4 February 2029  ·  Paradise  ·  8:00 p.m. – midnight

Dinner is served on the terrace at eight o'clock, and the terrace at eight o'clock in February in Pahalgam at this elevation is something that requires a specific quality of commitment — the outdoor heaters make it possible but do not make it warm in the way of indoors, and the stars above the mountain range are the specific stars of altitude and zero light pollution, which is to say they are preposterous, a fact of sky that no urban upbringing fully prepares you for, and Subhiksha tilts her head back to look at them for a moment when she steps outside and almost forgets to be cold.