The cobra retracted his hood and moved again, watching the baby as it slid towards the image of Lord Shiva: the Lord who had answered his wife’s prayers and given them this son, a son to bear his name and bring joy to them all.

Please Lord, Rajan prayed.

Please, not this child too.

The cobra, king among predators, reared his head and opened his hood again. There was deference in the snake this time. Ayah would swear in years to come, when this story was retold and relived, that the cobra had prayed to Lord Shiva and left. People would look at Rajan in disbelief as Ayah talked and wiped her eyes with the corner of her sari. He would smile indulgently and look away. But at night when he prayed, when he remembered his dead and his living, he thanked the Lord Shiva for sparing his son and he too was sure that the cobra was there not to attack, but to pray.

•

Priya moved the arm and leg off her body. They were small and skinny like her own, but heavy. Appa said people were heavier in their sleep, especially Amma, which was why he didn’t like to hug or be hugged by her at night. Amma said Appa didn’t like to hug because he lacked warmth. Priya thought that if Appa was cold, he would want to be hugged even more.

The little girl slipped out of bed quietly, careful not to wake her sleeping cousin-sister. Dhara often woke up at night, screaming and crying out for her parents. Nala reached her first, holding her, soothing and rocking her for hours until she slept again. Priya surveyed Dhara’s face once more—she didn’t want her to wake up alone.

She tip-toed quickly over the cool cement floor. It shone like the surface of a temple pond in the moonlight. The large, bronze statue of the Goddess Lakshmi sat impassively by the front door, her silhouette framed against the wide window. Priya squeezed herself behind the Goddess’ pedestal and took her place on the windowsill, her legs bunched up to her chest, her chin resting on her knees as she watched and waited. She bit the nail of her index finger. It was the longest one she had left but still it hurt a little. Appa would be annoyed. She tried to sit on her hands but nearly toppled over onto the statue. She steadied herself against the window, pressing a small nose to it, breathing out hot steam circles in a different pattern from the night before. She waited again.

Finally, she saw the white lights of the car flash outside their gate. She was blinded for a moment but felt herself relax against the glass, eyes closed. She knew he was getting out of the car, thanking the driver politely, unlocking the padlocked gate, relocking it carefully, checking it twice, before walking slowly to the front door.