The car moved a little further. Yusuf turned it towards a narrow, unconstructed street running along a dried river. There were dense bushes on both sides of that street. Yusuf shut off the car engine after covering some distance. Both had remained silent till now. As soon as the engine stopped, Aymal bent her head and shut her eyes. Yusuf looked at her. He kept staring for some time. Aymal’s eyes remained closed. Yusuf moved his fingers on her cheeks. Aymal’s lips spread into a suppressed smile. She was about to open her eyes when Yusuf opened the car’s door from outside.

There was a narrow path leading to the dried river. They started walking on it together and reached the bottom of the riverbed. There was ample space between huge rocks at the bottom of the river. The sun was disappearing into the red twilight. A reddish yellow shadow spread over the jungle. Aymal stood leaning against a rock. Her white skin shone brightly in the reddish yellow light of the sun.

‘You made me wild,’ Aymal exclaimed while sitting in the car.

There was happiness and contentment on her face. Calmness had spread over her soul. Her lips seemed cherry red. Her ears were still warm. The heartbeats had still not returned to their normal pace. In fact, when she had said, ‘You made me wild,’ there was some amount of quivering in her voice.

Yusuf smiled and replied, ‘I’m wild since I met you.’

Aymal bent forward and kissed his cheek.

After a while, Aymal told him that the kind of party that was being organized at her house was called ‘Black Mass’ or ‘Hollow Mass’ in their circle. Such masses were most appreciated when held during a lunar eclipse. Only people of the same belief were invited to such parties. In the black gathering ‘Evil is truth; truth is evil’ was chanted loudly. Sometimes a downward-pointing five-cornered star and a Baphomet idol were also used. In many such gatherings, those religions and beliefs were insulted which sabotage the freedom of humans. Yusuf was listening to what Aymal was saying but more than that, he wanted to just keep staring at the movements of her lips. He kept looking at her. He asked no questions. Aymal was under the impression that Yusuf was actually paying attention to what she was saying.

Burashid and Wardatul Sa’adat were having coffee in the veranda.

During the conversation, Wardatul Sa’adat informed him that Aymal had gone to Pune to buy household essentials.

Burashid informed her that the party would see the presence of a European ambassador, counsel generals of two countries from the Middle East with their wives, four Indian intellectuals, and one politician. Apart from them, intellectuals with the same ideology would also come from Mumbai, Delhi, Nagaland and Kerala. Wardatul Sa’adat told her father that even she was preparing notes and was hoping that her thesis would be over before the party. Burashid said that they would decide on the proceedings of the party once Aymal was back. The father and daughter continued their conversation for a while and then Wardatul Sa’adat went back to her room and engrossed herself in the book she was reading. She read: