Prithvi paced around the table restlessly as he waited for Sumer Singh to return with Nandini. When his phone rang, he looked at it with a sharp tension, which increased when he saw that the call was from Bhoothnath.

Prithvi answered the phone quickly and then remained silent as Bhoothnath, without asking him anything at all, gently informed him that his mother had visited them, but that she wasn't feeling very well, and that she was resting at the moment.

Prithvi listened to him with a faint confusion. He didn't know what he had expected, but it was not that Bhoothnath would speak in this peaceful tone that suggested it was perfectly normal for his mother to visit them out of the blue while she was unwell. It was only the excessive kindness and concern in his voice that hinted at something being wrong.

"....and she is sleeping soundly now, so all is fine," Bhoothnath said comfortingly.

"Is she unconscious?" Prithvi asked quietly.

Bhoothnath didn't reply instantly, then he carefully said, "She did fall unconscious while entering the house, but then she recovered soon, and she spoke to us for a few minutes. I'm afraid we didn't recognise her at first," Bhoothnath said apologetically. "But she introduced herself as your mother, and then she asked for water, and after that she said she was feeling exhausted and wanted to rest for a while. She's asleep now in the guest room."

Prithvi felt slightly relieved despite being aware that he was being given an edited form of the truth. If she had been able to speak as Bhoothnath had said, it was a good sign. But there was also a matter of concern - his mother wouldn't have had to introduce herself if she had travelled with her staff as she usually did. 

He asked Bhoothnath, "Is there anyone with her?"

"No, she arrived alone," Bhoothnath said. The other troubling details of Priyamvada's arrival could wait to be shared...

Disturbed anew, Prithvi quickly asked, "Did she come by car? And did she have anything with her? Her phone or a wallet?"

"No, she came walking, and she didn't have anything with her," Bhoothnath divulged uneasily.

Trying to keep his emotions out of the way, Prithvi thought rapidly about whatever he had learned until now. So, her condition had deteriorated once she had reached Shamli, but not to the most serious levels. And her sleep during these times was typically very deep and could continue for hours. And hopefully, he would be in Shamli by the time she woke up.

"Prithvi, I know you're very busy, but do you think you might be able to come to Shamli in the next two days?" Bhoothnath enquired cautiously.

"I'll actually be on my way in a short time," Prithvi replied briefly. "Sumer Baba will also be coming with me."

"You're coming today itself? Sumer too? That is wonderful," Bhoothnath smiled. "But you know...you don't need to hurry. You can come tomorrow or day after, that will be more than enough," he said assuringly. "Your mother isn't that unwell. She just needs to rest here."

"I know, but I want to be there," Prithvi said in a subdued voice. "I'll let you know when we leave." 

" Alright, do what makes you feel better," Bhoothnath said kindly. "But just know that she is fine and safe here, and we will look after her just as we would look after you," he said warmly, his voice ringing with the deepest affection.

Prithvi's gaze clouded over. It was this innocent love, acceptance, and compassion that had tied him so strongly to the family as a whole  that his bond with them had managed to survive the breaking of his relationship with Nandini.

"Thank you," he said unsteadily.

"Prithvi, do the Garewals know about...errr...this?" Bhoothnath asked gingerly.

"No one outside the family knows," Prithvi muttered.

"Okay, then we will not tell them that your mother is here or that she's ill," Bhoothnath said decisively. "But what must I tell them if they find out about you and Sumer Singh coming to Shamli?" he asked, and then listened to Prithvi for some minutes, and said, "Okay, that's good...I will keep that in mind."

"Please call me if she wakes up in between or if anything...goes wrong," Prithvi said soberly. "She has a tendency to get up and walk away from the room...or the house when she's in this state. So, please keep a close watch on her."

"Yes, we will do that," Bhoothnath assured.

Prithvi hesitated uncomfortably. He had been waiting for multiple questions about his mother's condition. But Bhoothnath had not raised a single query so far. However, he felt obliged to give some information, and so he uneasily said, "She used to have these episodes before but it hadn't - "

"We can talk about all that once you're here," Bhoothnath interrupted smoothly. "Don't worry about anything for now. We are taking good care of your mother, and she will be perfectly well soon."

