Rushing out the door, Anu remembered to instruct Radha. ‘Vicky hasn’t eaten anything. Please give him something healthy when he wakes up. I will see you at six-thirty.’

Anu almost ran the small distance from her building to the next where the class was held. She was in her homewear, with the hair in a bun. She probably still had drool stains from the nap. And she felt disoriented without coffee. If only I had woken up half-an-hour early. Reprimanding herself, Anu hurried into Supriyaji’s house. Why was time so elusive? What some called time-management, Anu called punishment.

She entered that tranquil room as quietly as she could. Though the prayer had started, Supriyaji gave Anu a warm smile and beckoned her to a spot in the front. Anu reached the spot, hopping over some, stamping on someone’s hair, and stepping on someone’s toes. Only then it occurred to her that she had forgotten to bring her yoga mat. She had bought a top-of-the-line one as a first anniversary gift for herself. Now she had to borrow from the stash kept for slackers. Since the mats were at the back of the class, Anu again started the exercise of hopping, stamping, and stepping over people.

Deciding to stay at the back of the room, Anu spread the mat. Yuck! What was that large stain in the middle? She flipped the mat over where there was no stain but enough dust to instantly send Yashoda aunty next to her into a sneeze-fest. Sending a look of sincere apology, Anu settled down. The good thing was, neither Supriyaji nor Yashoda aunty threw any dirty glances at her. Rather, both of them smiled at her. Thank god for these godly women. That was how their apartment complex was. Mostly people from her parents’ generation who loved Anu and Vicky. They would have loved Sanju too, but he spent most of his time at work.

Anu decided to skip the chanting. It was already so off-key, one less person joining did not matter. Now that she was sitting without doing anything, her mind started going back to Sanju. She could not relax and unwind in that fabulous room like she always did.