She smiled and said to herself, ‘Bachcha hai abhi, kachcha hai abhi [He is a child and still naive]!’ She went back to the drawing room and sat down. Her face was blushing at the thought that her mind could still nurture such absurd ideas. Asrar was still bathing inside. While applying soap on his body, his hands reached where there was a stream of desires, from where all the passions arose. He had risen, drowned and sailed on the waves of desire since last year. He placed his hands on his member and tried imagining those waves of desire that he had tested the previous year through the intoxication of masturbation. Suddenly, he could see the jamun tree, the bat and the golden bird that he had seen that day. In that one moment his mind had millions of thoughts encompassed within itself. He was in the bathroom for not more than ten minutes, but those minutes seemed to last for a thousand hours in his mind. Innumerable faces, scenes, imaginings and thoughts walked through his brain like a caravan in the light and vanished in the darkness of the unconscious.

He was a little hesitant in sitting near Miss Jamila in a T-shirt and lungi. She was well aware of this and made an attempt to overcome the awkwardness of the situation and asked, ‘To which side did the mango tree fall?’

‘Right in front of the gate, Miss. The entire road is blocked. It can be cleared only once the rain stops!’

‘All right.’ She looked outside the window. It was pouring.

‘Miss, I hope god stops the rain soon.’

‘If it doesn’t stop then …?’ she said in a mischievous tone.

‘Meri watt lag jayegi,’ he replied.

‘What do you mean?’

‘I meant to say that it will be a problem for me to go back.’

‘Is there a telephone in your house? Or anywhere near your house? You can make a call from my mobile phone and inform them that you will be late and if the rain doesn’t stop, you will spend the night here.’

Asrar informed his neighbour and asked him to convey the message to his mother.

Miss went to the kitchen to cook dal.

Asrar sat comfortably on the sofa and fell asleep.