***

Word Count : 5000 

Note :

1. I am not a Christian. Hence all the information given below is thoroughly researched and verified, but still if you find anything wrong in the factual data, feel free to correct me.

2. This book is purely fictional and I don't intend to hurt anyone's religious sentiments. The data that has been provided below was a requisite in order to understand the pattern of criminal activities mentioned in the story.

Audio Theme : Rabbi Marcus |Ezra |

https://youtu.be/Px49cz1oNiw

***

22 | The Blessed Virgin Mary

7th May 2023 

| 1400 hrs. |

Stepping inside the ballroom, she strode straight in his direction.

He was speaking with Joseph while trying to subdue the fidgeting movements of the impatient toddler in his arms who looked extremely miffed due to the constant cheek pulling he was being subjected to, by the aunties around.

"Dogra Sahib." She called out as she flashed a faint smile at another elderly lady who threw a flying kiss at Anirudh.

On hearing her voice, Mahadevan averted his eyes from his friend to look at his wife. "Yes?" He responded while whacking the restless toddler's buttocks for one more time.
In return, the toddler frowned.

Excusing himself from the ongoing conversation, he ambled towards her.

"Uhm, actually I have been summoned to the office urgently." Taking a step forward, she continued, "I need to leave immediately. Is it possible for me to leave for office now?" She said, her fingers gently caressing Anirudh's hair.

"Okay, I'll explain it to Joseph, Suzanne and the others. You don't need to worry about all that." Fishing out his phone from his pant pocket, he said, "Wait, let me inform the driver."

She nodded as he patted her on her shoulder.

Five minutes later, she bolted the car door behind her and then shifted towards the left side window.

Immediately the driver turned his head around to speak to her while turning on the ignition button with his right hand. "Madam Ji, Sahib told me that I need to drop you at your office. So, can you please tell me the address?"

"S.I.T headquarters, Kalindi Chowk." She replied.

"Oh... Kalindi Chowk? Woh Manekshaw Marg se aage ja karr na? On the left side of the main road?" He inquired after contemplating for a second.

"Yes." She agreed.

"Okay then." Saying so he started to pivot his head back to the front.

"And, Bhaiya?" He turned around again as he heard her calling him.

"Yes, madam?"

"Instead of taking the shortest route, take the longest route to Kalindi Chowk and secondly, drive the car slowly." She instructed.

In an instant, confusion marred the driver's face. "But, won't you get late then?" He asked while scratching his head.

Clearing her throat, she answered, "No, I am not in a hurry. I just need to get a little work done. So, just take the longest route and drive the car slowly, okay?"

Shrugging his shoulders, he nodded and then turned around to drive, while she promptly extracted her phone from her satchel.

She switched it on and then opened up an internet search engine while taking out her notepad and a ballpen from the satchel simultaneously.

At four p.m. in the afternoon, when she entered into the conference room, her senses immediately alerted her of the tense silence that inundated the conference room whole.

But what took her notice was the new face settled next to Raghav. He was the only one who was dressed in Khaki while the rest of them were in their civvies.

She walked towards her designated seat as the others faintly nodded their heads at her. Returning the gesture, she placed her satchel on the table.

"Oh! So she is the interim criminal profiler that IG Sahib was talking about?!" The man sitting next to Raghav asked in a mocking tone. "Katoch Sahib? Now, we will need women's help to solve this case?" He derided her while scanning her frame from top to bottom with a leering gaze and then averted his eyes to stare at Praapti and Rukmini with the same lusty glint his his eyes.

Redirecting his gaze from the other two women in the room, he slightly tilted his head and then looked at Hinduja again.

"Madam ji, you have left your household chores behind and come here to work? I hope all the clothes are washed and the dishes are done, back at your home, huh?" He sneered while folding his arms across his chest.

Most of the male officers chuckled while Raghav and a few others kept quiet. Praapti and Rukmini, on the other hand, tightly clenched their jaws.

In return, Hinduja just passed a feeble smile at the man, "Haan ji. All the dishes at my home are squeaky clean and the clothes are perfectly washed as well. So, can we come to the main business now?--- with all due respect?" She asked while getting settled on her seat.

"Oh great! You are a good wife then, it seems. By the way, I am DSP Rama---"

"DSP Ramakant Nijhawan, I know." She completed his statement while clasping her fingers on the table, her visage calm with the remnants of the previous smile.

