Nandini sighed and turned in the warm circle around her, burying her face in a broad chest. Prithvi's hands clamped a little harder around her. She closed her eyes to fight a sudden assault of tears.

She didn't want to leave today or ever. A part of her mind was exhorting her to promise him that she would be by his side for as long as he needed. But the words didn't get past the constriction in her throat, because the miserable truth was that she didn't even have the right to make such a promise at this juncture in their lives.

The embrace loosened. Disappointed, she looked up.

"We should get going," Prithvi said listlessly, dropping his arms.

As he spun to head back to his seat, she tried to evaluate his mood. He settled behind the steering wheel and regarded her unsmilingly. 

"Need an invitation?" 

She groaned mentally.

He was definitely furious, and not just with her. He was furious with himself for being honest with her, she recognized dismally on her way to the passenger seat.

All lines of real communication had shut down again.

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

"How were your exams?"

Taken aback by the question, Nandini stared at a grim-looking Prithvi. This was the first time he had spoken after getting into the jeep for the second time. In the meantime, they had left the outskirts behind and appeared to be very near Purvanagar's centre. Though an impoverished air hung over the town, the roads were colourful and busy, and they had provided a good distraction until now.

She fidgeted, alarmed by the severity of his tone. "They were okay. I think."

"Just okay?" he frowned. "And even that's a guess?"

Nandini pretended to be fascinated by her hands to avoid telling him that she didn't remember much about those days. Exams had seemed inconsequential when her heart and mind had been breaking apart. She had sat at a desk and her fingers had moved mechanically on the answer sheets, regurgitating information that she had learnt by rote.

"Doesn't matter. It's not as though you plan to study further or work after graduation," he said derisively when she didn't reply.

Stung by the assumption, she stiffly said, "I will do my masters. And I will get a job too."

"As a maid, yes," Prithvi concurred. "Focus on cooking, cleaning, roaming with friends and chatting with the world and its neighbours till you run out of breath. Those are the skills you'll need in the real world."

"Will you please stop!" she railed angrily. "Studies are important to me. This time I couldn't concentrate because you  -"

"Don't make me an excuse," he warned.

"Why shouldn't I? All my problems begin and end with you," Nandini snapped.

"Lucky. For me, you're a problem that just doesn't end," he retaliated callously.

Angry tears filled her eyes. "You won't spare any opportunity to make me cry."

"Yeah, it's the one joy I have left in life," he said sarcastically and then roughly adjoined, "Here's a suggestion. Don't reserve logic and reason just for those times when you want to prioritize society's opinions over me. Sometimes, for your own good, use your mind and focus on what needs to be done."

Nandini rigidly wiped her cheeks dry. Then she pulled open the cabinet beneath the dashboard to draw out the phone, and displayed it prominently.

Prithvi clenched his teeth. He had forgotten her boundless capacity to irritate him. He would drop her back at the earliest. She could go back to Vishranti Nagar or Shamli or wherever she wanted and continue to live with her head in the clouds.

The vehicle took a sharp turn and entered a congested street with rundown buildings and shops on either side.

"How much further is it?" she asked frostily.

"A couple of light years in your company," he retorted, inviting an infuriated look. "When we reach the shelter, I'll go inside alone. You can wait in the jeep."

The fury in her grudgingly conceded some space to uncertainty. "You don't want me to come along?"

"I don't think I can tolerate any more joy today," he said tersely.

"I'm not going to cry," she said indignantly.

He snorted.

"I won't," she argued heatedly. "I've been to orphanages and old age homes in Shamli many times." He didn't need to know that she had consistently ended up feeling tearful during those visits.

"These places will - might be different," he countered impatiently. He knew the shelters she was referring to, and that those institutions had reasonably good financial backing, and were run by kind and dedicated people. Most other shelters weren't so fortunate.

She firmly countered his ill-tempered gaze. "I can handle it."

"Fine," he said tersely, and minutes later, brought the vehicle to a stop in front of a building. "Get down here. I'll park the jeep and come back."

Flashing a victorious smile purely for his benefit, she got down from the vehicle.

"Don't go inside till I return," he ordered tersely.

Her glare went to waste since he didn't wait to witness her reaction.

Why did she have to wait for him, Nandini mulled crossly. She could go inside to meet those in charge and try to give some information till Prithvi joined them. She turned to look at the decrepit one-storied building and felt the first flicker of uneasiness.

Its main door was about four meters away from a rusted gate and moderately high compound wall. A board on the gate said it was an ashram for homeless and destitute women. The structure's dilapidated appearance was upsetting. She felt a wrench in her heart on thinking about the women who had no other place to go. Maybe Prithvi was right...