After keeping the phone, Prithvi thought absently about fragments of conversations that he had heard while residing in Shamli. Talks about the family being a magical lighthouse of sorts for people who were facing troubles of various kinds. Even after he'd grown very attached to the family, he had found those talks to be as plausible as fairy tales. But this was the first time when he found himself wondering if there was a grain of truth in those tall claims...

He was almost calm now, which was very odd considering the ferocity of the anger, impatience and tension that he'd struggled with after learning that his mother was in Shamli. He still wanted to reach Shamli soon, but the terrible restlessness that usually gripped him in such circumstances had subsided post the conversation with Bhoothnath.

And it was a major relief to know that the Bharadwaj family was not overwhelmed by the situation. It was even more so because only now was it striking him how big an emotional hurdle he would need to cross before leaving Taravan today. He had told Sumer Singh he would handle the conversation with Nandini, but he was feeling very unsure about it now...

The emotional injuries caused by events that had transpired five years ago were still fresh and bloody for both of them. She was going to be horrified by the news that his mother was in Vrindavan, and then he would also have to give her some information about his mother's illness...which would be a special ordeal on its own, he reflected miserably.

And not to forget that his decision to leave all of a sudden and that too for an indeterminate period was going to cause a mini storm in the house. Uday Singh, Rajeshwari, his friends, the Garewals...everyone had to be informed, and only Uday Singh could be told the truth. And Sankatmochan too...but none of that was a big concern. 

It was only the conversation with Nandini that he was tensed about.

He looked towards the house. Where was Sumer Singh? He ought to have been back with Nandini by now...

With several thoughts tussling in his mind, Prithvi walked unhurriedly to the house. Inside, he was surprised to see a distressed looking Sumer Singh standing at a distance from the entrance to the living room, evidently in the midst of some inner conflict.

Sumer Singh looked guiltily at Prithvi, who gestured to him to come to the other side of the house.

He followed the signal and walked behind Prithvi until they were securely out of hearing range of anyone in the living room.

Before Prithvi could ask him anything, he unhappily said, "I was about to go in...but I saw Nandini laughing with the others while listening to your great-uncle's stories, and she looked happy and comfortable, and I..." Sumer Singh paused, not wishing to say that the sight of Nandini's sunny smile and cheerfulness had brought back too many memories of the good days spent in Shamli, and he'd felt extremely reluctant to ruin her good mood with this unpleasant dose of reality.

"I'll take care of it, don't worry," Prithvi said mildly. "You should pack your things...whatever you need for a few days' stay. Don't forget to take your medicines and prescriptions along. I don't want anything to eat until I reach Shamli but ask the kitchen to keep some lunch ready for you and Nandini, and also get some food packed for the way for both of you. I know there's time left for your usual lunch time, but we won't be stopping for food until we reach Shamli, and you'll need to have some food on the way before taking your medicines."

Sumer Singh didn't protest against Prithvi's statement that he wouldn't eat anything until he had seen his mother. Too many battles had been fought and lost in similar situations in the past. But he was a little thrown by something else that Prithvi had said.

"Nandini..?" Sumer Singh said uncertainly.

"She will want to come with us," Prithvi said casually. No matter how his conversation with her went, there was no outcome in which she would not want to go with them to Shamli. That much he was sure of.

"We have to let everyone know we're leaving," Prithvi added. "But only thakur should be told the real reason why we're going to Shamli. The others need to be told different things. They need to be told about my trip first. Tell Yamini and the others I'm going to Shahpur, which doesn't have anything of interest for tourists – or they will want to tag along. And thakur can tell Yamini and Grishma that he will send them on a tour of some of the family's palaces or something of that sort. You don't usually accompany me on business trips, so don't tell them you're going with me. Once Nandini says she needs to go to Shamli, thakur can suggest that you too should go along since you haven't been to Shamli in years, and since it is close to Shahpur, the two of you are coming with me. The Garewals will also have to be told something, but I'll discuss that with Nandini first."

Sumer Singh nodded. "Okay."

