Advay sat on the worn stone steps, elbows resting loosely on his knees, a half-empty bottle of water abandoned beside him. The evening had settled into that quiet, golden hour Delhi wore so effortlessly.

The sky stretched wide above him, streaked with fading orange melting into a dull, tired blue. The last of the sunlight skimmed across the shallow pools ahead, turning the surface into a muted shimmer. A light breeze brushed past, carrying with it the distant hum of traffic, fragments of laughter from passing groups, the soft rustle of trees lining the pathway.