She sat next to him and took out another matchstick to light. In its light she saw Asrar sitting on his knees. He was holding the candle in his hands. She let the matchstick light it. Then Asrar placed the candle on the floor. While getting up she told Asrar that she would get him a T-shirt and a lungi. He said nothing in reply and kept sitting there, in silence. Miss took out her husband’s clothes and gave it to him. Asrar immediately shut the bathroom door. The situation perplexed him very much. The running tap was pouring water into the bucket. He could hear the music of the raindrops through the glass panes of the windows.

The candlelight made it possible for him to see all the things in the bathroom. His eyes fell upon the hanger. On it were two blouses and a bra that belonged to Miss. His hands involuntary moved to touch the bra. He had never held one in his hands before. He felt a weird desire. He was oblivious of the depths and layers from where these desires arose. While touching the protruded part of the bra, his thoughts began to race. Jamila Miss slowly began entering his imagination like the light which slowly spreads from a little fire. He rubbed that area on his eyes and kissed it. Suddenly, the incorrectness of the situation made him scold himself, ‘You call her baji and then think of her in such a manner?’ The bucket was now full. He removed his clothes and poured water on his feet; then he realized that there was no towel in the bathroom. He immediately wore his clothes and opened the door thinking that he would ask Miss for a towel. He opened the door and saw her standing there with a towel in her hands.

‘Arre, Miss, shukriya,’ he said and shut the door again. Miss had a smile on her face. The door was closed but she kept standing there for a while. What did she have in her heart? How much was she able to recognize the stirrings of her inner self? To what extent did she feel her overpowering desires? She didn’t know, but she was definitely surprised. She was surprised that desire didn’t have a religion. It was so powerful that all excuses of morality were destroyed within a few moments and the heart responded to bodily passions.