With growing confusion, Nandini looked at Prithvi. He kept his gaze stubbornly fixed on the new entrant, and with a mysteriously red face, replied, “I’ve heard the afterlife is a good place. Give it a chance.”

The pleased smile on his face, however, clearly indicated that the visitor was far from unwelcome.

Uday chortled as he walked towards them. As he reached the bed and saw the size of the bandage tied across Prithvi’s chest, the cheer on his face diminished.

“Sumer had said the injuries weren’t serious,” he said concernedly.

“They aren’t. The doctors are just helping me use the sympathy card,” Prithvi grinned.

The worry on Uday’s face eased. “Always works! I’ve used it several times in my youth,” he said enthusiastically.

“You’ll be glad to know it’s as effective today as it was 180 years ago,” Prithvi informed gravely.

Uday smiled and reached out to keep a firm hand on Prithvi’s head and gently muttered a traditional blessing that conferred a long life. Nandini felt touched by the heartfelt emotions in the words.

“What for? To end up resembling a withered twig like you?” Prithvi asked derisively as the elderly man withdrew his hand.

Uday only laughed, but aghast, Nandini angrily said, “What is wrong with you? Why can’t you talk to elders with respect?”

Finally deigning to look at her, Prithvi shrugged, “Most ‘elders’ I know only deserve kicks up their bony backsides.”

Despairing of his attitude, she looked apologetically at Uday. He didn’t appear to have heard Prithvi and was looking at her with very sad eyes.

“Elders? Oh dear God, those words hurt,” he mumbled to her consternation. Then something seemed to strike him. “Where are my manners! I’m Uday Singh Rathod,” he smiled and gave a gentlemanly bow. “Prithvi’s father was my nephew. And you, my dear, are the prettiest young lady I’ve seen in very long,” he said appreciatively.

Nandini’s face turned hot, and yet, the sentiment was so sweetly expressed that she felt no discomfort. “I’m Nandini,” she said shyly, joining her palms in a Namaste. Sumer Singh had mentioned in the morning that Prithvi’s great-uncle was coming to visit. At first, he had only been told that Prithvi had met with a major accident. Later, when Prithvi had regained consciousness, he had asked Sumer Singh to call up the old man again to convey that the injuries were minor. It was puzzling why Sumer Singh hadn’t joined them in the room. Was it because he was not, as Rajiv had said, actually related to – Nandini blocked the thought. As far as she was concerned, he was and would remain Prithvi’s uncle. Several more questions were swarming her mind about Prithvi and his family. She tried to push them away. She didn’t want the answers. Not until she felt more prepared for them.

 “She’s also young enough to be your great-grandchild. So stop salivating,” Prithvi answered irately.

“My eyes won’t move from her,” Uday sighed, staring at the slender young girl with great interest. Though she was exquisite, it was the cute freshness surrounding her that enchanted him the most.  There was a gentle innocence on her face that wouldn’t diminish with time. Her hair was drawn back but the style only drew attention to the flawlessness of her features. The end of her plait, interestingly, was wrapped around Prithvi’s wrist.

“I’ll remove them from your face. That’ll solve your problem,” Prithvi growled.

Uday grinned and threw his hands up in mock surrender, “Okay, okay. I shall deprive my eyes of their feast.”

He made a faint gesture towards the person who was standing silently with the bouquet. The man instantly came forward and waited as Uday picked out a pink rose. The attendant then carefully placed the flowers on a chair near the bed, extracted a large envelope from the inside of his jacket and handed it respectfully to Uday, bowed to both the men in the room and left the room.

Uday held out the flower out to Nandini with a mischievous smile. “I would have chosen the red one for you but I feared for my life.”

Overlooking the scowl on Prithvi’s face, she laughed. Uday Singh Rathod was amazingly charming, and must have been a dashing figure in his youth. Even now, the exuberance in his eyes belied the wrinkles on his skin.

“You have the most beautiful smile. And that laugh makes the whole world seem young,” he said wistfully. “But before I digress further - here, this is for you, Prithvi. Open it after I’ve left,” Uday said with a strangely sober air, handing over the envelope to Prithvi.

Prithvi glanced at the gift apathetically before throwing it onto the adjacent stand, ignoring Nandini’s exasperated hiss. Luckily, Uday didn’t observe anything as he was wiping his glasses while settling down carefully on the sofa.

