As enticing as that sounded, Aman also knew it wouldn’t work. Whether or not his mother knew of his whereabouts, he couldn’t bank on Sanaka showing mercy.

It suddenly started raining heavily. A wave of sadness washed over him as he prepared himself to shoot down Fayza’s proposition. But no sound escaped his throat. ‘No, Fayza,’ he said with more force, but it was as if he had been muted.

‘WHY DOES IT NOT WORK ON YOU?’ It was a deep, perceptible voice, as if someone spoke loudly in his ear. A turbulence rose in Aman’s heart. He knew that voice; he had heard it before, moments prior to setting on fire the kirtimukha that had kidnapped Prithvi in the Dronagiri woods.

But there was no one beside him. Fayza seemed to have vanished into thin air. Scared, Aman sat in the snow, all alone among the thin trees. Where has she gone? Rain fell from the black clouds above him.

Aman saw his own shadow grow in front of him, and then felt a tap on his shoulders. Stunned, he saw from the corner of his eye a thin fluorescent glow behind him. Burly arms lifted Aman and turned him around. He was facing a man draped in a lustrous white cloak. The man was barefoot, and his long hair fell behind his shoulders. His prominent nose and chin were positioned perfectly in the middle of his face. On top of his head sat a black-and-gold crown with a hole in the middle.

But only when Aman noticed a lightning blue spark in the man’s crown did he realize where he’d seen him before. The feast in his dream: the Founding of Vanyasa. And although he had had four arms and was covered in jewellery, Aman was sure that the deity before him was the same being. Indra!

The man nodded.

Aman’s rain-drenched skin flickered white in a violent crack of lightning. He got down on one knee in respect and bowed awkwardly towards the man he’d only seen in dreams or heard of in stories. He couldn’t believe that the king of the gods stood before him. Only a few months ago had Aman heard the story of Indra’s elephant, Airavata, and his encounter with the crocodile in Pandayam Tal. Lord Indra was not one who lived in the past, but shared and actively lived in the same time as him. Aman wondered if his own encounter with Airavata was an instruction by the lord himself.

The man nodded again. ‘That’s right. I tried to stop you. And when Airavata’s efforts failed, I, not Chayan, let loose the kirtimukha that kidnapped one of the valley’s Souls. In the hope to draw you out. I have always known you’re the key to a successful Mahayatra, not the Child of the Valley, ever since I saw you in your Adwaita in the plains. But the reasons behind my actions to stop you are noble. To mend the future, once and for all. Know this, Aman: You must give in to the girl. Do as she says. Abandon this Mahayatra and go far from the valley,’ Indra said. With that, the lord started to back away, ready to depart.