Leena Iyer 1 The train slid into the Konkan station just as the sky began to gather weight. Rhea stepped down with her backpack slung across one shoulder, her camera case banging gently against her hip. The air was thick with the smell of wet earth and seaweed, as if the land itself was waiting to exhale. She hadn’t told anyone she was coming here—not her friends, not her ex, not even her editor. Gokarna was meant to be anonymous, a soft, green escape with coconut trees swaying and time ticking at its own pace. She hailed a rickshaw and…