Replacing the gold-rimmed spectacles on his nose, the old man patted the spot next to him on the couch and cheerfully said, “Nandini, sit by my side.”

She was about to oblige gladly when there was another forceful tug on her hair.

“She’s fine where she is,” Prithvi said smoothly.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she snapped, unable to believe that he was tethering her in place like she was a disobedient pet.

Uday chuckled. “He doesn’t trust me with you.”

“See, he’s over 200 and he understood. What part didn’t you get?” Prithvi asked unconcernedly.

“He can’t be blamed for being cautious, Nandini. How many relationships have broken because of me! A few marriages too,” Uday reminisced proudly. “Not intentionally, mind you. I was simply too susceptible to the sight of a woman’s pretty face and lush breasts. Add to that a nice, firm ass and all the blood would drain from my brain and make its way to another part of my anatomy,” he sniggered. “You wouldn’t believe the assortment of places where I got lucky. Some were highly unhygienic,” he admitted, “But if the chemistry is right, who needs a bed? Some of the betrayed boyfriends and husbands came waving guns at me! After my men had used their fists to calm them down, I explained to the idiots that they were being very unfair. I told them upfront – if your girlfriends and wives eagerly spread their legs for me, it is because you are useless in bed. How is that my fault?”

“They must have appreciated your honesty,” Prithvi said solemnly as he inconspicuously released the captured braid. It wouldn’t be necessary now, he recognised smugly.

“Not really, no,” Uday regretted, “Most people don’t like listening to the truth”. He looked avidly at Nandini again, “Come on, sit next to me. I will protect you from Prithvi’s wrath,” he offered gallantly.

Nandini, who had listened to the elderly man in a kind of a horrified trance, started at the offer. “I’m okay here,” she said hastily, inching closer to Prithvi in nervousness.

“Go ahead. He’s a very respectable old man, isn’t he?” Prithvi urged seriously.

She aimed a livid glance at him, and abruptly saw that he had released her hair. How typical of him to show consideration at the most unsuitable time, she thought irritably. 

“Am I embarrassing her?” Uday asked anxiously.

“Not at all. She loves listening to vulgar stories. The dirtier, the better,” Prithvi assured him.

Outraged, Nandini angrily said, “I don’t - I find them disgusting! No one can enjoy listening to or sharing such tales unless they - ” she halted instantly and looked at Uday in mortification.

“Don’t stop. Unless they what?” Prithvi prompted with a wicked grin.

 “Serves me right,” Uday said laughingly. “It’s been very long since I’ve had to mind my language. I’ve forgotten how to behave in the presence of innocence. Not to fear, Nandini! I will only share chaste stories henceforth,” he declared.

Too discomfited to meet his eye, Nandini squirmed. However, as Uday started recounting his sleaze-free adventures in different parts of the world, she began to relax. Absorbed in the funny yet riveting stories, she drew up the nearest chair and sat down near the bed, unconsciously placing her uninjured hand on the bed. With attention apparently fixed on Uday, Prithvi’s hand instantly sought her palm, and to her blushing contentment, he silently interlinked his fingers with hers.

She spent the next two hours giggling helplessly at the hilarious accounts as well as the ‘polite’ comments made by her prince charming. Every so often, Prithvi’s fingers would move on her skin in a strangely sensuous caress, making the colour surge in her face. If Uday noticed, he thankfully didn’t comment.

Nandini was just gearing up to offer the guest juice or soup when a tray laden with lunch for two people and soft drinks was wheeled into the room by a staff member. She served the food to Uday first. Before taking a bite herself, she used an empty bowl on the tray to pour soup. She offered it to Prithvi with some apprehension, but to her surprise, he accepted without demurring.

An hour after that, Uday stood up to take his leave. He walked up to Prithvi and yet again kept a wrinkled hand on his head with obvious love and then patted a bristly cheek with scarcely restrained emotions. This time, Prithvi didn’t respond with a jibe to her relief. Though that was probably because he was visibly fighting medicine-induced drowsiness.

Nandini walked around the bed to the old man and respectfully touched his feet. He blessed her warmly. Then as she straightened, to her embarrassment, he grasped her right arm and raised it to kiss the back of the hand.