Noticing this, Raghav cleared his throat as he got up from his chair and strode towards the podium. "Alright officers, here are the latest updates of the case."

Saying so, he pressed a few buttons on the projector remote to unveil the pictures of four different young girls with their information typed below their pictures on the screen.

Placing the remote back on the podium he pointed at the screen with the stylus and said, " Nirali Acharya---age: 14, Samaapti Vashisth---age: 16, Akanksha Sule---age: 18, Aanam Mirza---age: 17. All four of them have been reported missing today---Nirali and Aanam at around seven in the morning, Samaapti at roughly around nine a.m. while Akanksha is missing from the break of dawn itself. Her mother found her room empty at six a.m. this morning when she entered inside to wake the girl up. Surprisingly, the main door of the Sule house was open, which again denotes that Akanksha did go out of the house on her own."

"Arey Sahib! I am telling you, na, these girls must have eloped with their respective lover boys. You know how today's generation of girls are! No shame at all... completely characterless!" Ramakant Nijhawan quipped in a repulsed tone, his left hand rubbing his potbelly in circles.

A stillness took over the conference room as Hinduja's gaze leisurely fell on the seething lady officer sitting on the chair next to her. Rukmini looked all prepared to retaliate, no matter if it was her words that would do the job or her fists. Praapti was in a state no different from Rukmini's but Ramakant's superiority in the ranking system was the only thing that was forcing her to keep herself in control. So, just when Rukmini was about to get up from her chair and open her mouth, Hinduja immediately placed her right palm on the dorsal side of Rukmini's hand and then gestured for her to stay seated with a faint tilt of her head.

Slightly bending her torso to the right side, she whispered, "Wise are those who know when to retaliate and when to stay put, Rukmini." Gently patting on the officer's shoulder, she continued in a hushed tone. "Wise are those who know when to speak and when to keep quiet. So, calm down. We will strike back but not now."

Rukmini swallowed and nodded her head with a blank face after which Hindu turned her head around a bit to connect her eyes with Praapti. Signalling her to stay calm with her hand, she finally affixed her gaze back on Ramakant, her visage outright stoic.

Raghav on the other hand thoroughly ignored Ramakant's words and shifted his attention from the projector screen to Hinduja. "Profiler Rao, you told me earlier that you had some clues regarding the pattern between the dates?"

"Yes."

"Come on then. What are you waiting for?" He beckoned her to the podium.

"Alright." Angling her chin down once, she got up from her chair and peered at Rukmini. "Can I please borrow your laptop for some time? I haven't brought mine."

"Sure ma'am." Rukmini handed over the laptop to her.

Hinduja quickly fished out her phone and notepad from her satchel and then strutted towards the podium.

Connecting Rukmini's laptop with the system, she transferred some images from her phone to the laptop through the Bluetooth feature and then said, "Rukmini, can you operate the screen on my behalf? I need to explain a lot of things, so, handling both the tasks together is not exactly possible."

"Okay, ma'am" Agreeing to her request, Rukmini walked to the front and then positioned herself behind the laptop on the podium.

Taking the stylus from Raghav, Hinduja said, "Alright officers, here is my theory---"

She was cut off in between by the same potbellied man in Khaki. "Arey, Madam ji! We are not here to discuss the high-voltage fights between the vamp mother-in-laws and their daughter-in-laws of daily soaps. So, you please go back and settle down on your seat!" Ramakant sniggered.

With a barely perceptible tug of her lips, Hinduja advanced two steps forward. "Stand up." She ordered.

"Sorry?" Uncertainty cloaked Ramakant's face in an instant.

"I said, stand up." She repeated curtly.

It was something in the way she stood with her hands firmly clasped behind her back, her spine ram-rod straight, or the way she looked at him directly in the eye, or those profoundly calm and impenetrable eyes, and that faint smile on her impassive face--- it was all so damn imposing. Despite being clad in the most delicate Kanchipuram saree, she looked anything but unassertive and submissive as Ramakant thought she was. Alas, his deductions were proven wrong when the calm feminine figure garbed in a dainty white fabric slowly transformed into the commanding and assertive woman standing a few meters away from him.

Her imposing stature compelled him to stand up.

"Who do you think you are?" She asked.

