The next day, the Gang of Six Plus One were seated under the giant mango tree. Zino was busy leaping in the air trying hard to bring down some raw mangoes from the tree for Nevaeh. The gang members were all excited as they had come so close to embarking on the adventure.

“Our aim is to cross the mountains, trek over land, cross an ocean, and then return home. We should be able to complete this trip within three weeks. That is if we take the route that I have marked on this map”, said Igashu as he spread the map on the ground.

Igashu gave a brief description of the route. “Once we leave Dibang Valley, we will take a southerly route to Tezu”, he said.

‘Hmmm. Don’t we have to cross the Brahmaputra River before reaching Tezu? Asked Mayuka

“I remember learning in school that the Brahmaputra is India’s seventh longest river, just after the mighty Indus,” said Kiana.

“It is not necessary to cross the main river. We will cross at its easternmost tributary, the Lohit River”, said Igashu.

What’s a tributary?” Asked Nevaeh.

“Oh! That’s simple. A small river flowing into a big river is called a tributary”, explained Cyan.

“Very clever of you, Cyan”, said Mayuka, giving him a pat on his back.

“We will use the new bridge over the Lohit River. It connects Tezu and Wakro. We will stay overnight at Tezu and leave early morning for Wakro, where Sherpa Tenzing will be waiting for us”, continued Igashu.

Studying the map, Mayuka said, “I can see that we will be travelling through a few countries, Myanmar, Laos, Viet Nam, and the Philippines”.

“That will surely be interesting and exciting. We would have then done the mountains, the land, and the sea”, said Kiana.

“Aren’t you going too far? How can you cross such a big ocean”? Asked Cyan looking worried.

“I heard there are many sharks in the sea. You will have to cross in a big boat to be safe”, said Nevaeh, echoing Cyan’s fears.

Ahren continued to sulk at not being included in the adventure. He appeared disinterested in the conversations.

“Trust me. I have everything worked out. We will discuss our plans on the way”, said Igashu confidently. “Tomorrow, we meet here at 07:30, so we can leave by 08:00”.

“We need to pack our backpacks and get some rest. We have a long day tomorrow”, said Mayuka.