Uday beamed at her. “It has truly been a pleasure. I’m not going to say goodbye, because I’m hoping all three of us will meet again soon in different and much more pleasant settings. Take care of my boy until then,” he requested, and Nandini nodded with a smile.

“Yeah, that’s enough. Let go of her hand before you cut off the blood circulation,” a sleepy voice grumbled irritably. 

.

***********************

Prithvi strolled around the room, enjoying the feel of being back on his feet. He’d been bedridden for hardly two days but it felt like he’d been released after a long imprisonment.

He could easily handle lack of food and rest, but he couldn’t do without the ability and freedom to move about as he pleased. Pain made no difference to him. He had fed on it….thrived on it for years until it had become a tamed beast. At one point, it had been the only constant in his life, grim but faithful. Happiness and peace were alien concepts.

Then one night, his austere, ordered world had turned upside down….

Prithvi stopped and gazed at the girl who was sound sleep on the chair. Her hand rested on the edge of the mattress, forming a pillow for the side of her face. She had used the dupatta to swathe her arms to the fingertips because of the chill in the room.

He walked to the table. Picking up a small remote-control from the crowded surface, he switched off the air conditioner.

He looked at her again with perturbed eyes.

The cold, logical part of him knew the pain had lessened only slightly since yesterday; however, it seemed negligible at present. It had diminished inexplicably the instant she had walked into the room in the morning.

Yet, nothing had taken the edge off the temper that flared every time he remembered her actions on that day. Subduing the fury with difficulty, he tossed the remote back onto the table, snatched up the newspaper lying next to it and walked to the window.

****************************

Nandini sleepily lifted her head and looked at the pillow with glazed eyes, which swiftly widened in alarm.

The bed was empty. Frantic, she looked around to see Prithvi sitting on the windowsill, leaning against the frame and reading a newspaper. Clad in jeans, he looked frighteningly like he was going to walk out of the hospital any minute. 

She jumped up and hurried to him agitatedly. “What are you doing? You’re not supposed to get out of bed!”

He didn’t look up from the newspaper. “I’m sick of lying down. And anyway, I need to start moving around because I don’t intend to rot in that bed or this hospital for an hour longer than necessary.”

An hour longer than what he deemed necessary, she interpreted with dismay. “You can’t leave according to your own wishes. The doctors said you have to remain here for at least a week!”

“Who’s going to stop me? You?” he enquired mockingly, glancing up at her.

Nandini stiffened at the derisiveness in his tone. “Stop the king of the universe? I wouldn’t dare,” she said waspishly. She couldn’t believe he was talking so nonchalantly about the issue. Nevertheless, she wasn’t going to plead with him after the way he had treated her in the morning. Sumer Singh would have much better luck than her.

She had just turned when he casually said, “Don’t go to all that trouble. I sent him home two hours back when you were sleeping like the dead.”

“I wasn’t – and even if I was, it was only because I didn’t sleep well last night,” she mumbled defensively. The news about her grandfather’s health scare had led to a restless night, with unpleasant dreams waking her up frequently.

“Talk to yourself. You’ll fall asleep in no time,” he retorted. “Now go home before it gets dark outside.”

She glowered at him.

He could pretend that he was fit enough to run a marathon. She, nonetheless, wasn’t going to leave until Sumer Singh returned, although she did hope he was on his way because visiting hours were going to start and her grandfather had planned to visit the hospital again in the evening.  

Her simple and lovable grandfather, who was finding it difficult to deal with everything that had happened. He was petrified of violence and controversies, and would be just as worried about the impact on their family’s reputation, she mused miserably. He was too sensitive a soul.

How different he was from Rajyavardhan Singh. And yet, the other man had seemed genuinely concerned and upset about Prithvi….who was going to kill her when he learnt what she’d done.

It was different to imagine his anger and its impact when he was sleeping peacefully. It was quite another thing to feel brave when he was upright, with his broad shoulders, muscled arms and powerfully built fair torso reinforcing his physical dominance. Add to it the bruise on his forehead, and he could be mistaken for the human version of the God of Destruction, she thought gloomily. 

“What is it?”

Prithvi had put down the newspaper and was frowning at her.

She reflexively took a step backwards, realising that the dire nature of her contemplations must have shown on her expressions.

“Nothing,” Nandini said quickly, “I – I was just thinking about the envelope. Aren’t you going to open it?” she asked hesitantly.  

