[unedited]

The Ganesh Chaturthi preparations were in full swing at Dileep Arora's home. Himani's father and Harry were busy arranging the Pooja room. Himani was assigned the duty to decorate the house using festoons made out of marigolds and mango leaves. Lily was walking in and out of the kitchen, carrying the offerings for Lord Vinayak. Modaks, laddoos, barfis, fruits, rice, Ganga jal, coconut, vermillion, and turmeric were arranged in front of the idol.

'Have you finished hanging the flowers?' Dileep asked from inside.

'Almost.' Himani replied as she hung the last strand from the window. She was dressed in a white blouse and a pale yellow skirt. She stepped down from the chair that she was using to hang the festoons as she heard the doorbell ringing.

'Himani, check who's it.' Dileep cried from inside.

'Okay, Papa.' Himani replied and walked towards the door, thinking about who it might be. They have invited no one except Lily and Harry. Most of her relatives were in Maharashtra and Delhi, and they wouldn't travel all the way up to Dharamshala just for Ganesh Chaturthi.

Kedar's smiling face came into sight as Himani opened the door.

'You?' She blurted out upon seeing him at her doorstep, wearing a green kurta and holding a hamper in his hands.

'Yes. Me...' He trailed off.

'Where did you keep the ghee?' She heard Lily asking as she emerged from the kitchen and walked towards her. 'What the-' She almost swore, and her eyes widened as she spotted Kedar.

'Who's it, Himani?' Both Dileep and Harry emerged from the puja room to check who the guest was.

'Is that?' Dileep asked feebly, to no one in particular upon seeing Kedar.

'Yes, it is the prince.' Harry replied.

'Is it not a good time to visit?' He asked as the awkward silence creeped in.

'No no... Come in.' Dileep invited him inside. 'We are about to start the puja.'

'Did you invite him?' Lily asked Himani, her voice low, as Kedar walked in.

'I kinda did.' She replied.

'So, are you guys like... friends now?' Harry asked, surprised.

'I don't know.' Himani sighed.

'Are his despicable friends coming too?' Lily asked.

'Do you think I'm dumb enough to invite them? Well, they'd laugh at my face if I ever invited them.' Himani said and walked towards the puja room.

It was almost evening when they sat for the feast, after the puja and the immersion of the idol in the nearest stream. Dileep was a dexterous cook who served the kids with both sweet and savoury dishes. Lily kept praising his cooking throughout the meal, as did Kedar. He had an extra puran poli, while Harry and Lily enjoyed gheer and modak, respectively.
'Uncle, you should've become a chef instead of joining the army. I mean, you could've become another Sanjeev Kapoor.' Lily said as she chomped on another modak.

'Who's Sanjay Kapoor?' Harry asked to no one in particular.

'Indian Gordon Ramsay. But it's a lot nicer.' Himani replied.

'You are in the army?' Kedar asked in astonishment.

'Were. Captain in the Dogra Regiment. Retired now.'

'But you're still very young.' Kedar replied politely.'

'Had to take a self-retirement five years ago, under certain circumstances.' An uneasiness spread on Dileep's face.

'Why? What happened?' Kedar looked at him with eagerness. His eyes moved into Himani's face as the whole room fell silent, everybody had stopped eating by then.

Himani's eyes were fixated on the empty plate, and she stood up to leave after a moment. 'I'm finished.' She took the empty plate and left the dining table.

'Did I ask something wrong?' Kedar asked, not knowing what had gone wrong.

'I took the retirement after my wife left.' Dileep clarified. 'Well, Himani is a bit sensitive about that topic.'

'Oh, I-' Kedar's words got stuck in his throat. 'I didn't know that. I shouldn't have asked that. I'm sorry.'

'It's alright, son.' Dileep smiled at him.

They continued eating the rest of the meal in silence.

Even after the meal, Kedar's mind was still on the fact that he had ruined Himani's Ganesh Chaturthi with his stupid, intrusive questions. And that's why he walked into her room that evening. The door was slightly ajar. He knocked on the door to grab her attention.

'Hey, it's me.' He said, softly.

'Come in,' she replied.

