Clutching the small bag to his chest, Sankatmochan nervously peered out of Ayodhya's door. Nandini was watering the plants in Vrindavan's courtyard.

Sankatmochan sighed.

He'd not felt adequately courageous to discourage Prithvi from going on a wild goose chase to find a long dead mother. He had also held his peace on the worrisome topic of Nandini being kept in the dark.

It was for his own well-being. He had not seen Prithvi in that sort of a mood for a long time. But the memories weren't so far in the past that he'd forget the consequences of disturbing his friend when he was in that particular frame of mind.

Prithvi had not phoned after meeting that delusional woman who claimed to have seen Priyamvada, forcing him and Sumer Singh to endure more than twelve hours of paralyzing anxiety. Then, today morning, the call had finally come, and Prithvi had told them exactly what they didn't want to hear.

He was going to look for his mother.

A flurry of phone calls had taken place in the subsequent hour between Sumer Singh and several of his friends and acquaintances, as travel and living arrangements had to be finalised. The planning was difficult, because it was impossible predict the duration of the search. It could take days or weeks or months...

By God's grace, a swift and easy solution had arrived from an unexpected quarter. Prithvi had given his approval to the arrangement, albeit reluctantly. And it was also decided that Sumer Singh would leave Shamli very soon and join the search.

Sankatmochan sighed again.

He would have liked to accompany Prithvi. But he was ordered to stay put in Shamli and continue to be of help to the Bharadwaj family. And Prithvi had also entrusted him with two life-threatening missions.

He badly wished he had armed guards to protect him. But to his bad luck, even Sumer Singh had outright refused to accompany him.

He started on realising that Nandini had nearly finished watering the plants and was about to go back into the house. He had to speak to her right away or risk displeasing Prithvi.

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

Nandini swivelled and smiled at Sankatmochan.

The plump man was looking nervous as he approached her.

Her smile slipped. She instantly knew what he was going to say. She had known since yesterday's evening...

Her limp fingers nearly let go of the watering can, but she tightened her hold on it at the last moment. She swiftly looked down at it to conceal the tears in her eyes, and to seize a moment to get rid of the lump in her throat. A sense of murderous rage was infinitely helpful in doing both.

She regained composure just as Sankatmochan halted in his steps about four feet away.

"He's not returning....right?" Nandini asked softly.

Taken aback by the calm query, Sankatmochan floundered.

He had prepared an impressive preamble and long list of excuses for Prithvi. All for nothing. He would have to skip right to the concluding statements.

"He will come back to Shamli! It will take a little time... that's all," he swore. "He - he has to find something out. And once he does, he will come back here! He will!"

"I hope he doesn't," she said frostily. "I hope I never see his face again."

"Don't say that!" Sankatmochan pleaded. "He wouldn't have left if it was not important. He would have told you everything but he...it's difficult...he must not have...Look, he wanted me to give you this!"

He pulled out a swanky, pricey-looking phone from his bag and held it out. "He had asked me to give you this. It's a brand new phone. The best there is. Very expensive. I've put in a card for you too. It's for your convenience! You don't have to depend on the landline any more. You can talk to him whenever - from wherever - you wish to! Isn't that wonderful?!" he rattled eagerly.

To his immense relief, Nandini took the phone with her free hand. Then she turned and walked to the flowering hedge.

Setting down the watering can, she knelt on the ground. And then she pushed the phone deep into the moist soil. She grasped a handful of mud from underneath a nearby rose bush and covered the glistening top of the mobile so that it was completely invisible.

Nandini grimly looked up at Sankatmochan.

"When a tree sprouts here with phones in place of leaves, I'll think about speaking to your friend."

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

It was the biggest garage in the town closest to Devgarh. And its flamboyantly-dressed, middle-aged owner, Deepak was waiting on tenterhooks as a young man inspected a second-hand but sturdy jeep for purchase. He didn't usually attend to customers personally. But this particular one had an unusually affluent and aristocratic look...

The customer's phone started ringing. The man answered it with a brisk "What did she say?"

Deepak heard a male voice on the other side blabber something in a mournful tone.

"Stop whining, you moron," Prithvi said impatiently, studying the innards of the vehicle. "You're lucky she didn't crack your skull with it. Now tell me exactly what happened."

He halted in his inspection and listened for a minute. Then he amusedly muttered, "She said that, did she? That's my girl..."

"But what next? What do you want me to do?" Sankatmochan asked anxiously.

"Tell her to water it daily and to only use good quality fertilisers," Prithvi said seriously, and grinned as he cut the call in the middle of Sankatmochan's spluttering.