“No,” he said shortly, returning his attention to the business section.

“You’re not even a little bit eager to know what’s inside?” she asked forlornly.

Prithvi glanced up, and amusedly saw the little pout that had formed on her lips.

“Open it yourself before you blow up with curiosity,” he said dryly.

“I’m not that curious,” she protested, before happily conceding, “But I’ll open it for you. Your great-uncle is a wonderful person. So pleasant and sweet! I can’t believe he is related to you,” she said thoughtfully while walking to the bedside stand and picking up the envelope. She was feeling ludicrously glad to have met a relative of Prithvi who was gracious and kind to her. Though after her experience with Prithvi’s grandfather, she would have been thrilled enough if Uday Singh had simply treated her like a human being, and not an insect that had crawled out of the sewers, Nandini thought ruefully.

“I can’t believe it too. I have much to learn from him,” Prithvi agreed admiringly. “The lucky ********** spent decades charming the clothes off brainless women who gushed about him like you’re doing right now.”

Scarlet to her roots, Nandini pretended to be enthralled by the large envelope. Inside, she found a neatly folded note and another wrapping. She pulled out the paper. It had a luxurious feel and clearly contained a message.

“There’s a letter inside,” she informed.

“You know how to read, don’t you?” he asked indifferently, scanning through the sports news.

She stared at him. “How can I read it? It’s for you.”

“So?”

Nandini stood indecisively for some minutes, startled by the liberty he had granted. Then with apprehensive fingers, she opened the letter and started to read the handwritten words.

When you’d visited me, you’d asked if I had any photographs of your mother. I didn’t at that point and I was upset that I couldn’t give the only thing you’d asked. After you left, I made the servants turn the palace inside out, and managed to secure one photograph. The staff in the other palaces did the same, and two more snaps surfaced.

All of them have both Aditya and Priyamvada. I promise, every photograph I found I have placed along with this letter. To be honest, I had hoped to find snaps that would help erase the misgivings in your heart about Aditya.  I don’t know if these photos will manage to do that.  They may even end up raising more questions in your mind. And I don’t have any answers. That is why I didn’t want to be present when you see them.

I wanted to give you the photograph of their wedding too because I sense it will put our doubts to rest, one way or the other. I haven’t found it so far, but I will secure it for you soon. Love and blessings, Uday.

Nandini’s astonishment at the casual use of the words ‘palace’, ‘staff’ and ‘other palaces’ was submerged by shock at the second paragraph of the note. Prithvi had found a photograph of his mother only recently. It wasn’t likely that he had seen his parents together in a snap. If the terrible story Sankatmochan had narrated was true, the photographs might show glimpses of his mother’s misery during the marriage. How would Prithvi be able to endure the sight….

Worried, she looked at him. “There are photos inside,” she said hesitantly.

“Must be of my saintly father. Put them in the trash,” he muttered, casting a fleeting look over the last page.  

“They have both your parents,” Nandini revealed delicately.

He looked up sharply, and she helplessly saw the derision in his face ebb away and disbelief spread as pallor across his features.

Prithvi stared at her across the space between them, battling emotions that were as conflicting as they were intense.

As she apprehensively began walking towards him, however, he absentmindedly folded the newspaper and threw it on the couch. She wordlessly held out the contents in her hand.

Prithvi picked the letter and his gaze swiftly ran through the words, striking face rigid with strain.

His parents in a single frame. He’d yearned for such a sight as a little child. But for majority of his life, he had battled hard to keep their images separate in his mind.  Uday wouldn’t have given the photos if he thought they would make him hate Adityaraj any more than he already did. And yet, the letter suggested his great-uncle wasn’t sure what to make of them either….

Nandini’s hand clenched on the envelope as she witnessed the turmoil on his face. She forgot that they were in the midst of a battle. Wanting to comfort him somehow, she had just taken a step forward when the paper crumpled into a ball in his hand.

He flung the letter into the nearby wastebasket and looked at her with an unreadable expression. “Take the photos home. Look at them later, and tell me if I should bother,” Prithvi said briefly, straightening from the sill.

Extremely touched and astounded in equal measure, she didn’t know how to react for a moment. The casualness in his tone warned her against showing shock or pity or asking questions, and though saddened at not being able to help, Nandini accepted the unspoken diktat. She would be there if and when he needed to unburden his mind.

