There was no light in the house. It was still and quiet. And boring. I sat with my niece outside the house on the verandah.  Protected by the fine wire netting. The mosquitoes were of course not too happy with the arrangement. We could hear them testing the netting for weak points: good luck to them.  My no longer little niece asked me to tell her a story. Not a fairy story – she outgrew that several years back. But a true story. Not another person’s story, but one of my very own. Something intriguing from my life, past, present or present-continuous.

So I thought a little about it and rummaged around for something suitable. But nothing came to mind. Well, nothing except what was on the mind currently. So I didn’t clear my throat, I just went ahead.

“Listen, 9 months ago, on a day just like this, on a night very similar, with the stars out though I was indoors and didn’t see them, in this same city, I was at a party, and my life was about to change. Though I didn’t know it then …”