She glanced at the jeep that was turning into an alley, and fresh defiance surged through her.

No, she wouldn't be weak.

Nandini resolutely walked to the gate. She opened it and stepped into the yard, then paused and listened intently.

Some noises were coming from the building. Their volume increased till she could hear a man shouting in spite of the sounds in the backdrop. More voices - male and female - joined in. Disturbing thumps could also be heard intermittently. Evidently, a fight was going on..

She was anxiously debating the wisdom of going inside the building when the door flew open and a thin woman in a tattered saree was thrown out. Blood was trickling from her mouth.

Nandini watched in appalled disbelief as a stout man in gleaming white clothes emerged and grabbed the woman's hair and began dragging her out.

An elderly couple came hurrying out of the door. They yelled at the short but thickset attacker and kept trying in vain to pull him away.

"I'll make you stand naked in front of the world. You'll learn your lesson then," he said maliciously, hitting his victim and pulling at her clothes. The woman grunted with pain and struggled vehemently to resist his efforts to drag her to the road.

Boiling with anger, Nandini moved forward but was held back by a woman's hands. On turning, she saw a swelling crowd of morbidly curious faces who were discussing the scene in murmurs. Not one of them seemed inclined to help. Her arms had been seized by a frightened young lady who whispered, "Don't interfere. He'll attack you too."

The man's voice jeered in the background. "I'm going to strip you and then I'll throw you in front of hoodlums."

With furious tears swamping her eyes, Nandini pushed the thin hands away, intending to help regardless of the consequences.

Someone familiar stalked past her. She rubbed the moisture from her eyes and instantly felt giddy with fierce relief.

Prithvi had arrived. He wouldn't allow anything wrong to happen...

In the ensuing moment, however, another kind of dread sneaked up on her.

He had arrived, yes....and he was enraged.

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

Prithvi courteously tapped the man's shoulders.

Interrupted in his bid to yank off the woman's saree, the fellow turned with a snarl, showing tobacco-stained teeth.

A hard, open-handed slap snapped his head sideways. He whirled once and staggered as lights erupted in front of his eyes because of blinding pain in his jaw.

Prithvi looked at the couple that had been trying to protect the woman. "Take her inside," he said calmly.

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

The directive yanked Nandini out from a nightmarish haze. She rushed ahead to help the shivering figure on the ground.

Her nerves were still jarred from the loud crack that had resounded in the air just seconds ago. She had heard a few gasps behind her, and then a charged silence had fallen as the crowd's mood shifted discernibly from voyeurism to bloodlust. She wasn't immune from a surge of vindictive pleasure herself. Alongside, however, was a terrified awareness that Prithvi's anger wasn't going to abate soon.

She warily glanced at him as she put a comforting arm around the battered woman and helped to lift her to her feet. He didn't meet her gaze, but she was conscious of a leashed ferocity in his frame. It was a grisly reminder that, in his case, a nonchalant demeanour was far more dangerous than outright fury.

The aged man watched his wife and the other two women enter the safety of the building, and then turned to stare at Prithvi.

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

"You ********** !" the short man wheezed angrily at Prithvi, tottering on the spot. "How dare -"

"Save the dialogues for later," Prithvi advised sincerely, idly advancing towards him."I've just started."

The other man's hand went up to cover a rapidly swelling cheek at the ominous words. "Don't interfere in my family matters! I can treat her as I wish. I'm her brother-in-law," he spluttered, backing away nevertheless.

Exuding a cold aggression, Prithvi smiled. "You are? Then you, my friend, have earned a huge family bonus."

Pain exploded in the man's skull again as a brutal second slap landed on the same cheek. The agony had barely registered when a savage back-handed slap almost broke his jaw on the other side. And then another blow...

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

The astounded old man watched violence being elevated to a form of art.

The young lad was delivering brutal strikes with a chilling casualness. It was plain that the beating was designed to be as degrading as it was vicious. Slaps were raining down on the ************ so swiftly that it didn't leave room for retaliation. And each wallop was shoving him further away from the shelter.

The excited crowd was now scrambling away from the gate...

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

Prithvi looked pitilessly at the contorted lump rolling on the ground in agony.

"How does it feel to be on the receiving end?" he asked interestedly.

An agonised wail rose from the man who was clutching his broken face.

"Don't cry. This fantastic experience isn't over yet," Prithvi comforted. He caught the collar of the man's kurta and yanked him up. "You wanted to conduct a strip show, didn't you? Wish granted," he said magnanimously.