Nandini's reaction had been a lot milder than he'd expected, he mused thoughtfully. And knowing her... that was a very bad portent of things to come...

At the moment, however, he didn't have the time or patience to mollify her. She'd come around. She always did. At any rate, he had more important matters to handle. And he had to focus on those matters single-mindedly hereon.

Last night, soppy and irrelevant emotions had gained an upper hand on him, and he was disgusted by the lapse. It wouldn't happen again.

Thankfully, the suffocating pall on his mind had lifted with dawn, and cold clarity had returned.

The months he had spent in Shamli had been a dream, he mused jadedly while inspecting the rear of the vehicle. A beautiful dream admittedly, but fated to end sooner or later.

The events that had taken place in the past two days were more in line with the overall rhythm of his life.

It wasn't a pleasant life or a comfortable one.

Nonetheless, all said and done, it had a malevolent charm of its own...

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

"He has left for...God knows how long...and he didn't tell you?" Nishi asked Nandini disbelievingly, quickly exchanging a shocked glance with Vrinda.

The three girls were sitting on Nishi's bed. They were supposed to be studying together. But their books were resting peacefully in their bags. The discussion had turned to a completely different topic almost as soon as they had met...

"No," Nandini murmured as her fingertips traced the small pink bunnies on the pillow in her lap. "He didn't say a word."

She had succeeded in camouflaging her misery and anger under a guise of exam-related stress in front of her family. In front of Nishi and Vrinda, however, her efforts had gone to waste. They had pried out the truth in no time. And she was grateful. The almost physical pain raging within her had not abated. But she felt lighter... and surer about the decision she had taken...

"How could he do that?" Vrinda asked angrily.

"It's not the first time. But it will be the last," Nandini muttered.

Nishi hesitantly asked, "What do you mean?"

"I'm sick of it. Sick of everything he puts me through," Nandini said quietly. "Even if he returns, I don't want to have anything to do with him. I'm done"

"You're serious? You're actually ending it?" Vrinda asked in dismay.

"Yes, I am," Nandini said determinedly.

"But don't you think you -"

"I don't want to talk about him anymore," Nandini pleaded. "Let's get back to our books," she mumbled, pushing aside the pillow and hastily opening her college bag. "There is so much to study. Our exams will be here before we know it..."

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

Kadambari glared at the women who were regarding her pityingly from the other side of the vegetable vendor's cart.

The village chieftain's wife timidly said, "We didn't mean to hurt your feelings, Kadambari. We were only saying that the prince.... He will be very busy and he may not -"

"He may not come today but he will come here soon!" Kadambari said crossly, randomly picking up vegetables and stuffing them into her bag.

"Yes, yes, he will!" the frightened women mumbled hastily. None of them wished to antagonise her. Everyone in the village was already afraid of her, and with her recently discovered importance in the prince's life, she had become a revered figure in the village.

Kadambari stiffly paid for the purchases and set off for her home, chins wobbling.

The astounding news about Priyamvada - that Haimavati had actually seen her in a far-off place - had spread like wildfire yesterday in the village. After people had gotten over their amazement, the village had witnessed a flurry of celebrations and excitement even before the veracity of the news was confirmed.

The turn of events had shocked Kadambari beyond belief. She was one of the oldest servants of the royal family and she had not heard a word about the news or the search operations that had been going on for months...

A few "well-wishers" had visited Kadambari and had advised her to give up hopes of being remembered by the prince since he was going to find his real mother.

She had argued with all of them, and had asserted that they were being sceptical because they had not met him. The ignorant people thought of him as the beautiful and mischievous child he had once been. If they had any idea of the extraordinary person he had become...

She had tried to phone him in the morning but the call had not gone through. It had not worried her though. She was sure Prithvi would come. She knew it in her heart .

Absorbed in mentally denouncing her idiotic neighbours, she didn't register the noise of a speeding vehicle until it was suddenly too loud.

Kadambari shrieked as a big jeep came to a noisy halt a meter behind her. Bouncing back instantly, she surged ahead and banged a fat fist on the bonnet.

"Are you trying to kill me?!" she yelled, squinting against the sunlight. "Get out of the jeep! I'm going to take you to the police!"

Prithvi disembarked from the driver's seat and reproachfully looked at her. "Choti maa, you have to threaten me with the police every time we meet?" he asked accusingly, while walking around the vehicle towards her

Kadambari shrieked again, though this time as an expression of pure relief and happiness. "You came!" she exclaimed, ecstatically returning his brief, warm hug.

He bemusedly looked down at the short and chubby woman. "Why are you shocked? I'd told you I'd be here today."

