Afternoon sun in this dreamy  Mauritian Island looked practically blistering. I changed into comfortable beach clothes and packed my towel and almost made up my mind to go to the sea for a bit of a swim but was completely unnerved as I stepped out and almost evaporated.

I plonked myself on the one of those comfortable beach lounge chairs with thatched roof instead with my book.. Soon I became entirely engrossed in the complicated plot including a girl and her family who meet with a fatal accident. Her parents and little brother are killed and she is gravely injured and suddenly finds herself presented with options to stay or leave..

Her inner conflicts, her eccentric journey through the in-between world, I lost myself in the book and before long I was joined by my daughter who strolled looking for dead corals and star fish..

She asked me what I was reading and I told her the story of the girl whose spirit roamed the halls of her hospital ward looking for answers.. She opened her eyes wide and listened attentively.

By now, the sultry island had somewhat calmed and the breeze felt cool against my face.. Sun was already disappearing behind the horizon and sky was painted bright orange with patches of blue-grey clouds here and there. I looked at my daughter who was fascinated by the 'drowning sun'  Her long, wind-swept hair was flying all over her pretty face which she tried to push back with her little hands.

Once the sun completely disappeared, we walked along the shore occasionally picking up sea shells and musing at different weird creatures crawling up and down. My daughter believed that if we keep one of those fairly big shells close to our ears, we can hear the sea. She picked up a few of those and put them in her pockets for later.

The tune stuck in my head was 'baharo phool barsao' an old hindi number which humbly requests the spring to shower flowers on the lover who visited after a long time...I just got lost in my own thoughts, the gentle lapping of the waves and twilight just transported me back to a distant past, my mind wandering aimlessly..

I told my daughter the stories about sea turning violent and unleashing  it's fury. I told her how the calm sea can transform into all-consuming Tsunami and wreck every life in its vicinity.

I told her about one of the Tsunami victims who wrote,

'Dear sea,

No matter how many times your waves touch my feet I can never forgive you... For you took away everyone I loved...

She nodded silently.. We walked back to the main lounge. People still lazed in the pools. Some leaned back on the lounge chairs sipping cocktails. Couples walked linking their arms, joggers jogged. some lied down gazing at the evening sky.

My husband and son sat watching a couple of kids do dynamic stunts in the pool and waved at us excitedly..!

And in the background music blasted to life.. The island was gearing up for the evening activities and  Taylor Swift merrily sang,

'You look like my next mistake!'

And the tune in my head disappeared.

I now  hummed, 'I am a nightmare dressed like daydream' along with Taylor Swift,

I wished for the time to stop ticking just for a few minutes....