Zero sleep, an overnight train, and a rumor that it might snow. Every sign said turn around. I'm glad I didn't listen.
I almost turned back. Running on zero sleep, body completely wrecked, every sign telling me to quit. And then it snowed.
Early January, I headed to Chail. In my head it was just another hill station trip. What it actually was: straight off a work shift, an overnight train, then a taxi winding up through the mountains with no rest in between. By the time the hairpin turns hit, my body was done. Every sign was telling me to turn around. But there was this one rumor — it might snow — so I stayed.
That night I fell asleep shivering, heater running full blast. At 2 AM I just woke up. Didn’t hear anything. Just felt it — something had shifted outside. There was a big French window in the room, a little settee right beside it, and I went and sat there.
Snow. Falling over a dark valley. Trees turning white in real time. I sat there till the sun came up.
Every sign told me not to go. I’m glad I didn’t listen.
— Suparna
P.S. — would you have turned back? Tell me in the comments on the reel version of this one.