‘Hey, can you smell the sea?’ she said.

Eram took a deep whiff. ‘Fish. I can smell fish. It’s like we never left Bandra.’

‘Oh, that’s just charming. You know what you need, mister? You need more music in you. More poetry.’

‘Me?’ Eram raised an eyebrow at her. He was just relieved to have Gehna talking to him again. ‘What’re you on about? I have the soul of a poet.’

‘Yes, you do. And the sneakiness of a rat.’ Gehna laughed out loud. ‘That’s my new name for you. Rat. Do you like it?’

‘Would it matter if I didn’t?’

‘Nopes. You’re Rat. And I’m starving.’

While Gehna lectured Eram on the perils of not feeding a pregnant girl, the sun rose gently on the horizon. Like all the best stars, it didn’t appear immediately on stage; instead, as its opening act, it first splashed the sky with dramatic ripples of candy floss, tangerine and slate.

‘What we should do,’ Gehna said, hunting for her phone, ‘is find a nice resort hotel. Preferably one with a private beach. Then we’ll have a quick swim, or, if I’m too fat to wear my swimsuit, a shower. And then, I’m going to eat the biggest damn breakfast you ever . . . oh.’

As they rounded a curve in the road, three things made her forget all about breakfast. To their right was the sea, still dark at this hour of dawn, and the sky above it, so dizzyingly beautiful that it took Gehna’s breath away. Directly in front of them, an overhead sign spanning the width of the road said ‘WELCOME TO GOA’ with a crude sketch of a palm tree next to the words.

And below the sign was a jeep carrying the insignia of the Goa Police. Two people, a man and a woman, in khaki uniforms standing in the middle of the road waved them down, gesturing at Eram to stop. When he did, the policewoman came around to the passenger side and tapped on the glass. Gehna, curious, powered her window down.

‘Hello,’ she said.

The officer consulted her phone and then stared at Gehna. ‘Is your name Gehna Rai?’

‘Uh, yeah, yes it is. Yours?’

The woman didn’t say anything. The other officer opened the driver’s door and pulled the key out of the ignition. It happened so quickly that Eram didn’t have a chance to react.

‘Get out of the car,’ the cop said.

Eram did, with obvious reluctance. The cop took his arm none too gently and marched him towards the jeep.

‘What’s going on?’ he asked. ‘Where are you taking me?’

By way of answer, the policeman bundled him into the back of the jeep and slammed the door shut. Eram saw him take out a police radio and say something into it, but he couldn’t catch a word. All he could hear was the roar of blood rushing in his ears.