“Okay, I’ll do that,” she said lightly, and turned to walk to the bag she had stowed on the table in the morning, earnestly praying that the snaps would alleviate his torment, not aggravate it.

“You have classes tomorrow?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll have to ask Nishi,” Nandini replied as she carefully placed the photos within the pages of a book.

“I guess I still won’t see you, since I don’t feature on your list of priorities.”

She spun around, taken aback by the stinging observation and the roughness with which it had been pronounced.

Prithvi had seated himself on the periphery of the mattress. He was looking away from her….the cold anger in him palpable across the distance.

For all his outward indifference, she knew he was acutely troubled by the photographs that had been turned up out of the blue.

Suddenly, Nandini couldn’t bring herself to maintain the lie that had upset him so much.

“I didn’t go home yesterday morning. I was outside your room all day,” she admitted honestly. “I waited for you to fall asleep before coming back in.”

Prithvi shot her an incisive glance, a tiny frown on his brow. “You were here the whole day?”

.

Nandini sighed with exasperation at his scepticism and walked up to him. Reaching out to clasp his face in soft hands, she gazed down tenderly into his stubbornly unconvinced features. “Your name takes up the whole page of my priority list. There’s no room left for anything else,” she teased lovingly.

She waited expectantly but his gaze didn’t soften at the confession. And then, without warning, the antagonism in his eyes transmuted into a hard, savage glitter.

A curious, grotesque tension seized her as his fingers dug into her waist. She was being pulled closer. So close that she could feel his warm breath on her breasts through the material of her dress….

A familiar ringtone rang somewhere outside and Sumer Singh’s brisk voice pierced through the door.

Nandini didn’t know if she had thrust his hands away or if he had released her, but she found herself reeling backwards, grasping unsteadily at the table for support as her heart sprinted crazily.

Cutting the call with impatience, Sumer Singh strode into the room. He looked surprised only for an instant to see Prithvi rising unperturbedly from the edge of the bed. Then his shoulders bowed in resignation.

“You’ve learnt at last,” Prithvi remarked with a grin.

“You don’t give a choice,” Sumer Singh said dejectedly, then saw the girl standing near the table with a disturbed expression. “Nandini, are you okay?”

“She’s fine. Just a little upset that she has to leave me for the day,” Prithvi drawled sardonically, beginning to pace the room again.  

She almost cringed. How could he sound so incredibly callous and unruffled….

Ignorant of the undercurrents, Sumer Singh gave her an affectionate smile. She smiled back awkwardly.

“I – I have to go home, uncle. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Nandini mumbled, swinging up her bag, and hurried out of the room with a face that was still crimson

************************

Pushing open the slightly ajar doors, Nandini stepped into the quiet house. Prakash was playing outside and her grandfather must have left for the hospital. She didn’t call out to let her mother know that she had returned. She had no wish to endure another unjust scolding before nightfall, Nandini thought resentfully as she kept the slippers in the corner.

“I was waiting for you to come home.”

Her mother was walking out of the kitchen with a familiar smile. It was the same bright smile that came her way whenever her mother was feeling guilty and wanted to reconcile after an argument.

Sarojini anxiously said, “I’ll keep tea ready by the time you’ve freshened up. You must be hungry. I’ve made -”

“I don’t want anything,” Nandini said coolly, walking to the stairs.

“Your college principal had come home in the afternoon.”

Stunned, Nandini swivelled to counter her mother’s strained features. “Why did he come here?”

“He wanted to discuss our future course of action. He said that – that - Dhiren’s family has arrived to take him back home. The boy is in very bad shape and the doctors said it may take years for him to make a full recovery. If we go to the police, Dhiren’s parents may lodge a complaint against Prithvi, and it will lead to a lot of trouble. We can’t let any harm come to Prithvi after all that he did for us. So we decided that it would be best if both parties maintain silence,” Sarojini said awkwardly, averting her gaze from her daughter’s cynical visage.  The principal wanted our agreement in writing. He had the letter with him. Your grandfather has signed it, and you’ll have to sign it too,” she muttered warily.

Nandini gazed at her mother for a minute, then carelessly said, “Okay.”

“Don’t you have anything to say about it?” Sarojini asked timidly.

