Nandini touched her grandfather's feet, and her brother did the same once she had moved to a side. Bhoothnath smilingly gave his grandchildren side-hugs.

Watching them with bemusement, Prithvi doubtfully asked Bhoothnath, "Just how many years have you been away?"

Prakash grinned in embarrassment, while Nandini only smiled faintly at her chortling grandfather while taking the small, light cotton bag off his shoulder.

She had felt deeply moved by the sheer sweetness of what she had witnessed moments ago, and was also overcome by guilt that it was because of her that Prithvi had stayed away from Shamli for so long. In addition, she was slightly confused by the shadow that had fallen briefly on her grandfather's face. Or had she imagined it because of her own strange mental state...

Prakash gleefully asked, "So how was the surprise, grandpa? And Mochi bhaiya?"

"They are too stunned to express their feelings right now," Prithvi answered seriously, an arm coiled tightly around the neck of his overwhelmed friend. He stretched his other hand to pat Bhoothnath's head affectionately. "But you just have to look at this hair. It has fainted into a neat pile because of happiness."

Bhoothnath chuckled. Then he eagerly asked, "When did you reach? I thought you were on a holiday in the mountains."

"I was, but some work came up, so I had to return," Prithvi replied nonchalantly. "And I thought of working from here, so I could meet all of you. It was a good surprise that Rai was here too."

"It was destined that both of you should visit us at the same time," Bhoothnath proclaimed happily. "How are you, my boy? How is your family? Sumer, and your Choti maa and your brother -"

"I get the gist," Prithvi said dryly. "All of them are fine."

Nandini looked at her grandfather uncertainly. Glad as she was that Priyamvada had not been mentioned, it was strange that her grandfather had not asked about that woman first...

Feeling someone's gaze on her, Nandini glanced around and found Sankatmochan staring at her with gradually widening eyes, as if he had just recalled something of importance. His eyes swung to Prithvi, and then back to her.

All of a sudden, her wish to surprise him and her grandfather did not seem very wise...

The hand that was around Sankatmochan's neck moved to his jawline and scrunched up his plump face like it was a squishy ball, and moved it from side to side.

"I'm just feeling so affectionate towards him," Prithvi said fondly.

The display of friendly warmth evoked smiles from everyone except Nandini, who winced. She was aware of the reason for the 'affection', and that the gesture, which looked very cute, was actually painful.

Prithvi released his friend's face and anxiously asked, "Is your face hurting, Mochi?"

Careful to look anywhere except at Nandini, Sankatmochan shook his head with a grimace-like smile while rubbing his cheeks. "No, not at all," he croaked. He'd understood what his friend wanted him to know, and he would try to avoid repeating the mistake. But his excitement had peaked to an all-time high moments ago, and he wasn't sure how successful he would be...

In the midst of being relieved for Sankatmochan - and about his reactions, Nandini's gaze was drawn to Vrindavan. Smiling, she hurried to the house.

Prithvi unconsciously watched her leave, and realised she was heading towards Rajeshwari, who was standing uncertainly at Vrindavan's doors, looking extremely anxious and timid.

That expression was usually his cue to approach her and help her feel comfortable in the midst of outsiders. But she was already smiling at Nandini, her features relaxing. And now she was holding Nandini's hand and coming towards the group.

"Oh this is Rajeshwari?" Bhoothnath asked brightly.

"Yes, she looks like my identical twin, right?" Prithvi asked him solemnly.

Everyone laughed.

Leading Rajeshwari to her grandfather, Nandini warmly said, "Grandpa...please meet Rajeshwari."

Rajeshwari smiled timidly and offered a namaste, and then waited for the usual exclamations about how young and tiny she looked.

But Bhoothnath spoke to his granddaughter first. "Nandini, you should be calling her Di," he said seriously. "She's older than you."

Nandini smiled sheepishly and gave a helpless shrug. "I know I should, but I can't. She looks so much younger than me."

"I don't mind it if she calls me by my name, Mr. Bharadwaj," Rajeshwari said anxiously.

"Mr. Bharadwaj? Oh dear god," Bhoothnath exclaimed, seizing his chest. "You mustn't call me that. I will feel like a foreigner if you do so."

"So you basically clutch your chest for anything and everything?" Prithvi asked testily. "Damn, I ended that awesome storyline for no reason," he brooded.