Ramakant squinted his eyes, unable to understand her motive. "I didn't get you."

"I asked, who do you think you are, DSP Nijhawan? The officer who beats up street vendors at Karimnagar market almost every week after being unsuccessful in extorting money from them? Or the officer who is the covert informer of all the brothel owners of C.B Road Red light area? Or are you the officer who has been indicted for hefty briberies on several accounts by fellow officers working in your own department?" Ramakant's eyes widened as all the blood drained down from his stout visage.

Taking two steps forward, Hinduja pushed a glass of water kept on the table in his direction with the tip of her digits, "Here, you will need this." She smiled at him.

The man gulped, his shivering right hand advancing towards the glass of water.

"So, yeah, tell me, who do you think you are? The officer who till date, has been accused of sexual assault and indecent remarks by a total of sixty-four lady constables, Sub Inspectors, Inspectors and even some officers in the different police stations you were posted at? Or the officer who has around thirty disciplinary action reports filed against him to date? But the irony is that you are still here absolutely free and unapprehended, and all your crimes and atrocities tidily shoved under the carpet just because you happen to be one of the several pet dogs of the Deputy Chief Minister? Come on, correct me if I am wrong?" She quirked up her left eyebrow. "What are you even here for, by the way? To keep a track of the investigation and then report them to your Godfather?" She probed.

"What nonsense--" His hollering was interrupted in between when she raised her palm as a sign to stop him from saying anything further.

The entire meeting room was shrouded with the veil of quietude as she brought her hands to the front and then placed them on the table with her aura thoroughly formidable. "Let me make you cognizant of a very important piece of news DSP Nijhawan---- your Annual Confidential Report, as of now, is resting in my cabin at the SDM office of the N.C.R branch, for official review. And I assure you---- after this case is solved, the next matter that I will dig up will be yours. You are already under my radar, so you better be prepared."

[ Annual Confidential Report (ACR) - The Annual Confidential Report (ACR) is an objective and unbiased assessment of the character, conduct, capability and performance of an Official employeed in any service under the Goverment of India, throughout the year. For better understanding, you can search about it on internet.]

Sweat trickled down Ramakant's temples as his pale face heated up exponentially.

"Secondly, you are requested to kindly keep your prejudices and chauvinistic remarks out of the premises of this building with utmost honor. And if you can't do that, then you are requested to get out. Thirdly, I expect pin-drop silence and I command attention when I speak DSP Nijhawan, so you better stitch up your lips and maintain the decorum of this office for the next one hour or I will personally stitch up your lips for you---- and mind you, my ways are pretty brutal. Clear?"

Ramakant hurriedly nodded his head. "Yes." He mumbled.

"I didn't hear you, Nijhawan Sahib. Perhaps being a bit louder would help?" Retracting back her hands from the table, she turned around and then slowly walked back towards the screen.

"Yes, Ma'am!" Ramakant swallowed, his body quivering in anxiety.

Finally, facing the team settled around the conference table, Hinduja smiled. "Now, you may sit down Nijhawan Sahib."

Ramakant Nijhawan promptly did what he was asked to do.

Praapti, Rukmini, Patwardhan, and Raghav tried to conceal their smirks in vain while the other investigators silently chuckled, ducking their heads down.

"Okay, enough of the drama." Saying so, Hinduja shifted her visual senses towards Praapti. "Praapti, can you please dictate me me all the dates on which girls were abducted in 2022? And the number of girls abducted on each of those dates?"

"Ji, madam ji." Praapti immediately opened the diary in front of her, kept on the table, and then started dictating the abduction dates. " On 1st May 2022, two girls were abducted. On 2nd May, three girls were abducted, and then after that, on 3rd May, 6th May, 8th May, 14th May, 15th May, 22nd May, 26th May, 29th May and 31st May... five girls were abducted on each of these days."

Nodding her head, Hinduja picked up the marker and started noting down everything that Praapti said on the smart board set up next to the silver screen. "Officers, the pattern in the abduction dates of Maia's month abduction case has relations with important days indicated in the Christian Liturgical Calendar." Taking a pause, she again started noting down something on the whiteboard.

"Can you please elaborate?" Raghav probed in a serious tone.

