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There was a new dawn on the horizon and my car rushed to meet it. I was on my way to a new job in a new city in the state of Gujarat.

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The road was smooth and there was not much traffic as I entered the city. There were the usual early morning walkers and joggers, the hobby cyclists, and the newspaper and milk delivery boys.

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I checked into the hotel that the company had booked for me and lay down for a much-needed rest. I had been driving through the night.

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I got up a few hours later before lunch. The day resolved into the usual first day affair of meeting new people and getting a feel of the place.

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It was a city much like many other small ones in India. A place that had most of the trappings of a big city but without a big city traffic, pollution or the rush of life in a crowded place.

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I was from Mumbai but preferred these small towns. Yes, there was no metro, no malls, no pubs, very few branded outlets, and no nightlife. But small towns had their charms. The traffic was less, driving more of a pleasure than a chore. Life was more laid back.

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I was the young whiz kid, a branch in charge of a multinational tire company at the young age of 28. The people in the office were all locals and they had a bit of doubt in their eyes. And I was from Mumbai, the city of dreams and also of hustlers.

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But I reassured them, I was laid back, could speak their language and was willing to learn from them. My down-to-earth attitude helped me to connect with them.

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My new friends in the company had shortlisted a few houses for me to look at so that I could shift into a house of my own. I had already told them my requirements when we had spoken on the phone earlier.

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I was a bachelor and did not want a big house. A two bedroom, hall and kitchen apartment would be enough.

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A furnished apartment as per my needs was quickly found and finalized. I moved in the very next day. All my worldly possessions were in the boot of my car. House shifting was a simple affair.

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In the evening I sat on the spacious balcony smoking and watching the bats flit in the large Banyan tree opposite.

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The doorbell rang, disturbing my pensive mood, and I stretched, rose from the deep chair, and opened the door.

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She stood at the door dressed in a salwar and kameez. The kameez was off white with small pretty pink flowers, she had lustrous curly black hair and there was a curl of hair on her forehead. I looked into two large eyes that gazed back at me with a glint of humour.

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Hello she said and I woke up from a trance.

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