Swaying on his feet, the man howled angrily as his shining white kurta was ripped off him and thrown to the ground. He hit out haphazardly and received another solid clout for his trouble. His frayed vest followed the kurta, and then his silk dhoti was also gone. In less than a minute, he was standing on the road in stained underwear, sobbing with pain and humiliation . The crowd was hooting. Some of them yelled out crude terms when he cowered with shame.

"Get me a matchbox," Prithvi said to no one in particular, carelessly kicking the clothes into a bundle.

Scuffling sounds were heard here and there, and then half a dozen matchboxes were offered to him. Picking the nearest one, he looked grimly at the shuddering, near naked monstrosity opposite him and lit a match.

"This time, it's your clothes. If there is a next time, it will be you," Prithvi said conversationally, and dropped the flaming matchstick on the small pile of clothes.

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

Priyamvada stood at the window of the drab room and stared longingly through the wide bars.

Aditya had not visited her for weeks. She was desperate to see him, and to show him her handiwork. He would know then that she had loved their child and thought of him every day.

A strong gust of air blew up dust particles into the atmosphere, forcing her to close her eyes. When she reopened them, Aditya was standing at the gate. Ecstatic, she picked up a cloth from her straw mat and scurried out of the room.

In the veranda, women sniggered as Priyamvada ran to the gate. She didn't see them or hear their laughter. Her senses were transfixed elsewhere.

Aditya hadn't moved and was gazing at the road that led to the ashram.

She stopped near him, trembling and out of breath.

"Adi...look...." she murmured feverishly, holding up the embroidered cloth.

He didn't look at her or the cloth.

"I stitched this," Priyamvada said eagerly, "Look, it's our son's name."

He continued to ignore her. Then again, he had not gazed at her or spoken a word for years. But something was different this time.

Priyamvada abruptly felt sure that her husband was waiting keenly for someone. She shuffled ahead and looked in the same direction, resentfully pondering who was deserving of the loving attention he was denying her...

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

The dingy room was cluttered with old files, newspapers, and books. A small table and two chairs were in one corner. Nandini silently stood against the wall, feeling overwhelmed and incompetent.

In a short period, she had learnt that the old couple ran the institution and their names were Gargi and Lakshman Upadhyay. They had turned their home into a shelter some years back. The young woman who had endured the horrific abuse was Manisha. The attack had not been discussed, and Nandini was grateful for it. The feeling of nausea hadn't lessened as yet. 

Seated on adjacent chairs, Mrs Upadhyay was treating Manisha's wounds at the moment. Nandini wished she could have been of some use, but her offers of help had firmly, though kindly, been dismissed.

What was Prithvi upto, she wondered restively. The crashing sounds of his blows – and the other man's barks and screeches - had followed her into this room, and continued while Mrs Upadhyay had hunted for the medicine box. A disquieting stillness had followed, and then she'd heard faint hoots and laughter.

Instinct and experience said he was unscathed. Nonetheless, minutes ago, she had surrendered to fear and had decided to go look for him. But then his relaxed murmurs had reached her ears from somewhere in the vicinity, letting her breathe again. Her body, however, remained cold. And it would not return to normal till she could see him and confirm that he was not hurt.

Realising that Mrs Upadhyay was speaking to her, she straightened and looked respectfully at the elderly lady.

"That animal is Manisha's husband's brother," Mrs Updhayay informed wearily, applying a plaster on the young woman's forehead. "He runs an illegal business in this town. People hate him and fear him. Manisha's husband died a year back, and this fellow decided he wants the small house and land that her husband left in her name. He has been torturing her to sign the property papers....harming her in every way that a man can," she said starkly. "She didn't have any one to turn to. So she came here for protection."

Feeling sick to her stomach, Nandini looked at Manisha. The latter figure was vacantly staring at the floor, as if listening to an uninteresting story that had nothing to do with her. There were no tears – or any emotions - on the bruised visage.

"But he comes here as well to threaten and beat her. We can't do much against him because we don't have money or power. My husband tried to help her sell the land but it only caused more trouble. We had to give up. There are four other women here and they are struggling with their own burdens and fears. Their safety is also our responsibility," Mrs Upadhyay sighed, "The police don't interfere because she is poor. They take money from him and advise her to surrender the house and live in this ashram permanently. He had threatened to strip her in public last time. Today, he came to do it. If that young man hadn't -"

"Prithvi," Nandini mumbled.

"Prithvi," Mrs Upadhyay repeated. "You came with him?"

Nandini nodded bashfully. "He is looking for – for someone. We're friends," she clarified speedily.

"God sent him here today," the old woman said simply. "Don't worry about him. If things were not in control, my husband would have told me." She conducted a cursory check over the patient. "Okay, I think you'll be fine now. Go and rest in your room. Don't forget to change your saree first."