"Sure, sir." Capping the marker, she said, "Just like how the Hindus follow the Panchangam or Panjika, the Muslims follow the Hijri Calendar and the Sikhs follow the Nanakshahi calendar, the Christians too follow their own religious calendar called Liturgical calendar which is based on the cycle of five seasons. ASP Jishu Fernandes here might be aware of this."

Jishu nodded. "She is right."

"Continue," Raghav instructed.

"Yes sir--- what I mean to say is all the dates on which these victims were abducted and are still being abducted, actually coincide with important days of the Christian Liturgical Calendar" She then turned her head around to face Rukmini. "Rukmini, open the first image that I stored in your laptop from my phone."

A comparison between two tabular charts flashed across the projector screen as Rukmini followed her instruction.

Pointing her finger at the tabular charts, Hinduja said, "Look at the dates here. This image shows all the celebratory days of May 2022 specified in the Liturgical calendar. In the year 2022, the 1st of May was celebrated as the 'Third Sunday of Resurrection', and it was also the day of celebrating 'St. Joseph. St. Joseph, as you may all know, was spouse to the blessed Virgin Mary and also the legal father of Jesus Christ. He was known as the patron Saint of workers because he was himself a carpenter and through his works like manual labor, St. Joseph used to provide for the holy family. Resurrection, on the other hand, is simply the event told about in the Bible in which Jesus returned to life after his death. Surprisingly, 1st May was also the day on which the first two victims of 2022 were reported missing." She explained.

All the investigators keenly observed the charts on the screen as Hinduja continued with her explanation, "May 2, 2022, was the day on which St. Athanasius was celebrated---to be specific, his death anniversary was celebrated. St. Athanasius was the chief defender of Christian Orthodoxy in the 4th-century battle against Arianism. Now, what matters here is that the next three victims of 2022 were abducted on May 2 only." She projected her finger at the chaotic handwritten data in the tabular charts.

"And as per what Praapti dictated earlier, all the dates after May 2, on which the rest of the forty-five victims went missing in 2022... all had a record of five girls being abducted on each of them. For example, the 3rd of May was celebrated as the day of Sts. Philip and James, both of whom were apostles who served Christ during the very early days of the Church. Surprisingly, the 3rd of May was also the day on which five more girls were abducted. Similarly, 6th May was celebrated as the day of St. Dominic Savio. I won't delve much into the history, but just be aware of the fact that, on 6th May as well, five girls were abducted. Then, 8th May 2022, which was celebrated as the fourth Sunday of Resurrection, is another abduction date in our list. Next is 14th May, which is important as it unveils another important clue of this case that I will explain after making the date pattern clear first."
Taking a pause, she took a sip of water from the tiny Kinley water bottle perched up on the podium.

Capping the water bottle, she kept it back in its exact position and then resumed with her report. "Anyways, 14 May was celebrated last year as the 'Feast of Mother Mary' and also as the day of St. Mathias, who was an apostle. Again, it's the same----- five girls went missing on 14th May, too. Then comes 15th May, which was celebrated as the fifth Sunday of 'Resurrection' and also as the feast day of Mar Addai. Mar Addai was a disciple of Christ sent by St. Thomas the Apostle to Edessa to heal King Abgar V of Osroene, who had fallen ill. On 15th May , the same pattern of abductions was also carried out by the syndicate. The next abduction date was the 22nd of May, which was celebrated as the Sixth Sunday of Resurrection according to the Liturgical calendar. After the 22nd, it was the 26th of May, on which the feast of Ascension was celebrated. Ascension in Christian belief means the ascent of Jesus into heaven forty days after the Resurrection. And then the next set of abductions transpired on 29th May which was celebrated as the Seventh Sunday of Resurrection. Finally, 31st May, on which the last five victims of 2022 were reported missing was also the day of celebrating the 'Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary' which commemorates the Virgin Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth." Saying so she instructed Rukmini to move on to the next slide.

(Pattern - May 2022)

As two more sets of tabular charts appeared on the screen, she trailed, "All of these are the important days of this month according to the Liturgical calendar of 2023, that is, the current year. This month, the first victim was abducted on May 1 which again was celebrated as the day of St. Joseph, the Patron of the working class. The next two abductions happened on 2nd May which was celebrated as the day of St. Athanasius. On 3rd May 2022 which was celebrated as the day of Sts. Philip and James, the next three sufferers were reported missing. Then on 6th May, that is, yesterday, St. Dominic Savio was celebrated. As we all know, a total of four teenage girls were reported missing yesterday too. Finally, 7th May, that is, today---- is the fifth Sunday of Resurrection according to the Liturgical calendar and we are already aware of the fact that four girls have gone missing since this morning." Advancing a step towards the table she concluded. "But here is a deduction, I fear that another girl will be abducted today."

