Collage of pebbles

The autorickshaw was noisy. Its light was trying to split solid darkness in vain. Black asphalt of the road soaked the light like a deep hole. We stopped somewhere. Through the darkness we could see that we were almost surrounded by woods. Vinod asked us to follow him. We crossed a small barrier. An uneven dirt road went deeper into the wood. Faint light from our torches advised us of the rough contour we were treading through. The headlamp of Vinod was searching something. The light penetrated through the jungle revealing nothing much. Then a feeble reflection came. Vinod whispered - “there it is”. He left the dirt road and ran deeper into the jungle - dodging threes, rocks, and fat creepers. We followed his footsteps. We followed his focus. My shoe hit something hard at the ground, and I fell through the darkness. *** Earlier in the evening, we stopped our car near a small house at the lap of Salim Ali Wildlife Sanctuary in Thattekad. The 10 hour travel from Valpara