"What is he talking about?" Nandini asked her grandfather, mystified.

A tiny bit of alarm showed on Prithvi's features, but he relaxed when Bhoothnath dismissed the question with a cheery, "Nothing, nothing at all."

Then Bhoothnath spoke affectionately to Rajeshwari, "I am very happy that you decided to visit us, my dear child. Consider this to be your own home, and you must consider me to be your grandfather too."

"He means that in a good way, it is not a threat," Prithvi hastened to inform his sister.

Rajeshwari giggled at the clarification. Inside, she was already feeling the same lightness of spirit that she'd experienced when she'd met the other members of the Bharadwaj family. And it came from the same source...the instinctive sense that she was being accepted for who she was, without questions or demands, and was being offered affection by a pure, simple heart...

Nandini felt stunned by the blunt statement, but a quick look at the faces of the others told her that only Prakash was confused. Sankatmochan naturally knew what Prithvi meant, which is why he had only smiled ruefully. But her grandfather too had responded just like Sankatmochan, while her mother looked sad.

Then Prithvi patted his friend's head, and asked Rajeshwari, "You remember Mochi, don't you?"

"I do," Rajeshwari smiled back at a beaming Sankatmochan, and they greeted each other warmly.

"Rajeshwari, has everyone been taking good care of you?" Bhoothnath asked her intently.

"They have," Rajeshwari said with gratitude, feeling oddly as if she was reassuring someone from her own family and not an elderly man she had just met. "Everyone has been really kind to me."

"Good. If you have any complaints about anyone, come straight to me," Bhoothnath said pompously. "I will set them straight."

"Yes, his threat of narrating stories used to always work on me," Prithvi admitted.

"Don't go by what he's saying," Bhoothnath scoffed, then he eagerly asked Rajeshwari, "Do you like to listen to stories?"

"I do," Rajeshwari smiled.

"Splendid! I will tell you loads of stories every day," Bhoothnath declared enthusiastically.

"No, please, no!" Prakash groaned.

"By loads of stories, he means he will change the names of the characters and places," Prithvi enlightened his sister. "Apart from that, they will be exactly the same."

While Nandini glowered at both of them, Bhoothnath indignantly said, "That's not true."

Nandini turned to Rajeshwari and pleasantly said, "Your brother is exaggerating. Grandpa knows tonnes of amazing stories."

Looking amused, Prithvi was about to respond to the allegation when Sankatmochan yelled and slapped his hands to his eyes.

"Something has gone into my eyes," he revealed in response to worried questions.

"You should wash your eyes with water," Sarojini said concernedly. "Come into the house right now..."

"I'll take him inside," Prakash volunteered, moving towards Sankatmochan.

"Take me to Ayodhya, Prakash," Sankatmochan requested, covering his eyes with one hand and flapping around in the air with the other. Prakash held the flailing arm and led him away.

Prithvi looked irritably after his friend. Then he casually pointed out that the driver, a hefty young fellow, had been waiting patiently near the vehicle for a while.

As it turned out, the enterprising man had already placed the luggage in Vrindavan based on the orders that Sankatmochan had given before getting down from the jeep. When he sought permission to leave, Bhoothnath insisted that he should stay for lunch and rest for a day before going back. But the driver shared diffidently that his relatives stayed a few kilometres away and were expecting him for lunch, and also refused offers of tea.

Bhoothnath asked him to wait for a minute, and started to speak to Nandini.

"I know, I'll be right back," Nandini assured her grandfather before he could say anything. Then she looked at Rajeshwari and smilingly said, "Come, Rajeshwari. Let's go in."

Sarojini also gave Bhoothnath an understanding nod, and followed the two young women into the house.

The driver received a call from a relative on his cell phone, and walked to the front of the vehicle to answer it.

"Nandini always knows what I'm about to say," Bhoothnath said affectionately.

"But to be fair, you don't say many different things, so it's easy to make a guess," Prithvi commented with a sardonic grin.

"You're as mischievous as ever," Bhoothnath chortled. Then he warmly said, "I cannot express how glad I am to see you again, Prithvi. We have much to talk about."

"We do, but let me give you today's schedule," Prithvi said seriously. "First, we will have lunch. Then you will snore away until evening. When you will wake up, you will have tea. We can have all our conversations after that."

Bhoothnath smiled and nodded, recognising the thoughtfulness behind the words.

