Idhika saw that her father was reading, and she didn’t want to bother him, but his watchful eyes spotted her. He called her to sit with him.

Her face lit up, but she quickly wiped her tears before going over to him. ‘Father . . . I really miss Mother today.’

He continued reading. The villagers called him the ‘crazy’ one because he rarely took his eyes off the palm leaves, and if he was ever drawn into conversation, he would only speak of his conspiracy theories about the valley. An oft-narrated one was that the gods were at war with Vanyasa, fighting the valley so that the gods could kill themselves. Of course, it never made sense to anyone. But then, most things Rishi Ajan said didn’t.

‘Tell me about her, Father!’ Idhika persisted. ‘Of Mother’s bravery and her beauty—’

‘I’m very close to the truth, bacche!’ her father said. ‘You won’t believe it. I went to the Clearing of the Chiefs yesterday and met Chief Brighu, who welcomed me with a cup of sura paniyam. We may finally have an answer to our doubts. You see, the clans are the oldest here. They know of the valley’s landscape and wield great influence over the Sabha and Samiti. And the chief did everything but confirm my doubts about where the Madhu is hidden. I was right all along.’

‘So this explains how she died?’

‘Not how,’ her father said, ‘but why, why she had to be sacrificed . . . finally, a lot of things will change in Vanyasa.’

‘Will she ever come back? Like the sadhus that meditate in the caves for years?’

Rishi Ajan could only muster up a conciliatory smile.

‘Please, Father,’ Idhika said, ‘I simply do not understand. You always said she was the best of the yoginis. Her beauty and strength were unmatched. She aimed the arrow best among all ten Souls. Then tell me. Why did she leave us? What happened exactly? And I don’t want to hear the Song of the Valley, but the actual story!’

Rishi Ajan looked uneasily at the path, pausing as if he could hear his late wife’s voice. His eyes misted as he started whispering through his congested chest, his lip trembling. ‘Tucked within brambles that may, shielding boughs and keeping at bay; every . . .’ At times, the words were soundless. ‘. . . But in the valley fortified by the one that slithers, for the sake of home—’

Before he could finish, two women entered the hut and pulled Idhika away, dragging her to the back wall. They held on to her protectively.

Before Idhika could comprehend anything, Chief Brighu, Acharya Ashwini and Sanaka entered, followed by a few other men.

Ajan had only just stood up, fumbling, when Acharya Ashwini grabbed his arms and shoved him on to the floor. The acharya stepped on his back, pushing down with all his weight, and said, ‘Poor senile man. Lying to everyone, even his daughter.’