She was sitting on the bed with her face buried in the laptop screen on her lap. Kedar walked in and leaned against the table placed opposite her bed. His eyes scanned her room, painted in sage green. At one corner was a long book shelf filled with books; there were several potted plants placed near the window; and on one side of the wall was a poster of Aishwarya Rai and Ajay Devgn from the movie Raincoat and several other posters from Dead Poets Society; the notebook, in the mood for Love, and from the albums of Nirvana, Hozier, and several other artists; and lots of sticky notes with writings.
'Have you finished studying my room?' She asked as she looked up from the screen.

'This room has its own character. Not lifeless like mine.' He replied, still scanning the room.

'I have to see your room to reply to that compliment.'

'You're most welcome.'

'I don't think the palace guards would like that.' She said, sarcastically.

He did not reply to that. He was there to apologise. 'I shouldn't have inquired about your personal life at the dining table. I'm sorry if I hurt you in any way.' He said.

She raised both her eyebrows, bewildered. 'Who are you, and what have you done with the prince Kedar?'

'What?' He asked, completely surprised.

'Apologising. You've softened now. What happened?'

'I was always like this.' He said, spontaneously, while being a little bit offended.

'Then did you put on a mask during your initial days at school?'

'I-' He swallowed his own words. 'I did not like the idea of boarding school.'
'Now do you like it?'

'I don't know. It's starting to grow on me.' He said and something on the table caught his attention-an old album. 'Is this your album from your childhood?' He asked enthusiastically and picked it up.

'Don't!' She cried out and stepped forward, reaching to grab the album out of his hand.

'What?' He asked as he swiftly pulled it away from her reach.

She felt a twinge of irritation. 'It's embarrassing to look at.' She said as she tried to grab it again, but he had raised the album high above his head, causing her to stand on her toes to reach the album, and the distance between them decreased. The album seemed to fade as they locked their eyes momentarily. She used it to her advantage to forcefully grab the album from him and return to the bed, leaving him clueless.

She looked up at him and tapped on the bed, gesturing for him to take a seat, which he accepted.

'Here.' She extended the album to him. 'You wanted to take a look. I've changed my mind.'

He took the album and turned the first page. Inside were the pictures of Himani from her childhood; some were blurred.

'That's me when I was a month old.' She pointed at her picture, which nobody thought was hers.

Kedar turned to the next photograph. 'It's me, Papa, and-' She paused for a second. 'Mama.' She uttered the word with so much pain in her voice, as if that word were made with thorns.

'We can skip that topic if we don't want to talk about it.' He said it, remembering what her father had said about it at the dining table.

'No. Everyone knows about it already. It makes no sense to pretend that it's a secret.'

Kedar kept quiet, preparing himself to listen to what she had to say.

'Everything was fine for a while, but then, as if she flipped a switch, she changed, grew distant, and always kept arguing with Papa. He was in the army for the majority of my childhood. Mama was stuck here, in these lonely hills with me. I knew she always wanted to get out, move to a much more lively city. One day-' She stopped, inhaled deeply, and continued. 'One day they had a huge argument while I was asleep. The next morning, when I woke up, she was gone. Vanished.' She smiled through her pain.

Kedar felt a shiver run down his spine at the thought of how the world could turn upside down overnight. He thought about that day when he went to bed, thinking his mother was doing fine in London, and the very next morning it was proven wrong.

'I understand what you're going through. You might be living in a sliver of hope that she might return one day, which is worse as that expectation will eat you alive.'

'I am getting used to it. What happened happened. I have no other choice other than to live my life for my Papa.' She smiled again, a tear glistening in the corner of her eye. Kedar had nothing to say except reciprocate with a sad smile.

Kedar left for Dalhousie that day in the evening in his Ford Mustang. It was almost seven at night and was usually dark. He was about to enter the car when he heard a camera click. He paused for a second, examining the surroundings, hoping not to find a paparazzo. It's been almost two months, and he hasn't had an encounter with the paparazzi. There was no one in the surroundings except plants and trees standing in the pitch black.

After he got into the car and drove away, someone emerged from behind the tree, stealthy like a cat. His black leather jacket was camouflaged in the darkness of the night. He pulled out a phone from his pocket and dialled a number. After a few rings, the other one at the end picked up the call.

'Oye, Samara Ji, Kaise ho aap?' (Hey, Samara ma'am, how are you?) He said in a gruff, demanding voice.