"Wait until Nandini comes out of the room. Then go and speak to thakur in private," Prithvi said thoughtfully. "You can do the other things after that."

"Yes, okay. And I'll try calling Bhoothnathji again until he answers."

"He'd called me just now," Prithvi said in a low tone. "She's already in Vrindavan, and she's not well."

Shocked, Sumer Singh looked at him. Priyamvada was already in Vrindavan? Images of the queen and simple house in Shamli with its simpler inhabitants clashed horribly in his head. They were just too incongruent. And the queen was sick...which put a terrible spin on the whole situation.

He was feeling increasingly afraid to think of what was awaiting them in Shamli...

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

Nandini gaped in mingled horror and hilarity at Uday Singh and then said with a protesting laugh, "No! No way! I don't believe that."

"It's all true," Uday Singh insisted, "I have it straight from the owners of the palace resort where they shot the movie."

As everyone else laughed, Nandini too chuckled and shook her head, unable to believe the decidedly creepy, controversial story that Uday Singh had narrated about the actors of a multi-starrer that had recently become a big hit.

"Check the timelines of the news about them to see if it's true," Uday Singh insisted.

"Yes, we should do that," Grishma said with a giggle.

"On it," Yamini announced, whipping out her phone and typing into it.

Rajeshwari hurried over to them and the three of them began to read through the numerous articles that showed up about the actors.

Nandini watched them amusedly and then heard her phone ringing. She turned and stretched an arm to pick it from the back of the sofa, and her face flushed faintly on seeing the number. It was not one that was not saved in her phone yet, but she knew who the call was from.

Flustered, Nandini muttered an apology and got up and walked a little away from the others and keeping her back to them, she answered the call

"I need to talk to you," Prithvi said briefly. "Could you come out of the room for a minute?"

The grimness in his tone turned Nandini's confusion into alarm.

But repressing nervous questions for the moment, Nandini murmured, "Okay," and then respectfully asking Uday Singh to excuse her since she had to take the call, she left the room hurriedly. The other girls were engrossed in their search and didn't notice her departure from the room.

Prithvi and Sumer Singh were waiting some distance away. Sumer Singh gave her a strained smile and then hurriedly walked into the room behind her. Bewildered, she looked at Prithvi, and suddenly felt very afraid. What had Sumer Singh appeared stressed, and why did Prithvi seem to be under tremendous strain? Had something gone wrong at home?

She darted towards him with fear in her eyes, and then agitatedly whispered, "Is something wrong?"

"Your family is fine," Prithvi assured her immediately, correctly interpreting the reason for her panic. "It's about something else. Come with me. We'll talk in the library," he muttered while turning away.

He was feeling miserably certain that this conversation was going to be much rougher than he had thought, and it was not going to wind up swiftly. 

Nandini looked at him indecisively, but followed his lead as he headed towards the rooms at the other end of the house. He'd said it was not about her family but she didn't believe it. What else could it be about...

Prithvi opened a door to the left, and there was a short but wide corridor, with one door on each side. And at the end of the corridor was a dark brown door with a large, gilded handle. He turned the handle and held the door open for her to enter the room.

Nandini looked around distractedly for a second. 

If she'd visited this room on any normal occasion, she would probably have gone into raptures of delight on seeing it. It was a beautiful library. The kind she had only read about in books, with shelves of books stacked up from floor to ceiling, very comfortable armchairs, and tall French windows that opened to an enchanting view. But as it was, she barely gave it a real glance before turning around to face Prithvi.

Her anxiety skyrocketed again on seeing the sombre expression on his face. She fearfully asked, "What is it? What is wrong?"

"Sit down," he said briefly, indicating the chairs.

"No! Just tell me what has happened," she demanded anxiously.

Prithvi hesitated for a moment, and then, feeling uncomfortable and strangely vulnerable, he apprehensively said, "I'd mentioned my mother's mental health issue some time ago...she's actually not well right now. And she -"

"Why are you telling me this now?" Nandini interrupted warily, beset by sharper fears and misgivings. He had hardly shared anything with her voluntarily even when they were together. And considering their current conflicts, it was even more unlike him to speak about something like this with her without reason...

