Chapter 1 – The Lost Flower It was a cloudy tropical winter morning in Mauritius, the kind that made the air heavy and wet, sticking to the skin like sweat. The mountains were wrapped in grey mist, the road slick with last night’s rain. The bus groaned and rattled as it climbed higher through the pine forest, each turn flashing glimpses of deep green valleys far below. Inside, the air smelled faintly of perfume and damp c...