FLASHBACK: Because I am in the mood :) Also A Prologue.

Birthdays. A celebration of new beginnings and a time of thanksgiving. Its a day when we recall a year's worth of achievements and regrets. For me, thanksgiving falls as winter slowly but inexcorably sets in. November is when mornings begin to crackle and we dream of evenings spent with a cup of hot tea and an engaging story. November heralds the time of year when my spirit boasts of being unbeatable. I am not a finisher; therefore the setting of the year is a time to anticipate new adventures.

In this context, the last day of October happens to be a favourite. 31 October 2007 began as any other last day of that month to me.

I was a larvae about to glide out of my cocoon; a ship looking forward to a delicious blue sea; a cross batted shot destined for the boundary (all ye cricket lovers :P); an Akramesque yorker hitting middle stump (more for the colonial cousins); a Rhodesian dive for a deciding catch. But that pesky fate paid me a visit: A spray withered my cocoon; a storm lashed my harbour; my perfect shot nestled in gleeful hands; my yorker met a stubborn bat and my Rhodesian catch turned into a Gibbs.