"Was he okay?" Prithvi asked briefly, indicating the driver.

Bhoothnath nodded again. "A good, honest man. He has the habit of chattering continuously on the phone with his friends or family whenever he gets the chance," he said amusedly. "But he didn't do that while driving, only during the breaks for tea and breakfast. And he drove very carefully, especially when the roads were rough."

"Okay, good..." Prithvi muttered, then he glanced at Vrindavan.

Nandini came out of the house with a glass of water and a bag and walked to where her grandfather and Prithvi were standing.

"There are three packets of snacks in the bag," she told her grandfather in a low voice. "They were the only unopened ones. Would that be enough?"

"Yes, that's enough."

As she started to walk to the jeep, Prithvi offhandedly said, "I'll give them to him."

"Yes, let him do it, Nandini," Bhoothnath concurred.

Nandini hesitated for a second, then extended the bag and water.

The handover of the items took place with excessive care from both sides to avoid any grazing of hands.

"Oh, wait, I should give him some money," Bhoothnath said, "Nandini, bring my wallet quickly. It's in the side-pocket of -"

"I'll take care of it," Prithvi said mulishly. "You go in and freshen up."

"Okay, okay," Bhoothnath smiled. 

He looked at the driver, who was still on the phone, and raised a hand in a gesture of farewell as well as blessing. Holding the phone between his palms, the driver folded his hands respectfully and smiled. Nandini too smiled at him and offered him a namaste.

Then Bhoothnath told his granddaughter, "Come along, Nandini."

With an unsettled mind, Nandini walked back to the house with her grandfather. While it was heart-warming to see the comfort levels and affection between her grandfather and Prithvi, she wasn't sure about how she felt regarding him making a payment on behalf of her family. It was sweet...and yet...

Nandini sighed. 

She had not spoken much in front of everyone and had also tried hard to avoid looking at him, though her disobedient gaze had strayed to him frequently. But he had looked at her only once or twice, and both times, it had just been a normal, friendly glance.

As they neared the doors, she turned once and saw Prithvi talking to the driver.

He glanced towards her suddenly.

Nandini hurriedly looked away, heart hammering.

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

Sankatmochan removed the water-soaked cotton pads from his eyes and peered around the room with scrunched up eyes to look for Prithvi.

He'd claimed to feel a burning in his eyes to avoid going back to the group, worried that he wouldn't be able to control his expressions on seeing Prithvi and Nandini together after so many years. Believing him, poor innocent Prakash had brought him the cotton pads to help him feel better, and he'd felt obligated to keep them on his eyes for a few minutes to ease his conscience.

He had just turned to peek out of the windows when Prithvi strode into the house.

Sankatmochan hurried to him gleefully. "What were you doing outside?" he asked with great zeal. "Were you talking to Nandini? Why do you have a glass in your hand? Did she bring water for you? Keep that thing here! I don't think you came here for work. Was it for Rajeshwari? Or did you come here for Nandini?" he asked enthusiastically. "If you came here for Nandini, I can help you! I will make everything fine again. Just tell me once, and -"

His next words were cut off by a large hand that squished up his entire face this time.

"I'm here only for Rajeshwari," Prithvi said calmly. "She does not know that. I told her I happened to come to Shamli because I needed to complete some work. I haven't told Sumer baba yet that I'm here. I will tell him today. And I plan to let everyone think that I brought Rajeshwari to Shamli because I wanted her to meet the Bharadwajs. That's all you need to know about Rajeshwari and my visit. Oh, there is one more thing," he said thoughtfully. "I will be leaving on Monday. Or earlier.

Sankatmochan emitted a strangled sound of dismay.

"But I will be taking you with me," Prithvi continued evenly without loosening his grip. "The people taking care of the temple can hang around for some more days to help the ghostbuster. But that plan might get shelved because of your death if your eyes behave like they are at a f****** tennis match when the others are around or if you speak one single word to me about the past," he said tetchily. "Is everything understood?"

Letting out a muffled shriek of joy this time, Sankatmochan nodded as vigorously as he could, and then his face was free again.

Almost delirious with joy, Sankatmochan hugged his friend again, whooped with glee, and started to dance exuberantly, making the most of his hands and torso to compensate for his damaged leg.

"Please stop before the gods of dance immolate themselves," Prithvi said sincerely. "We need to go Vrindavan for lunch."