Prithvi sighed. "Your grandfather had called me just now. My mother is...she's in your house right now," he muttered, not looking at her. "And she's...unwell."

Nandini didn't hear anything past the second sentence. Her face turned chalk-white, and a paralysing fear seized her insides, causing her to almost black out.

Priyamvada was in her house...in Vrindavan...with her family.

All of a sudden, she was back in Aadyabhoomi. Her face was hurting and there was blood on her fingers. And Priyamvada was staring at her with demented eyes full of hate and rage, hissing, "Go back to Shamli. If you come near my son or me again, I will burn you alive....in front of your family. And then I'll do the same thing to each one of them."

Prithvi watched her in shock.

He could see the abject terror on her colourless face, and he knew instantly that she was reliving what she had undergone five years ago. He could feel her being gripped by the trauma of whatever she had endured years ago in Aadyabhoomi. And he felt overcome with rage, hate and frustration towards the person who was responsible for her agonised fear.

Nandini moved lifelessly to the nearest chair and sat down heavily.

A powerful anguish passed across Prithvi's face, but then he forced himself to get a grip over his emotions. He didn't have the luxury of time to process his feelings now. He had to help her come out of this painful spell, and he had to be very gentle...

Steeling his heart, he walked to her and knelt down in front of her. He reached for the ice-cold hands that were clenched tightly in her lap, and he softly began to rub them between his own.

"Nandini, look at me," he said softly.

She obeyed the order unthinkingly, and it was the tenderness she saw in his eyes that made the first dent in the dreadful numbness that had encased her in the last few minutes.

"She'll hurt them," Nandini whispered shakily.

"She won't," Prithvi said calmly, with an implacable force in his gaze and tone. "You don't have to be afraid. No one in your family is in any danger from her."

Nandini's lips trembled. "She hates me and my family, and she's angry with me because I supported Rajeshwari. She will take that anger out on them." A sliver of anger and revulsion arose inside her at how weak and helpless she was feeling. But the devastating memories had hit her out of the blue, transporting her back to one of the most horrendous moments of her existence.

"No, she will not," Prithvi promised forcefully. "Do you think I would let her come anywhere near your family if she was dangerous to them? She has wanted to visit them for a long time, but not with any bad intent. She thinks it will make me happy if she becomes friendly and close to your family, and then she'll be able to mend her relationship with me." It wasn't a complete lie...just a partial one...

Nandini stared at him in disbelief for several moments, and then she wretchedly said, "You're saying that just to calm me down. You're worried too...I know you are!"

Prithvi caught her ashen face gently with warm hands, and gazing at her steadily, he quietly said, "I swear on your family that she has not gone there with any intention to hurt them."

Stunned, Nandini stared at him, and very slowly, the the crippling fear that had shut down her brain started to melt under the sheer, unshakable strength of the truth in his words.

He moved to embrace her in the same moment that she leaned forward to bury her face in his shoulder, feeling drained, small and defenceless.

He held her protectively and smoothed her hair...and the solid strength that he radiated seemed to permeate her spirit too, infusing her with calmness.

"Why are you so worried then?" she asked in a muffled voice against his shoulder, unwilling to emerge from the safe haven of his embrace.

"I'm worried only because of my mother's health," Prithvi said reluctantly. "She's not feeling well...emotionally, and I didn't want her to travel anywhere. But she hates acknowledging the problem, and so she travelled to Shamli to prove me wrong, and now she's ill and your family will have to look after her until I reach there. And you don't have to worry about the nature of her illness," he added in a low tone. "She doesn't become violent or harm anyone."

Nandini tried to understand what he was saying. But while she was feeling more composed at the mind level, her heart was still only recovering from the brutal remerging of old trauma, and his words were not fully sinking into her mind. It felt as if he was talking about someone else, and not about Priyamvada, whose image in her head was that of a hatefully cold, vicious and sneering woman who was perfectly in charge of herself. Try as she might, she couldn't imagine a Priyamvada who was unwell or weak or powerless.

With eyes still closed, Nandini slowly asked, "What happens to her when she's...?"

