On a rainy Thursday, when the city leaned into drizzle and the tram lights smeared like watercolor, Raman opened the satchel and pulled out a paper with an unfamiliar year stamped at the top. The first question asked for the recognition criteria for deferred tax in a foreign subsidiary; the second required reconciling financial statements prepared under differing accounting frameworks. He read the rubric, then closed his eyes and imagined the exam hall: rows of resolute candidates, the hush before pens met paper, the clock’s indifferent beat.