The Day has Dawned...

The day has dawned...with a soft, sleepy morning, beckoning me to wake up and get ready for the day I had been waiting for...
A regular Thursday....with piles of work waiting to be done at my office...with meetings lined up...and a series phone calls to attend...in between meeting my mom and sis who have come to join me in ..by the far...the most momentous day of my life!
The release of my first book...FLAMES OF PARADISE. The story of Snigdha and Roshan, that was conjured up in my mind, ages ago...the story that unfolded to its present shape in the last many years...the story that has started the journey of me...as a Writer...
A FEW LINES FROM MY BOOK...

"Panting, her chest heaving with pressure, her limbs aching and her shoulder twitching with the load of her backpack, Snigdha kept running, without breaking the speed. Even in the chilling coldness of the weather, the whipping wind, and the dampness of the mist, she could feel sweat trailing behind her back, making her feel hot and stuffy in her warm Phiran. As her eyes adjusted to the foggy snowy jungle, she could see that she was caught in the midst of thick tall trees, not finding a clear track to follow. She stood still just for a second contemplating which direction to take, when she heard a crackling sound, as if someone was around. Then she heard running footfall coming from behind her, distant but clear in the stillness of the early morning. She gasped for breath, her heart quickening with panic and fear and she turned towards her left where she could see less trees, as if animals or people have walked through them. She dashed carefully and started running with her whole life, blindly, madly, not stopping even to take a small breath. She was taking quick panting breaths, gasping to take air into her constricted lungs, running her tongue on her parched lips, feeling her body sweating heavily, drops dripping from her brow into her eyes which she dashed quickly. She could feel someone behind her. She could feel the hair on the nape rising with alarm. Her mouth went dry, but she continued her sprinting, her chest hurting by now, buzzing in her ears, her thigh muscles straining with the pressure. She had never run so much in her entire life. A sharp outgrowth from a tree, dipping low hit her on her forehead, but she dashed it away, wincing with pain, nonetheless running with all her might. Suddenly, she heard a gunshot somewhere behind her and then a shout. Shocked and in panic, she stumbled and fell down. But instead of looking back, she scrambled on her haunches, ignoring the biting pain in her palm where she had hit it on the ground, and started running again. But she was thrown back, by the pressure of the strap of her bag that had got caught on the root of a dead tree at her feet. She pulled at it vehemently, her breath coming in short, gasps, more like sobs. Breaking the strap, she ran for her life again. But not before seeing a dark, shadowy figure looming large some distance away. She ran with all her speed, saying a prayer to her favourite God Hanuman to save her this last time. Suddenly, a hand emerged from behind and clasped her mouth, stifling her scream, and dragging her towards a clump of bushes, pushing her down into a dark pit which she had missed seeing. She tried to look at the man, but couldn’t as he was behind her. She kicked with her feet at his shin, and felt a wave of satisfaction at the grunt of pain uttered by the man. The man recovered fast and dragged her close to him, from her waist and dragged her bodily into the pit that was truly dark and hidden from the dirt track she had been running on. Snigdha moaned and tried to bite his hand covering her now frozen lips, hurting him."