"I knew you would - but everyone said - oh forget all that! You're here!" Kadambari beamed at him.

"Yes, and we'll leave immediately after eating a big lunch," he announced as he grabbed her nearly overflowing bag to verify that it contained his favourite vegetables.

"I'm going to cook the best meal in the world for you," she promised gladly.

Growing rumblings and murmurs in the background distracted her before she could ask him about Haimavati.

A small crowd of euphoric villagers had gathered at a distance, and everyone was gawking at Prithvi. More and more people were arriving from all directions to join the excited throng. Men, women and children were standing with their palms joined. All of them jostling for a good look at the face of their prince. Each face - young and old - was agog with interest... rapt with joy....

Happy and proud, she prepared to take to task those foolish people who had tried to convince her that she would be forgotten. But without warning, she was being propelled towards the car and bundled into the passenger seat.

"Let's get home. You have an hour to cook that lunch," Prithvi informed her.

Bewildered, Kadambari gaped at her child while grasping at the bag that was unceremoniously dumped in her lap.

Based on her long experience with his family, she'd expected him to revel in the spotlight. But he seemed brutally indifferent to the worshipful and delighted attention of the huge mass of jostling bodies.

He didn't acknowledge the swarm in any way.... didn't even glance at the thrilled and devoted masses as he got into the driver's seat...

He didn't want any part of his magnificent birthright, Kadambari thought bleakly.

However, if the princess was indeed alive.... if they found her...it would mean there was a ray of hope for the royal family...

Because Prithvi would not be able to turn his back on the legacy in that case.

Priyamvada wouldn't let him.

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

Lakshmi irritably threw the broom on the floor and stretched her back. It was her first day on the job and she was already fed up. This was too much work for such a paltry salary. She wiped her sweaty face with the edge of her pallu.

She and the other maid had finished cleaning most parts of the ashram. Manisha had gone to sweep the kitchen and she had come outside to clean the long veranda that opened to a big and dusty compound, where some women were drying chillies and mangoes on large pieces of cloth.

Few women were sitting in the shade of the veranda. Some defeated-looking elderly ladies were chatting quietly amongst themselves. A woman with bruised features was staring dully into space. She had wandered into the ashram that very morning after being beaten up and thrown out of her house by her husband. At the farthest end of the veranda, a woman was stitching something on a ragged piece of cloth.

Lakshmi picked up the broom and struck the floor with it. "Go sit elsewhere, all of you," she ordered. "I have to sweep here."

Everyone slowly rose and shuffled back inside the building. Everyone apart from the woman who was stitching.

Muttering under her breath, Lakshmi walked up to the inmate and halted beside her. The woman's saree was old and faded, and locks of greying hair had escaped from her hair bun.

Lakshmi looked at the big, clumsy stitches that looked like letters. Her ten-year-old daughter was much more accomplished with a needle, she mulled contemptuously.

"Get up and go inside!" she commanded loudly. "I have to clean this place."

The woman didn't stir and continued to make uneven stitches on the scruffy piece of cloth.

"Are you deaf?" Lakshmi asked crossly, bending to grab a skinny arm and yank her up.

"Don't touch that woman! She's mad!"

Startled by the warning, Lakshmi dropped her hand and turned to see Manisha rushing towards her.

"Mad?" Lakshmi asked in sudden fear. "I thought this ashram was only for homeless women. They take in mad people too?"

"She's not that kind of mad. She's harmless. I think," Manisha added doubtfully. "But everyone is afraid of her. Even the people who run this place talk to her very respectfully. If you want her to obey you, you have to talk to her like this..."

With an assurance born out of experience, Manisha turned to the woman who was laboriously weaving a rusty needle through the cloth.

"Would you please show some pity on us and move to another place while we clean this spot?" she pleaded with joined hands.

The woman stopped stitching, and carefully wrapped the cloth into a bulky square, keeping the needle in the centre. She stood up with an unexpected grace and agility, and moved towards the door of the building.

Lakshmi stared at the weathered profile of the female as she walked past with a bowed head.

"Who is she?" she asked Manisha.

"I don't know," Manisha whispered, feeling uncomfortable as the unstable subject of their conversation was still within earshot. "No one knows. But some of the older inmates say she must have belonged to some big family...because she only pays attention if you talk to her very politely."

"Who does she think she is? A queen?" Lakshmi scorned.

Priyamvada halted. Her head rose by a fraction.

She twisted slowly, and her black eyes glittered at the vermin that had asked the question.

It shrank back with a terrified air.

Savouring a rare moment of contentment, Priyamvada turned and elegantly continued on her way...

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