"Ma, let's go." Maithili tugged on her mother's shoulder gently. Meeting the latter's nonplussed eyes, she elaborated, "Raghav says if we don't leave now, we will miss lunch."

The mention of lunch did what a promise of a lovelier site hadn't. "Oh. Ho. Mrs. Chopra, your daughter is right. I am sure there will be more things to capture after lunch." Bela Bhatt, a teacher from Srinagar, who reminded Bhairavi of her rude cousin from Bangalore, agreed.

Standing up, the once-sitar player ran her eyes over the mesmerizing field. "Tulips are finicky flowers. It's a rare site to see them like this: in perfect bloom."

Alas, no one seemed interested in their ethereal beauty. Disheartened by the lack of enthusiasm, Bhairavi shook her head, but not a split second later, a smile touched her lips when she recalled her honeymoon phase. She couldn't believe it was over twenty years ago when Ashutosh and her had said goodbye to a similar-looking garden. Less than a month after returning, Bhairavi had announced her pregnancy to Ashutosh, who had shed tears of joy at the happy news and engulfed her in their warmest hug yet. Their romantic trip was long overdue, and a beautiful place like the Flower Cove, buried deep in the heart of The Valley, deserved a second visit; deciding to do just that, Bhairavi walked away from the Cove, happy.

Soon after the van started moving, Bhairavi noticed that though her backpack was resting against the wall next to her seat, Maithili wasn't sitting in it.

A cursory inspection of the van revealed unsettling data: Raghav and her daughter were sharing the front seat!

The distraught mother cursed under her breath, "Fine. Sit with him. Brat!" and not wanting to look too concerned, she pulled open her own backpack.

"Do you have Odomos?" The irritated mother heard Bela ask, first her seatmate and then Raghav. Tuning out the rest of the conversation, she dumped her phone back inside, and in the process, her eyes fell on Won Sungi's notepad. Deciding she wouldn't get a better chance to contact her, Bhairavi dialed her Korean friend's number.

"The person you are trying to call is out of coverage. Please try after some time." The bored-out-of-her-mind voice informed.

The amateur photographer pinched the bridge of her nose. "Nothing is going my way today. I don't like it!" she admitted to the powers that be.

"Beta-ji," Amrit's soft voice drifted over to her from the back of the van. Glad to be distracted from her present state of mind and noticing that just like Maithili, Harpreet had abandoned her mother, Bhairavi smiled at the older woman and joined her.

Lonely mothers should stick together!

"It seems our Soni has taken a shine to Raghav." The graying woman spoke, eyeing the youngsters occupying the front seats. Then catching Bhairavi's gaze, she added, "She could do worse."

"I know." The concerned mother agreed, then wanting to change the subject, she enquired, "Aunty-ji, about the dead women, do you have anything more on them? As in, where did they stay during their time here? What did they do differently? Anything?"

Amrit scratched the underside of her forearm and smiled like all her prayers had been answered. "I thought you would never ask!" Leaning closer, she held her phone close to her confidant's face. "I couldn't get a chance to show this to you yesterday. And I think..."

The two continued to talk throughout lunch, brainstorming ideas about what may have happened and who may have done it.

Their conversation came to an unexpectedly jarring halt when Harpreet accidentally bumped into a table on her way back to her seat and spilled the steaming contents on her mother's hands.

A gut-wrenching scream tore from Amrit's chest and revibrated inside the lunch area. Commotion followed confusion and settled on shock as, one by one, each woman became aware of what had transpired.

Quick to act, Raghav rushed to the woman's side and carried her bridal style to the sink.

With all eyes on Amrit, no one noticed Harpreet picking up her mother's phone, going through its contents, and tossing it into the dumpster before joining her all worried and emotional, at least, that's what it looked like at the time.

*****

The group returned to the Valley two members short. Needless to say, everyone and their mothers were bummed about this turn of events.

Dinner was a silent affair. Amrit had made friends with almost everyone in the group, and her absence was being felt by all.

As everyone finished and was preparing to retire to their rooms, Raghav announced, "I can't change what happened, but if you all promise to keep it a secret, there is a place I would like to take you all day after tomorrow."

Does he really expect us to keep this a secret? Amateur! Especially upset, Bhairavi rolled her eyes but said nothing. The same could not be said about Maithili, who bounced from foot to foot and demanded, "Give us a hint!" Then as if she had read her mother's mind, she took her mother's hand in hers, lowered her voice, and spoke, "Ma, I saw Amrit Nani's injury. It's not bad; she will recover. Nani will be back to her cheerful self in no time. She will want us to enjoy what Raghav has planned for us. I am sure it will be awesome."