"You carry on," Sankatmochan said, wriggling about frantically. "I'm very hungry but I  need to get the dance out of my system. And then I need to go to the bathroom. Have to make more space for lunch," he added, thumping his stomach.

Revolted, Prithvi scowled at him. "Thanks. That's exactly what I needed to hear just before having food. If there's ever a book in your future, Mochi, it should be called 'how to lose friends and nauseate people'.."

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

Rajeshwari watched Nandini arrange numerous items on the table in an attractive manner. The food looked scrumptious...

"You won't eat anything at all," she asked Nandini uncertainly. "Couldn't you at least have juice? Or even water?"

"Why won't she eat?"

At the sharp question, Rajeshwari spun to see Prithvi entering the living room.

Nandini felt inordinately alarmed by the puzzled frown on his face. But before she could lie about not being hungry at the moment and having food later, Rajeshwari had answered his question.

"She's fasting," Rajeshwari informed her brother. "She will not have food or water today. She fasts on Saturdays and some other days too. And she walks barefoot to a temple that is an hour away every Friday morning," she said with awe. "I don't know how she does it..."

Prithvi looked grimly at the woman who was rearranging the dishes on the table unnecessarily. He'd avoided thinking about or trying to find the reason for her feet being bare on the road yesterday morning because he'd known it would infuriate him. It was fabulous to learn that the barefooted walk wasn't even the worst of it...

"No walking on burning coals? Why would you leave that out?" he asked Nandini politely.

Taken aback, Rajeshwari quickly said, "Prithvi, you mustn't say things like that."

"It's fine, Rajeshwari," Nandini muttered, and then met Prithvi's gaze steadfastly. "I haven't left it out...I just haven't found a big enough reason for doing it."

Rajeshwari felt uneasy as she watched her brother regard Nandini irritably. There was a highly disturbing tension in the room all of a sudden, and it was upsetting her. Then she realised abruptly that she had not witnessed them talking to each other until today. She loved her brother and she was fond of Nandini. She didn't expect them to be friendly with each other but she did want them to be able to interact normally...

Sarojini walked into the living room with a water jug, followed by Prakash who was carrying a steel container full of roasted papads.

"Nandini, go upstairs now," Sarojini said while placing the jug on the table. "You know your grandfather and Prakash won't eat if you're in the room."

"I don't want to go upstairs," Nandini pleaded with her mother. "Let me sit in a corner. I won't come close to the table."

"No way," Prakash declared stoutly. "You have to go upstairs, Di."

"I'm sorry for interrupting," Prithvi said courteously. "But I have to admit I would also be uncomfortable to eat food in front of someone who's starving."

Nandini looked at him with annoyance. "I'm not starving. I'm fasting," she said coolly. "There's a difference."

"Please let us agree to disagree," Prithvi said even more politely.

Worried at seeing her daughter's temper rise, Sarojini hastily said, "Nandini, please listen to me. You know everyone will feel awkward about having food knowing that you're fasting."

"Fine, I'll go," Nandini said sullenly, and not looking at anyone, she stalked to the stairs.

She waited in her mother's room for a short time, trying to curb her ire at Prithvi's comments. This morning, for the first time in years, she had felt angry towards him. It was to be expected, she thought unhappily. He'd lived only in her heart and mind for years, but now he was here in person. And she hadn't forgotten that, if there was no equal to the way in which he stirred her heart, there was also no one who could rile her as easily as him.

But she didn't want to waste time sulking over his infuriating comments. If she allowed her temper to get the better of her in her interactions with him, it would plague her mind incessantly once he left, Nandini thought miserably.

She had to stop thinking about the irksome moments and focus on the moments that had made her feel truly alive after such a long time...

Absorbed in her thoughts, Nandini got up from the bed and walked to the stairway. She sat down on the steps, just out of view of the people on the ground floor.

Cheerful conversations were going on downstairs. She hoped her grandfather would have finished asking about Prithvi's family and work. Those were two things she did not want to know about. But to her relief, they were talking about Rajeshwari's charity work.

She couldn't hear some portions of the conversations clearly, but it was enough that she could hear his voice. She closed her eyes and listened, a sweet smile on her face.

Then she heard her grandfather keenly say, "Prithvi, you will be staying here for some days, I hope."