“No. I’m actually grateful that you felt it was necessary to give me any explanation. After all, I’m only the daughter of this house,” she shrugged. “I don’t have the right to expect justice if a person wrongs me. I’m not allowed to speak my mind or have a say in the decisions you make for me. I have no rights, only responsibilities. I should be obedient, behave very docilely, especially in front of men since they are Gods, dress modestly, and know how to cook and do all household work. Anything you permit me to do beyond that, like pursuing a good education or even see sunlight is a huge bonus,” she smiled humourlessly.

Sarojini looked at her with shocked despair. “Nandini, you’re old enough to understand the ramifications of this news spreading among society,” she pleaded.

“I’m old enough to understand that the opinions of outsiders mean more to you than the feelings of your own daughter,” Nandini replied fiercely.

“That’s not true…I want to see all those men punished, but I have to think of….be careful about so many….” Sarojini’s voice broke. She walked to the sofa and sat down heavily, pressing a hand over her tears-filled eyes.

Abruptly contrite, Nandini hastened towards her. Sitting down, she put an arm around her mother. “Ma, don’t cry! Please - I’m sorry I said all that,” she said desperately.

Sarojini brushed away the tears with the back of her hand, only to have more trickle down her face. “You’re right to be angry. Since morning, I’ve been taking out my resentment at my failure on you,” she said, weeping softly. “I’ve failed you….I’ve failed your father. If he was alive today, he wouldn’t have rested until all those men paid for their wrongdoings. If not by the law, then by his own hands. And here I am, forcing you to keep silent. He must be ashamed of me.”

“Don’t say that! He would never be -”  

“It’s all I’ve been thinking since morning. He would have been alive if I had listened to you that day. We wouldn’t have had to struggle like this.”

“I was 11 years old and I myself didn’t know why I was afraid! You had no reason to take me seriously,” Nandini insisted.

Sarojini grasped the fingers that were wiping her tears and clasped them in between her hands. “I should have known something was wrong. You didn’t usually throw tantrums like that. You begged him to stay home, and instead of listening, I hit you to quieten you down. It made your father so furious……He didn’t leave until I promised I wouldn’t beat you again.”

“He made me promise I’d listen to you and grandpa. And so I will,” Nandini said intently. “I’ll do whatever you both want of me.”

“Your grandfather won’t say anything. He knows we are being unfair to you and he will not be able to bear it if you look disappointed in him. That’s why he left it to me to talk to you. He is the reason I’m asking you to avoid going to the police,” Sarojini revealed sombrely. “I’m not as worried about society as I am about your grandfather’s health. Yesterday….for a few minutes, I thought he was going to….” Her mother’s voice trembled.

Nandini shivered slightly.

“He’s the pillar of this family. If it were not for him, life would have been very difficult, because a widow with children is considered easy prey in our society,” Sarojini said with bitter anguish. “It is your grandfather’s presence in this house, and the respect he commands in this town, that has shielded us from the world. Even then I’ve had to face….,” she halted, clearly restraining herself, and then said, “I cannot imagine what it would have been like if father wasn’t there for us.  But you know he is very old-fashioned, and holds on to values from a bygone era. Our family’s reputation and standing in society mean everything to him. If that is dragged into filth, he’ll not survive it,” she whispered.

Nandini kept a cheek on her mother’s shoulder. “It won’t come to that. I won’t go to the police or talk about it with anyone,” she said quietly, “And I’ll sign that letter when I go to college.”

Sarojini answered by squeezing her daughter’s hand in silent gratitude.

“When did Grandpa leave for the hospital?” Nandini asked vaguely.

“He must have reached a while back. He’s going to talk to Prithvi and Sumer Singh, and request them to let the matter die,” Sarojini murmured, looking unhappy and utterly drained. “He seemed worried about their reaction but I’m sure they’ll understand our situation. Where are you going?”

“Water,” Nandini said croakily on the way to the kitchen, trying to conceal her panic. She wanted to rush back to the hospital, but she couldn’t do that with her mother in this state, and it was probably too late for her to intervene.

Even if Sumer Singh accepted her family’s viewpoint, Prithvi wouldn’t. Painful experiences had shown her that his brutal strength of character meant he couldn’t tolerate or forgive weakness of any kind. Be it in himself or others. 

Her grandfather was prepared for it to be a difficult task. She, however, was wretchedly aware that the mission he had set out to accomplish was nearly impossible…

**************************