Aria nodded her head to say yes but then asked, “What did you just call me?”

Omkar twisted the word around in his mind, trying to find a satisfactory translation. “It’s a kind of a nickname, kind of like ‘gold’ or ‘beautiful’ or ‘sweetheart’ … Shona.”

Aria chuckled. “Those are three drastically different things,” she said.

“Does it bother you if I call you that sometimes?” Omkar asked.

“No, it’s fine.” Contrary to what she expected, she loved the idea of having a nickname. As far back as she could remember, she had never been addressed with a single term of endearment.

After a few minutes, the hushed space between them was breached by Omkar’s voice. “Thorns would have bloomed into flowers if I had loved them as much as I loved you,” he said, petting her hair away from her forehead. “I always loved that line. It was in a poem from my country that I read once.” He continued. “I don’t really want to not know where you are during the day anymore.”

Aria giggled and pretended to hit him. “Are you serious right now?”

“Hear me out: what if something were to happen to you? I couldn’t live with myself. I’m not trying to control you,” he said.

“Yes you are!” Aria said, still smiling from ear to ear at his possessiveness.

“No, I’m not – I just need to know where you are. Can you just do it for my sake?”

Aria paused for a long time and bit her lip, pretending to deliberate. She intended the suspense to tease him. “OK, fine,” she said, rolling her eyes at him.

“OK, I’ll get you a phone tomorrow. That way, if you ever need to call me or if I need to call you, then it will be possible.”

Aria laughed again, “Good Lord, how much thought have you put into this?” she asked.

“Oh, you know, just days and days, is all,” Omkar said, making fun of himself. “The phone may or may not have a tracking device.”

The sound of their laughter was softened by the way they so obviously cherished each other. When Aria fell asleep, Omkar spent some time adoring the sweet form of her face. Should lanterns shine, they would all lead him back to her. In their private dark, he found himself helpless against the conquest of her beauty. In those short hours before dawn would return to them, he reminded himself of the vow he had made to make a heaven of her life, for the love that he felt for her was immortal.

CHAPTER 34

CHAPTER 34