Nandini cringed. She had received a vague answer to her query in the morning, and even that had been too much to bear. She hoped and prayed fervently that Prithvi would not give an exact answer. His departure from Shamli would be no less than a death sentence for her. To hear a date would only make it more unendurable...

The response came in a more subdued tone than before, but she heard it very clearly.

"I have to leave on Monday. But I'll be back soon..."

A minor din erupted downstairs. Her family members and Rajeshwari were protesting vigorously. Prithvi was reassuring them again that he would return in no time. Then he was asking her grandfather something about Sankatmochan. And then the conversation moved to some other subject, and sounds of laughter and the buzz of cheerful talk returned gradually.

Nandini rose from the steps and walked back to her room slowly.

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

Nandini walked tentatively towards the open gate between the houses. She entered Ayodhya's yard, then stopped and compelled herself to think seriously about what she was about to do.

Usually, it was anger that came to her rescue when her emotions threatened to overflow, and helped her avoid acting on impulses. But today, it was anger that was pushing her towards being reckless.

He had lied to her about the duration of his stay. It was possible he had changed his mind at some point after their conversation in the morning, but she felt bitterly certain that was not the case. And he had also definitely lied to her grandfather about returning to Shamli. He was not going to come back...

Nandini began to walk towards Ayodhya again

This was absolutely the last time, she promised herself feverishly . And this was also the best time since everyone in Vrindavan was enjoying a siesta, and she could bet that Sankatmochan too would be sleeping right now. She was vaguely certain that Prithvi wouldn't be asleep, but he didn't have to be at home. Still, she had to try...

She saw him as she neared the door. He was sitting at head of the table, reading a financial newspaper.

Nandini walked up the steps to the threshold, and waited for him to look at her. But he remained engrossed in his work. Or maybe he didn't want to acknowledge her presence, she thought with a combination of anger and misery.

She could ring the bell but it seemed like a laborious action when she could just call out his name. His name. She could just call out his name...

Dry-mouthed, she waited vainly for a few more seconds in the hope that he would look at her.

She unsteadily said, "Prithvi..."

He didn't look up, but she couldn't blame him. He wouldn't have heard her even if he'd been standing right next to her. The name had come out as a feeble whisper.

Nandini swallowed hard, and then tried to put more strength into her voice in the second attempt.

Prithvi continued to be absorbed in the newspaper.

The beginnings of fury glimmered in Nandini's eyes. Her voice had not been as loud as she would have liked, but a person with normal hearing would have heard her.

The spike in her temper gave her the push to raise her voice. "Prithvi!" she called out snappily.

He didn't respond.

She glared at him with a menacing rage, then turned and left.

Prithvi remained idle for a few seconds, then he folded up the newspaper with a sigh and tossed it away.

Until about two minutes ago, he had been reading the paper listlessly while trying to ignore the fact that he was feeling excessively angry and disturbed...just because the person who had essentially destroyed him years ago had found absurd ways to torment herself.

Then she'd appeared at the doorstep...and half his irritation had evaporated.

Then she'd whispered his name, and he had forgotten several details about his existence...

He continued to be immersed in thought for a while, then he stood up with a resigned air.

He was going to leave soon anyway, Prithvi mulled. He might as well create some more material that would help shred his ego into pieces...

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

The living room was empty, and the knock on the door wasn't answered.

Prithvi hesitated at the threshold. The half-open doors couldn't be considered as an invitation to walk in... 

As he started to turn away with considerable reluctance, he heard the faint sound of a chair scraping the floor. It seemed to have come from the kitchen.

The dejection on his face dissolved.

He walked into the house guardedly and halted when the small table in the kitchen came into sight.

Nandini was sitting at the table, writing in a long notebook that seemed to contain accounts.

It would have been a convincing act, if not for the overall tint of incensed crimson on her face.

He noted the large vessel of water on the gas. He sincerely hoped it was being boiled purely for drinking purposes.

Nandini remained absorbed in the numbers until he had reached the kitchen's entrance. Then she looked up enquiringly.

"I don't think anyone answered your knock," she said coolly.

"You're right, but in some cultures across the world, sounds from the kitchen are considered to be an invitation to an outsider to come into the house," he said seriously, walking to the table. He pulled up the chair that was diagonally opposite to hers, and sat down comfortably.

Nandini stared at him stonily, then continued to write in the book. She drew it closer to her, and curved an arm around it.