Surrrrre. Everything he says or does sounds 'awesome' to you, doesn't it, Kanna? "Of course," Bhairavi replied as genuinely as possible. The last thing she wanted was to speak her mind and upset her daughter. Moreover, what Maithili had said about Amrit-ji made sense, so there was no point in bringing that up, at least not till it was proved wrong.

Smiling like he was the embodiment of Apollo, the tour guide obliged, "It's The Valley's most recent discovery, and you lot will be the first to experience it." Then winking at the older women cryptically, he fake whispered, "The lunch menu there is to die for!"

The sulking atmosphere morphed into a more pleasant one, and the women headed towards their accommodations excitedly, looking forward to the treat.

Bhairavi had almost made it halfway to their hut when she realized Maithili was not at her side. She was about to turn back when she remembered what her daughter had accused her of: You don't trust me, do you?

'Maithili is growing up. I need to let her go.' She reasoned with herself and decided this was the best chance to prove her wrong. Then smiling to herself, she returned to their shared hut alone.

After making her mandatory call to Ashutosh, she emptied her backpack and tried contacting Won Sungi again. When the call refused to connect, Bhairavi pulled out the notepad and flipped through the pages, hoping she might find an alternate number or address.

When a preliminary examination revealed nothing she could use to track the assistant archeologists, Bhairavi decided to take the plunge into understanding its contents. "If the notes are not important, I will be able to rest easy." she contemplated and started from the first page.

When the woman finally put the tiny journal down, her hands shook. The notebook contained everything from coordinates to landmarks to get to the Temple that Sungi had mentioned on the flight.

It was the reason the Korean woman had made a trip to India! Without it, she would be lost. Guilt washed over her in waves as she tried to recall the name of the company her friend worked for and failed. All she had to go on now was an earring-shaped symbol on the back of her business card, and Bhairavi had no freaking clue what it stood for.

Before she could panic more, there was a knock on the door. A glance at the clock revealed that it had been almost an hour since she had returned to the hut and as much time since she had left her child with that boy unsupervised!

Grinding her teeth and trying her best to keep a lid on her rising anger, Bhairavi let her daughter- who was positively glowing- inside.

"Ah! So you finally remembered that you have a mother! Welcome back, sweetheart."

Her mother's words did nothing to bring Maithili down. If anything, her grin grew wider. She turned to her mother, ignoring the woman's fuming visage, grabbed her arm, and plopped them down on the bed.

"Amma, you look tired. Let's sleep." Then flinging her boots to the corner of the room, she stretched her limbs, and without giving her mother any explanation, Bhairavi's precious proceeded to sleep.

It was the first time in a long time, maybe forever, that Maithili's mother didn't know how to react. With her daughter's actions having stolen her sleep, Bhairavi thought it best to scroll through the pictures on her phone to distract her. Appreciating their gorgeousness, she gave herself a pat on the back for doing a good job and was about to put the phone away when something, no, someone, in the right corner of the group photo caught her attention.

Bhairavi tapped the image and zoomed in. Just as she had suspected, it was a girl. A familiar one at that. A solemn expression graced the simple yet soft features of the girl. 'Who are you? Where do I know you from?' she asked the girl.

She got her answer as soon after. It was Koyal Bindra. The nineteen-year-old girl from Jhansi, who had died almost a year back in the hit-and-run accident, or as the police had termed it: suicide!

The usually fearless woman felt a chill run down her spine. Switching the phone off, she put it away. A wave of nausea hit her from nowhere right after, making her dash towards the loo.

Having emptied her dinner there, she was back next to her daughter. Trying to get a grip on her shivering frame, she pulled the blanket around her tightly. Closing her eyes, she did the only thing she knew would bring her peace. She prayed, "Bhagwanta, I don't know what to make of it... the picture. I am scared. Please watch over us. May the child's soul rest in peace. Jai Shree Ram!"

The rustling of leaves followed by a low, pained moan made her eye the window. Rushing across the room, she flung it open.

She couldn't be sure who or what she saw disappearing into the dead of the night, but one thing was clear, they were not alone.

Chapter Word Count: 1776
Word Count so far: 9601

Second milestone reached!

Glossary:

Odomos: a popular mosquito repellent.