PART 1

The December sun shone beautifully as Kiaan strummed his guitar under the maple tree. Kiaan was studying in his last trimester at the UCLA campus and he was due for his homecoming to India I another 14 days. It was exactly 5 years and 4 months since Kiaan had come to USA on a student visa and someday he wished to settle here with the coveted green card. Kiaan loved the gloss of the average American life…the squeaky clean public amenities, unbelievably affordable groceries, well dressed people around and the glamour. Most of all he was glad to get rid of the dirt, grime and heat….three words that he had come to associate with his homeland India. For Kiaan his return to India was just a temporary break…he already considered himself American at heart and had started looking ferociously for a part time job in USA that would enable him to stay on. Kiaan also had an American girlfriend “Shaina” and the two were spotted club hopping often. Sometimes Kiaan admitted to himself that one of the reasons why he treasured Shaina was that she was his ticket to a green card if all else failed.