Manisha stood up and began to walk out of the room.

"Wait," Nandini said impulsively, striding ahead.

She removed the silver chain from her neck and looked at the pretty piece of jewellery. The chain would protect her from everything that was evil, her grandfather had promised. But she had Prithvi, and a loving family and good friends. She didn't need any other protection.

Nandini stepped ahead and dropped the chain around Manisha's neck. "To keep you safe," she muttered awkwardly.

Manisha looked at her blankly. Thin fingers slowly came up to touch the jewellery. She lowered her face and mutely limped out of the room, fingers convulsively clutching the chain.

"Nandini."

She turned at the gentle call.

"Sit here and tell me about the person Prithvi is looking for," Mrs Upadhyay said nicely, indicating the chair that Manisha had vacated, and then peered out the door as her name was called out.

"My husband... he's calling me from the office," Mrs Upadhyay said vaguely, "Wait here. I'll be back in a minute."

Left alone in the room, Nandini sat irresolutely. Then she decided it was time to be courageous. She would look for Prithvi and find out the full extent of the richly deserved damage he had inflicted on that beast.

She rose to her feet, and then promptly clapped a hand on her eyes. "Are you hurt?"

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

With impassioned eyes, Prithvi gazed at the girl who had her back to him. Her strange ability to unerringly sense his arrival was usually annoying. But this time, in the midst of a repulsive episode, it had suddenly brought back compellingly sweet memories.

He walked into the room and navigated his way through tall bundles of newspapers to stand before her. He waited in silence for a moment, amusedly studying the precautionary measure she had adopted.

"Tell me! Are you hurt?" Nandini repeated, worried.

"Yeah, my ego is in a lot of pain right now," he answered dryly.

She chuckled, but didn't remove her hand. "I'm serious. You're really not hurt? And there's no blood on your clothes, is there?" she asked with a quiver in her voice.

Repressing numerous sarcastic responses, he grasped her hand lightly and detached it from her lovely face. She unwillingly opened watery eyes, and ran a sweeping glance over him. Relief swept through her.

He was completely fine. If anything, he looked more powerful and invulnerable, probably because the flush of anger hadn't diminished fully from his fair skin. But there was a sombreness in his gaze that she couldn't understand.

"Is something wrong?" she asked diffidently.

Staring at her pale features, Prithvi quietly contemplated that everything was wrong.

When they had set out, she had been glowing happily. However, in a span of less than two hours, her face was drained of colour and she looked traumatised.

It was his fault. He'd bought her along for motivations that seemed inhuman in hindsight. Merely witnessing the incident had shaken her badly. He couldn't let her go through similar experiences again.

"They don't think Ma was here, but they're examining their records to be sure," he said unemotionally. "It won't take long. I'll drop you home after that, so you can leave with that lady on time," he muttered.

Nandini looked at him with wide-eyed bafflement as he turned and strode out of the room. He had not mocked her claims of resilience or poked fun at her stressed state. And that civil assurance of taking her home... had it really come from him...

She jumped as the mobile on the table started ringing. Trying to compose herself, she hastily reached for it, and bit her lip on seeing Mrs Bhargava's name on the phone's screen. Her deadline wasn't even close. So why....

She answered the phone cautiously, and the writer immediately launched into a distraught narrative, aged voice trembling as she revealed that her husband had fallen severely ill and had been admitted to a hospital in Vishranti Nagar.

Janki Bhargava quickly answered Nandini's alarmed and sympathetic queries, and then shifted her attention to a pressing problem.

"I have to – we have to leave at once," Janki stated urgently, packing her bag in the bedroom. "How long will it take for you to return?"

Frazzled, Nandini hastily calculated the time it had taken to reach the ashram and uneasily said, "Half an hour maybe. I'll try to come as soon as possible, so I can help -"

"Oh you don't have to worry about that. A well-trained staff takes care of his health round the clock. I just want to be there so I can see him and - " Janki halted to keep her emotions under control, and Nandini's heart went out to her. "Okay, let's do this...I'll leave immediately. After I reach the hospital, I'll send my driver back to this house to pick you up. He's trustworthy...has been working for me for a decade. Would that be all right with you? Or if you don't wish to travel in the evening, you can stay in this house today and come to Vishranti Nagar tomorrow morning," she offered distantly, thinking of the specialists she could consult for her husband.

"I'm perfectly okay with whatever is convenient to you and your family," Nandini reassured earnestly without pausing to consider the options. She might not be able to help, but she would do her best to avoid becoming another problem for the distressed author.

"Alright then," Janki said vaguely, "I'll talk to Uday and let him know..."

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