The bridge over the river transitioned into a wooden stretch of road and the familiar infinite set of trees. The leaves wore off, some of them still green, with most of them fallen, deep brown, yellowish ones too, filling up the sides of the black road, which stretched till long.

(As I was writing this, I just saw something moving on the floor, and as happens when you live in a house with doggos, I thought it was the dog moving. And on a side note, add cinnamon to any drink; it is tastier :)).

The vast green, rather brown, seemed familiar. Back home, there was no autumn, but usually, before winter, people shed all the leaves from trees. These seemingly brazen tree branches reminded me of a known season right before the winter. There was an old shed/storage space outside their house; it had an old car and extra storage space. It reminded me of a home I once lived in, amidst the mountains, where we used it to keep bicycles, I know overthinking me, but the old storage house reminded me of the old lady whose house it was, the best cookies, and hugs.

They were a new set of people I had just met, okay, some of them for the second time. Set of unknown but warm, welcoming people. And since I have been away from home for months, I felt something close to home. Maybe it was the open air, the vast spaces around their house, people living in the house, the warm parents people, and kids who I could be friends with soon. Or, as I realize now, it was this feeling of festivals, this feeling of something they loved, loved to celebrate, and had through each year. It was this sense of their love for the day which filtered through where I belonged and connected me to these new unknowns. As I believe when you meet people with years of shared history, most of the time, their belonging to each other translates well beyond, reminding you of a place you lived, and loved once. And this sense of happiness, of their smiles, and you are happy to be there, to witness this love!

Because in the end, all festivals are that right, you being there with people you want to be with, and just sit there, have a glass of wine, okay if you are like me, apple cider in the wine glass works as well. People you have once known, people you have just met, just the right mix, you know, but essentially, a set of people you would like to spend time with. And don’t forget the good food, cooking meals and having them together, and some dessert as well, please.

It was away from the city, the place, like the village home I had, and you could see the stars, and as one of the new friends, I made. Like my kiddo brother once did, she would sit under the sky in the summers, gazing at the stars. I looked up at the sky, and it was not the same old sky. The direction of the stars, and my familiar constellations, were all in so many different orientations. But I found the brightest ever. Maybe it was the usual pole star. And the longer I gazed, with the freezing outside, I found a new set of orientations and different configurations, but the same old sky, well-lit with so many stars.