"What?!" Raghav's shocked voice broke the deadpan yet tensed stillness of the conference room. "How are you so sure?"

"It's simple actually---- add the number of girls abducted on 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 6th May. What do you get?" She asked.

"Ten." SI Daleep Bedi replied.

"Exactly. Now subtract these ten victims from fifty. The number of victims that will remain is forty. Now look at the list on the screen." She projected her forefinger in the direction of the screen. "After 6th May 2022, the next set of important dates are 7th May, that is, today, and then 13th May, 14th May, 15th May, 18th May, 21st May, 28th May and lastly 31st May. Including today, it's a list of total eight days." She volt-faced to scrutinize the expressions of her team members. "Now divide the remaining forty girls by eight. You will get 5. So from today, till 31st May, a sum of five girls will be abducted keeping these important Liturgical dates in mind. And since four girls have already gone missing, my theory says that another girl will be abducted today, completing the list to make it five."

(Pattern - May 2023)

Out of nowhere, there was a loud and firm knock on the door of the conference room.

"Come in," Raghav ordered.

Immediately, a constable entered the room and raised his right hand up to salute him. "Jai Hind Sahib! Report from the control room: Vidushi Panwar, age - 18, daughter of Shrikant Panwar and Lalita Panwar has just been reported missing Sahib! The soft copy of the FIR has been emailed to all the investigating officers on their respective Email IDs."

Raghav massaged his forehead in irritation as the others sighed.

"Alright, you can go." He directed.

"Jai Hind, Sahib!" With one single bow of his head, the constable left the conference room closing its door behind him.

Heaving a sigh, Raghav stared at the dates on the whiteboard and the projector screen with a rational mind. "Okay, Profiler Rao. Anything else?"

"Yes." Saying so she directed Rukmini to move on to the next image.

As Rukmini moved forward to the next picture, a life-size photograph of the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared on the screen.

Pointing her finger at the picture, she said, "All of us always wanted to know---why these abductions are only happening in May, didn't we?"

Everyone nodded.

"Well, here is the next theory. According to the Christian belief, at the end of the 13th century, the custom of dedicating the month of May to the Blessed Virgin Mary was established. And the answer to our question lies in her name itself . . .the 'Blessed Virgin Mary'. Mother Mary was revered for her motherly love and humility. And who else can provide motherly love better than the women kind? No one else but women or girls themselves. Secondly, virginity---Mother Mary was a virgin. And virginity, if I am not wrong is another correlation between all the adolescent girls, a major factor based on which the syndicate chooses its victims. All the girls were young and virgins. In the last meeting, I gave you the profile of a woman who happened to be the trigger for the Supreme Leader of the syndicate. Whatever clues we discussed that day come under the personal vendetta of the leader. But the clues that we are discussing now is the common religious pattern of the criminal syndicate in general, based on which it zeroes down on its prey and also, as per the dates of which, it carries out the abductions."

"Virgins? Could this be a se* racket, madam ji?" ASI Maninder Yadav questioned.

Shrugging her shoulders, she replied, "Could be, but I don't think that it's a se* racket. I mean, no criminal group would map out such a religiously relevant and meticulous plan just to kidnap and induct girls into a se* racket."

Maninder assented after which Hinduja asked Rukmini to move on to the next image.

"Now, the third question that we had in our minds: Why are exactly fifty girls being abducted in May every year? Well, the answer to this is the theory of 'Pentecost' according to Christian beliefs. Pentecost is a Christian holiday which is celebrated 'fifty' days after Easter. It derives it's name from the Greek word 'Pentēkostē' which translates to fiftieth. In Christianity, every year, either in May or in the first or second week of June, the feast of Pentecost is celebrated. It's a feast that occurs fifty days after Easter. For the Syndicate though, the 'feast of Pentecost' means something else altogether. For them, it symbolizes the fifty girls that they abduct each year. Also, all this while, we were thinking that these abductions were only limited to May, but I believe they have some link with June as well because sometimes the feast of 'Pentecost' falls in the month of June too. I am not sure what that link is, but for now, all I can say is that this case is far more complicated than we all think it is."

