up suddenly, as if after a long nightmare or dream. I cannot remember a thing. It is 5:30 in the morning and Bombay has just been through two days of furious rain. It is still raining, but gently now, like a balm to soothe the damage done.

I fall out of bed and stumble towards the light in the kitchen. You stand by the dim glow of the kitchen lamp, surrounded by the silence of the night, making tea.

You look up, uncomprehending – who is this person walking into your half-awake sleep?

I lift myself on to the ledge, and you ask softly – Chai? I nod.

If it were day, the others would have been alright. But when awareness grows dim and sleep takes over, when I walk through a muffled thoughtless world, not sure whether you exist or not – I want to see you.

You are unintrusive. You potter around silently, somewhere else. Like me.