After ending the night with a long late-night chat with yet another group of strangers-turned-into-friends in a hostel, all of us went back into our respective dorms.
But I couldn’t sleep - tossing and turning, anxious, restless. I didn’t want to disturb anyone in the hostel. So I left the room to sit in the foyer but seeing the housekeeper sleeping there, I ended up in the open area.
It was freezing. I started pacing back and forth in the small garden outside Zostel. Thanks to a giant tree, at least I had the birds to give me company.
After maybe an hour and a half when it was around 3'o clock, I started hearing commotion from the bus stop a km or so away. Soon I started hearing temple bells ringing.
And then at the crack of dawn, I heard "Azaan", from a nearby mosque. That was a loud yet soft sign that a new day had begun.
The moon was still bright but listening to Ooty waking up I felt a calm breeze over my pacing heart. The anxious night was about to end.
I finally slowed down and sat on the bench to spend some time with "the early morning of Ooty".
Ooty - a historic charming town nestled in the magnificent Nilgiri mountains.
We didn’t see each other again, the early morning of Ooty and me. Maybe I should thank my anxious heart who didn’t let me sleep that night. I doubt I will get to relive those 4 hours outside Zostel anytime soon.
As soon as there was some light, I left for a walk. That led to a rendezvous with the streets of Ooty. But that's a story for another day :)
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