Babar’s ears flapping in the wind as he sticks his neck out the car’s window

I, telling Sandeep that I am closing my eyes as we descend down a steep road without a divider

I, breaking two teacups

The sun, huge and bright and near as we drive in between and under a canopy of trees in a forest reserve

The red, red soil everywhere around us, and inside the car on Babar’s paw

And then the sight of water finally

The flickering lights on the diyas neatly arranged on the pathway in the front yard of our hotel

The bright fragmented reflection of the sun on the gentle waves

And Babar running towards Sandeep on the shallow part of the sea

A mother absentmindedly walking towards the shore until the water touches her feet

Her toddler stumbling behind her

I, enjoying my spinach and mushroom omelet, a large bowl of fruit and cappuccino

on the beach

The sound of laughter, faint, distant, dream like

A dead starfish by my feet

Duvet covers stained with red soil

Hippies in a holistic restaurant

Hippies on a scooter

A snake on the road towards Palolem beach

A middle age woman in a pink satin Sunday dress gripping a bible on her chest

An old church I will not enter

Are the only memories I have of our trip to Agonda beach in Goa two years ago.