"Our question papers are different," Prithvi said solemnly. "So, it would be pointless for me to copy your answers."

She did not answer and continued to write with a stony face.

"What did you want to talk about?" he asked hesitantly.

"Nothing of importance," she said curtly.

"I doubt that," he replied. "If you had to risk your virtue, it had to be about something important."

Nandini glanced up fiercely, antagonism and hurt coming into full view in a flash. "You heard me, didn't you?"

"I did," he agreed.

"Then why didn't you respond?" she snapped.

"Numerology," Prithvi answered immediately. 

She frowned at him. "What?"

"A forecast in the newspaper said that I would have a good week if I could avoid responding when a female whose eyes occupy three quarters of her face calls out my name three times," he explained sombrely.

She stared at him expressionlessly, then looked at the book again. Even with the strain between them, she would have been struggling to avoid smiling at this moment...if she'd not been going out of her mind with despair.

"What's with the fasting and other nonsense," he asked offhandedly. "God will grant your wishes in exchange for watching you suffer?"

Nandini did not look up but her hand stopped moving briefly on the page. He had raised the subject too conversationally. She felt with a sudden, instinctive certainty that the knowledge of her fast was preying on his mind, and he was irritated about it...

Her tone was much softer when she replied. "It's okay to not understand something," she muttered, resuming her jottings in the book. "It's not okay to make fun of something just because you don't understand it."

"What fascinating rule are you going to invent next?" Prithvi asked with interest. "That it's wrong to use brilliant humour to try to cheer up short-tempered women?"

Nandini stared at the pages in front of her for a couple of moments, then she looked up at him, angry tears glittering in her eyes.

The shock on his face only made her more livid...not so much at him as at herself.

Nandini closed the book forcefully, the pen trapped between the pages. She stood up and walked to stand at the kitchen counter, hands clenched into fists. She brushed away the tears furiously and employed immense strength to stop her lips from trembling. 

And staring at the bubbles forming around the edges of the water, she wished she hadn't shown the senselessness to go to Ayodhya.

Her anger and grief were as irrational as they were powerful. He had every right to leave when he wanted. Far from demanding an explanation, she did not have the right to even be upset with him about it. But yet again, she had been impelled by something that was causing her inconceivable pain at the moment. It wouldn't be soothed until she heard him say that he was not going to leave after all...

That was what she wanted, Nandini thought bitterly. Not an explanation...she wanted him to take back the decision...

His features not revealing any of his true feelings, Prithvi got up and walked to the counter on the opposite side and leaned against it. "I didn't lie to you this morning," he said briefly. "I only said I cannot stay beyond a few days."

She spun around and stared at him in disbelief. He knew...he knew why she had wanted to talk to him...

And then she couldn't repress her grief any longer. With agitation and agony writ large on her features, she shakily asked, "Why do you have to leave so soon?"

Prithvi gazed at her with an inscrutable expression for a long moment. Then he nonchalantly said, "If you really want to know...it's because you've turned out to be a bigger complication than I'd thought. I've seen a lot of idiotic drama in the last few years. But all of it combined seems like a two-second commercial compared to the nonsense that has happened since my arrival. I have very little idea what I've been doing since yesterday, and I hate how that feels," he said with a sudden roughness in his voice. "I don't even know why I'm here in this kitchen or what the **** am I doing right now ..."

He paused and took a few moments to calm down.

Stunned and distraught, Nandini stared at him mutely, hot tears pressing against the backs of her eyes. The words that had seemed to be a minor echo of her own devastated mental landscape...and the harsh sincerity underlying them... both had joined forces to demolish her thinking capabilities and shake her to the core. Years ago, she would have lost her mind with joy if he had spoken to her with this honesty. Now, however, she wanted to beg him to say cruel, hateful things that would provoke and enrage her. It was the only way she could be strong against her own emotions...

Prithvi glanced at her with an unexpected weariness. "I have a lot of annoying issues to deal with as it is, and I can do without one more," he said briefly. "I'm sure that goes for you too. It'll honestly be the best for both of us if I leave as soon as I can," he shrugged, straightening from the counter.

Panic overwhelmed her, pushing out everything else from her mind.

"Wait, don't go," she said desperately.

But he didn't look at her. He was staring at something between them. She followed his gaze, and was startled.

She had unconsciously dashed forward and extended a hand to stop him from leaving.