Prithvi didn't answer for a long moment, then in a slightly constricted voice, he said, "Do you remember how she was the day we found her?"

The question struck Nandini with a huge shock. Her eyes snapped open, and lifting her head, she stared at him in dismay, overwhelmed by heart-rending memories. Each moment of that shocking, extremely poignant day and the subsequent days in Aadyabhoomi was burnt deeply into her mind and heart...

"She goes back to that state," Prithvi said quietly. "Not fully...but to some extent, and there are some other problems too," he mumbled. She was frightened enough without hearing about his mother's hallucinations and other issues...and anyway, she would see the truth for herself once they reached Shamli...

With her heart twisting in agony and a severe ache in her throat, Nandini looked at his pale, subdued face, acutely sensing the tense control he was exercising on his features and his voice to suppress painful emotions and sound casual.

Forgetting her own turmoil and fears and grief, Nandini silently put her arms around his neck and enfolded him in a fierce, loving hug, instinctively offering to him the same tender comfort that he had given her shortly ago. She could no longer think about her personal sentiments regarding Priyamvada being in her home and in the midst of her family. All she wanted was to reduce the torturous burdens he was carrying, and now she found herself praying with the utmost sincerity and desperation for Priyamvada to recover from whatever was ailing her.

The strong arms that were already wound around her tightened now, and his face pressed against her shoulder.

Prithvi resolved distractedly that he would exclusively set aside time later for hating himself for not pulling away right now, and for letting himself briefly forget his troubles in the intoxicating warmth of her embrace and the feeling of her hand gently caressing his head, which were together giving him an incredible peace that he needed desperately.

After a few minutes, still encased in her arms, he tentatively said, "Sumer Baba and I will be leaving for Shamli in a short while."

"I'm going too," she said quietly.

"I know you are," he said lightly. "We'll go to Jateshwar first so you can pick up your luggage."

"Everything I need for now is in my handbag. We don't need to go to Jateshwar."

"Okay," he muttered. "I didn't tell your grandfather you're here. You'll have to let them know. And you'll need to give some other excuse to the Garewals. They don't know about my mother's illness."

Unconsciously running her fingers through his hair, she thoughtfully replied, "I'll tell everyone at home that I heard about your mother's visit and her illness and I wanted to come back home. They won't need any bigger reason than that. And I'll tell Aruna aunty that grandpa wanted me to return to take care of some neighbour who is unwell. They will understand that, and they'll know why I couldn't state that as a reason here."

Scowling, Prithvi moved back a little to look at her. "He makes you do that?"

Annoyance sparked briefly in Nandini's eyes. "He doesn't make me do anything. I do it because I like to," she said honestly. "And it happens very rarely," she lied feebly.

"Yeah, right," he muttered dryly, proceeding to again bury his face in the curve of her neck and shoulder.

Her face reddened, and she was overcome by an indescribable love as she held him close...

Prithvi vaguely said, "Tell everyone here that you need to return home because some close relatives have come to stay at your house. Or Rajeshwari will want to come with us." His friends and Rajeshwari wouldn't understand the reason but they wouldn't question it.

"Will it be a problem if she comes along?" Nandini asked guardedly.

"Yes, she gets very upset when she sees my mother in that state," Prithvi said soberly. "We can tell thakur the truth, but not the others in the house. They will be told that I'm going to Shahpur for work, and Sumer baba is accompanying you because he hasn't been to Shamli for years, and the three of us are leaving together because Shamli is close to Shahpur, and I can drop you both on the way."

"Alright..."

There was something very strange and unusual about what was happening here, Prithvi mulled indistinctly, without any genuine curiosity. The sane, rational voice in his head was snarling something at him in disbelief, mockery and frustration. But as of now, he couldn't feel any interest in what it was saying...

Instead, he uncertainly asked Nandini, "When you talk to your grandfather or mother, could you ask them how my mother's doing?"

She stroked his head tenderly. "Sure, I'll ask. But if there was anything worrisome, he would have told you. And if he didn't say anything, it means she's okay. And also, grandpa, Maa, and Prakash...all of them are really good at taking care of people," she said gently. "You'll see when we reach Shamli."

