'the mist affords a certain privacy'

'a paradise that might have been' explain the two sentences

In the lesson, 'A short monsoon diary' Ruskin Bond has spoken about the mountainous region and its weather. He speaks about the mist that suddenly envelopes the region, and covers it with a blanket of silence. The mist here is so thick that one cannot see through it. The author is walking to the post office and he hears Bijju calling out to his sister, but he is unable to see him. As he walks on, he feels that he is walking all alone in a private world of his own, and remarks that 'the mist offers a certain privacy'

Ruskin Bond describes the hill station as 'a paradise that might have been' because he feels the hill station is so beautiful and peaceful that it resembles a paradise. The privacy offered by the mist and the surroundings makes him compare it to a paradise.