The clouds made way for our rapidly descending flight. I got my first glimpse of the Lothians, from the skies.

As I made my way out of the airport, exhausted from hours of journeying, I realised there was still some distance to travel before I could reach the warmth of my newly rented flat. It was the middle of the lockdown era in 2020; evening was descending upon me, as were heavy rain clouds. A friendly lad told me I could take a bus to the city. Not knowing the whereabouts of my flat beyond the address and a spot on the map, I boarded the bus that she told me, “should take you around that area, dearie!”. It was, in any case, the last bus stop, and I’d have to return to the Airport if I sat any longer.

“Next stop – Surgeon’s Hall” – announced the soft voice in the bus; too soon, I thought to myself as I tore my eyes away from the toy-like three floored cityscape of Edinburgh. It started pouring, in true local fashion as I would realise later, just as I alighted with some heavy luggage. Dreading a long walk (as there were hardly any taxis around), I asked another kind local where my address was. It turned out I was fifty metres away, hardly a minute’s walk! Edinburgh has been my initiation into much longer walks.

Sambhavi Ganesh