He lifted up his head to gaze at her, and was rivetted by the extraordinary warmth and adoration radiating from her beautiful face and the delicate fingers that were touching his face.

He observed the deepening colour on her skin, and the sweet trepidation in her black eyes, and he felt the faint quickening of her warm breath...

And before his mind – or hers – could interfere, he leaned ahead and tenderly kissed her lush pink lips.

After about a minute, Prithvi drew back with a flushed countenance.

"Sorry," he mumbled as he withdrew his arms from around her and stood up swiftly. "You can go to the hall now and tell them about wanting to go back to Shamli," he said, without looking at her. "I need to go to the office room first. We should be able to leave in about half an hour. Just go straight out, and you'll see the living room at the end of the corridor to your right," he added awkwardly, and then turned and strode quickly to the door, which was locked.

He'd locked the door without thinking, Prithvi thought uneasily as he opened the door and stepped out. That was not an auspicious sign for the times to come...

Nandini was startled out of an exquisite reverie by the sound of her phone. She couldn't find it immediately, and with her heart continuing to thump madly, fumbled around briefly before locating it on the left side of the chair.

She answered it hurriedly on seeing it was from her mother.

"Nandini, would you be able to come home today?" Sarojini asked her daughter in a whisper without much of a preface. "Prithvi's mother is here, and she appears to be sick. And your grandfather also said once or twice that it would have been good if you were here."

"But what has happened to her?" Nandini asked her mother quickly.

"I don't know what the issue is," Sarojini said worriedly. "I think your grandfather has some idea but he's not saying anything. She's sleeping as of now. I'll tell you the whole story once you're here. It's difficult to tell you everything on the phone. So...you'll come?"

"Yes, yes, I'll come back," Nandini reassured.

Sarojini heaved a big sigh of relief. "Okay, your grandfather said Prithvi and Sumer Singhji will be coming to Shamli today. And the place you say is close to Taravan, isn't it? So, we can request Prithvi to pick you up from there."

"I'm in Taravan now," Nandini said awkwardly. "Rajeshwari heard I was here, and she wanted to meet me, so I came to visit her."

"Oh...Aruna didn't tell me you were going there," Sarojini said in surprise. Prithvi too hadn't told her father-in-law anything about Nandini being there. But that was fully understandable in view of the disturbing news that he had received about his mother.

"I think aunty was planning to do a video call from here," Nandini fibbed, but knowing Aruna Garewal, it was a reasonable assumption. "But they are not here yet. I came earlier to spend time with Rajeshwari."

"Okay, this makes everything much easier," Sarojini said gratefully. "Hold for a minute, I'll tell your grandfather."

Nandini heard her mother speaking to her grandfather, and the latter's delighted responses.

Then her grandfather came on the line and excitedly said, "Nandini, you're in Taravan? It's divine grace that you're there, because you will be able to leave with Prithvi, and no time will be wasted, and you'll be back home today," he said delightedly.

"Yes, grandpa," Nandini smiled at his happiness. "I'll be telling everyone here that some relatives have come home, and that's why I'm leaving today."

"Good, good, but you can't tell that to the Garewals and you cannot tell them the truth either," Bhoothnath said with a sudden seriousness. "Because they don't know about Prithvi's mother's illness. So, you must not tell them anything about her visit. If they know she's here, they might also think of coming to Shamli. Or wait, it will be better if I call them up and tell them I need your help with healing someone in the locality. Then they will not ask many questions. And it's not a lie, because I do need your help in this case," he said meditatively. "And Prithvi has told me what I need to tell them about the him and Sumer Singh travelling to Shamli."

A chill ran down Nandini's spine, and it wasn't because her grandfather had decided to use the same excuse that she had decided to give the Garewals.

On not getting a response, Bhoothnath anxiously said, "Nandini, are you listening?"

"Yes, I'm here," Nandini mumbled. "Grandpa, why did you say you need my help with her?"

"I cannot discuss all that on the phone," Bhoothnath declared firmly. "I'll tell you once you're back. Now let me call Prithvi and talk to him about bringing you along..."

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