Embarrassed, she started to draw back her arm.

A strong hand clamped around her wrist, forbidding its retreat.

Stunned, Nandini stared at the hand that had seized hers. The grip was steely...then it relaxed slightly.

She felt slow...sluggish...incapable of doing anything apart from gazing at the hand that was holding hers.

The strength of the hold on her flesh...the heat from his hand burning her skin...

It was a heartbreakingly familiar touch... a touch that was causing an exquisite, electrifying thrill to race through her body...

Potent sensations flooded through her, making her mind reel wildly. Everything that she was...all of her being seemed to exist only in the space that was imprisoned by his hard fingers.

Relaxing against the counter again, Prithvi gently brought the slender hand, palm facing upwards, back to him, gazing at it with the stunned air of a man who had been searching for an invaluable, fragile object for decades, and had found it unexpectedly. His left hand came up to hold it from beneath.

With his brows knit, he studied the soft hand that was cradled in his...

His fingers released her wrist, and glided in a gentle, slow caress over the palm to the tips of her delicate fingers...almost as if trying to be reacquainted. He reflected distantly that he had forgotten that a hand could be so incredibly soft, and that skin could feel like the richest silk-satin...and that its warmth could seem to be life-giving...

The action...so innocent...so simple...caused an acute tremor of pleasure within her. The sounds of her quick, shallow breaths and racing heartbeats filled her ears.

She looked up at him, an enchanting blush on her cheeks, and her shy, luminous gaze filled with incalculable love and adoration.

When his fingers ceased the sweet torment and lifted, a crushing distress rent her. She immediately started to withdraw her hand.

But it was swiftly captured again in a tender clasp.

Nandini experienced a stark moment of clarity in which she knew she could not allow her fingers to close around his hand. It would be wrong...it would be cruel. She had to be strong regardless of the brutal toll it would take on her...

She closed her eyes for a split-second as if racked by pain....and then her fingers lovingly returned his hold...

When her eyes opened again, it was to find him gazing at her with a quiet intensity that smashed the last of her defences more violently than the sweetest words could have.

Memories were no longer abstract. They came to life in a glorious flow of energy, and stealthily, they enveloped the two people in the room like a solitary but lush rain cloud, providing a merciful coolness to burnt and bruised spirits...

The sound of a door opening reached them, followed instantly by Bhoothnath's irritated voice.

Startled, Nandini fearfully looked towards the kitchen door. Her grandfather was talking to someone. From the volume, it sounded as if he was standing near his own room. She heard him yell 'hello' a couple of times, and then he started to talk to someone. His voice wasn't growing louder, which meant he wasn't coming any closer, but that could change any minute...

Petrified, she looked at Prithvi.

"He cannot see us like this," she whispered in panic.

"I think your hand disagrees," he murmured, studying her with an intrigued look that hadn't been there before.

"What?" she asked confusedly, and looked at their linked hands.

He had not let go of her hand...but he had also not grasped it tighter.

But her fingers had constricted around his hand, unwilling to let go.

Then her grandfather's voice rose in temper, dragging her frightened attention back to the living room. With the increase in volume, his words could be heard clearly now...

"...told you what I think about that boy. I don't care if it's one cigarette or one drink in a year or a day. I will not allow Nandini to get married to anyone who smokes or drinks. And don't call me again until you have a really good proposal. Understood?"

There was a loud grumble about foolish people who called at odd times, and then they heard a door being shut.

Nandini snapped out of a haze of dread only when the grasp on her hand loosened.

Stupefied with horror, she looked towards him.

But he wasn't looking at her.

He was focussed on gently detaching the frantic, tight grip of her cold fingers from his hand. Neither harshness or irritation showed in his actions. He was going about it calmly... almost kindly...

"No, wait – you - you have to listen," she mumbled.

Having removed his hand from her clutch, Prithvi straightened and started to walk away without responding to her or giving her a glance.

Overcome by despair, she ran ahead to block him.

But the instant their eyes clashed, she drew back with real fear.

The man before her was an utter stranger. A dangerous, terrifying stranger whose emotions had gone far beyond wrath...far beyond pain...far beyond the boundaries of anything that could be controlled or subdued...

Prithvi silently strode out of the kitchen.

The water on the gas bubbled up in a delirium of rage and anguish, hissing in agony as drops of it spilled out and splashed on the hot metal of the ring burner...

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