It was my first international trip.

I was tired and sleep deprived.

No sleep for more than 36 hours, constant road travel, airport transits, walking through terminals, surviving on junk food, a very nauseating connecting flight, and having to walk around in torrential rain with a heavy, broken suitcase dangling from my arm.

Once I reached home, I almost immediately jumped into the shower, freshened up, opened up the suitcases, took the essentials out, hopped into the car and drove off to the RTO (regional transport office) to get some work done with the infamously inefficient government workers.

It was around 5PM when I was reunited with Dona and upon picking her up from her office, we drove straight to Momo I Am, at RDB Blvd, Sector 5.

This is a place that she had always been talking about, but I was yet to pay a visit.

It was time to break that chain.

We sat down and in half consciousness I ordered a plate of Dan Dan Noodles as she brought out a beautiful Nazar bracelet - the Turkish Evil Eye beads, which are believed to be a guardian to protect from evil spirits. Every single bead looked like a blessing from the creators of fate.

That was not all.

She then pulled out a red fabric bag, and inside of it was a photo frame with a picture of my motorcycle - shot on the way from Hyderabad to Vizag as I was heading home a few months prior. It was a journey to remember.

The photo houses my motorcycle, a billboard that reads “Kolkata” - the first one I had spotted in my entire journey, and a compass that had been dearly gifted by my father a decade ago. It definitely is one of the most cherished photos I have ever clicked, perfectly summing up a vrooming companion in an endless journey where directions often take a backseat - while the feel of the winds hitting your chest surpasses all laws of reality.

I remember mentioning to Dona how special that capture was to me.

She remembered.

She framed it.

She surprised me.

She did it without me expecting.

If that is not a warm welcome, I am not eager to know what is :)