And then last Sunday I decided to go for a walk, since it was a rare sunlit day. Sunlight bouncing off every surface playing hide and seek with the shadows dispelling the seemingly endless cold. I walked, feeling happy i had stepped out. A million thoughts running through my head. I wanted to go to the quay, but as I neared the city there seemed to be a traffic jam. No problem for me, I was walking! But then I realised that there were cops diverting the traffic because there was a Sunday market. It's this market where they sell mostly second hand things- clothes, jewelery, books, all sorts of things. Even if you don't want to buy it's interesting to just look at all the stuff you can get there. I didn't have much money with me so just browsed throw, until I came to a book stall. I fell for them as usual. Bought two books, of course they weren't new, so they were really cheap. That's one of the things that's so great about these markets. Continued walking, thinking I won't buy anything more. Saw a really cool sword. Some nice colorful jewellery, glass beads with the sun streamin throgh them making pretty patterns. There was this carved furniture there, and some some delicate looking China here. i stayed away from this last coz i didn't know with me around what would drop and break. I'm not clumsy or careless, let me tell you, it's just that I get so taken if I am admiring something that I tend to forget to pay attention. Just that!

And then another book stall! No harm in just looking right? So looked at the books. So many i wanted to take. And then suddenly the stall owner picks up a thick biography of Garbo and hands it to me, 'C'est pou toi! Un cadeau!' (for my non- french understanding friends this means 'This is for you! A gift!')I was speechless. I thought now I must buy something from the guy. So looked hard, trying to make a choice. And then finally decided on one. I asked him how much he said that i could take whatever I wanted it was all a gift! I must have looked idiotic with that expression on my face. He laughed and kept saying, "C'est un cadeau!" I grabbed another book. Wanted to take so many, but.... the only 20kgs that are allowed on flight....damn! So I walked off with 3 free books. Happy as ever. I think i was smiling away to glory. Walked till the end of the market. It was too late to go to the quay. Anyways my bag was heavy with 5 books in it now. Let's go home.

My mind keeps going back to that moment when I picked up the third book, maybe I should have picked up more books! Yet i am so glad I got the ones I did. Books are something that i wanted to buy here. I will definately buy some more before I go. But... maybe I should have picked up the whole basket of books when he offered them to me. But 20kgs....