"Jishu, you are a Christian? Right?" Gaurav asked gazing at Jishu. "How come you never noticed this pattern?"

Before Jishu could answer, Hinduja herself replied, "It's not his fault I believe. Judging from his surname -' Fernandes', I guess he is from the Konkani region?"

Jishu nodded."Yes, Goa."

"So, I take that you are a Goan Catholic Christian adhering to the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church from the Goa state?" She probed further.

"Yes, Ma'am." He affirmed.

Nodding her head, she said, "That explains it. The dates of the festivals and celebrations in a Liturgical calendar vary somewhat among the different churches, although the sequence and logic remain almost the same. Jishu is a Goan Catholic Christian where as the calendar which forms the basis of the date pattern involved in our case is the Liturgical Calendar used by the Syro-Malabar Catholic Christians who belong to the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church which adheres to the East Syriac Rite. So even if the sequence of the celebrations were similar, Jishu must have not noticed the pattern because the dates on which the celebrations must have occurred would have been different according to both the calendars. Isn't it?"

"Exactly." Jishu agreed.

"Now that I have already mentioned the topic of Syro-Malabar Church----- I have a few inferences to share. The Syro-Malabar Church is an Eastern Catholic Church based in Kerala. And, since the Syndicate uses the Liturgical calendar of the Syro-Malabar Church, I deduce that the leader of the syndicate is a Syro-Malabar Christian from the state of Kerala---- someone who has extensive knowledge of his religion, and there are fifty-fifty chances that, even the members of the syndicate could be a part of the Church as well. I know it's very bold of me to say so, but it is possible." Capping the marker she kept it back at his designated spot and then said, "Lastly, even though, I am saying that the leader of the syndicate might be a Syrian Christian from Kerala, the base of the syndicate might not necessarily be in Kerala since all the abductions from last ten years have been occurring in Delhi only. But, I would still suggest you to contact and alert the Kerala police at the earliest."

All the investigators concurred.

"Sir, ma'am is right. I just downloaded the Liturgical Calendars of the Syro-Malabar Church of the previous years from internet and then tried to match the dates of the abductions with the dates of the celebrations provided in them. 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and even 2021. Sir, the celebratory dates are matching with the abduction dates with hundred percent accuracy!" Patwardhan quipped in astonishment.

Raghav nodded his head and then looked at Hinduja while scratching his forehead. "What is the next date as per your deductions, Profiler Rao?" 

"13th May." She replied. "The next five girls will be abducted on 13th May 2023 since it is the day of celebrating St. Mathias, the Apostle "

***

Getting inside the car, she bolted its door.

Instantly the driver turned around to face her, "Madam, should I drive you directly to home now?" He asked.

Deliberating over the recurring thoughts in her mind for a second, she said, "No. I have one more work left. Drive me to the Vina Vihar park, please. It's just next to the Esselford Officers Colony.

"Alright madam." This time the driver followed her instructions without any questions or confusion.

An hour later, she found herself gazing longingly at the Gulmohar tree before her.
The sky was dark and motionless, and except for the faint light from the moon and the vibrantly blooming flame tree in front of her everything else felt lifeless.

Wending her way towards the tree, she stood under its crown.

And then, capturing her attention through their soft mellow luminescence were the fireflies.

She gazed at the fireflies, their light, the only source of illumination under the gigantesque canopy of flamboyance.

Fireflies, the beacons of hope.

Her expressions contorted to take over the intense emotion of melancholia. Slowly tracing her fingers across the rough bark of the flame tree, she leaned the back of her head against it and whispered, "I miss you. Do you miss me?"

In an instant, a gentle breeze whistled through the lush emerald and scarlet foliage as a bright red Gulmohar bloom descended on her right shoulder.

With sheeny eyes and a painful tug of her lips, she pivoted her head to the right side to take a look at the flower resting peacefully on her shoulder. "I'll take this as a sign, then; you do miss me."

Immediately, another Gulmohar blossom dropped down on her, this time gently placing itself within the confines of her slender palms.

She chuckled and then raised her head to peer at the fireflies again. "There is still hope, Mini."



  

***