Asrar and Jamila Miss followed a narrow path and reached the centre of the island where coconut trees stood sticking to each other. There were beer bottles, cigarette butts, broken glass and plastic pouches lying around. They turned right from there and arrived at the wall where the excavations had been done. The two vanished from everyone’s sight. The sound of the waves hit their ears and the cold breeze touched their bodies. A little further the excavations suggested the presence of a few rooms. It was possible that in the past there had been a palace here. They descended the stairs nearby and realized that the excavation was done along such lines that the skeleton of the structure was clearly noticeable. Asrar walked in front and Jamila Miss followed. They reached the ground floor and looked towards the sky.

‘Isn’t this splendid, madam?’ Asrar said.

‘Yes, perfectly round.’ She smiled.

He looked into her eyes and gathered the courage to utter, ‘That line you said at night was pretty solid.’

‘Which line?’ she asked casually.

‘It would have been a pleasure had you and me been the only travellers on this boat,’ he said mimicking her tone.

She laughed out loud. He stood in silence.

He ran his eyes on the surroundings.

He was amazed and confused at her laughter. His face wore a faint smile. After a pause Jamila Miss said, ‘It was not a line, pagal. My heart really desired that.’ He said nothing and kept staring in her direction. He could not bring himself to tell her that till morning he had pondered over that sentence from all perspectives. Seeing his silence she said, ‘Let’s go and see what lies ahead.’ She pulled him by his arm and climbed a slope. The moment they reached the top, there was some movement in the grass. Jamila Miss let out a scream and Asrar couldn’t control his laughter. She stared at him while he kept on laughing. She searched the grass but couldn’t see anything. Then she saw that a packet lay near the wall, the sight of which embarrassed her. She stared at the picture on the packet which was that of a scantily clad, seductive woman and the text read ‘Delux Cobra for Lasting Pleasure’. Miss’s eyes darkened and Asrar became quiet after seeing her expression change. The sound of the waves could be heard still. They stood silent under the open sky. There was a centuries-old palace beneath their feet. For centuries the craving, the belongingness and the surrender that gave birth to the desire of meeting each other in loneliness had grown in their hearts. They moved towards the last room of the dilapidated palace. It was faintly lit. There was a banyan tree on the other side, the branches of which had entered the room. They were now facing each other.