Guilt attacked Saroj immediately at the beautiful tear-stricken face and red ears, the eyes still defiant. She was her most beautiful born out of the four sisters and one brother. All the girls were pretty in a conventional way, but this one had a fierceness that made her stand out. The other girls had pale milky skin and straight silky hair, but not Rajjo.

She wanted to reach out and hug this stubborn, obstinate kid who baffled her.

‘I will go, I will fall in love and elope with a man who will take me away from this all!’ Rajjo stuck her nose up in the air and sniffled with resolve.

Totu, on cue, screamed from the cage as if underlining the prophecy.

Saroj just sat looking at the girl straighten her limp shirt, wipe her tears and walk out of the room like a princess adjourning her meeting. She walked with her back straight, head held high, regal demeanor. She was a princess in a village of paupers, all right.

What if that old hag was right about Rajjo?

Can you stop screaming, Totu!

Saroj was convinced Totu carried the dead mother-in-law’s soul, always excited when Rajjo was around.

With that thought Saroj marched out to gather the rest of her kids, slinging Sheru, her one-year-old son over her shoulder. Sheru gurgled and giggled as Totu screamed, and Saroj looked at the dusky sky and wished the impending rain away. It looked unlikely, but Saroj had learnt not to undermine the girl’s prophecies. She would light a lamp with a special prayer tonight for rains and clouds to pass them by.

Saroj and her little girls were busy making sure plastic sheets covered everything in the courtyard, in case it rained again.

As predicted by Rajjo, the untimely rain arrived with the approaching dawn in sudden savage showers. It had damaged the standing crops that were waiting to be stored and sold. After a whole morning of deluge, the rain slowed down to a drizzle and the household was bustling as Saroj and her daughters put their house in order.

Saroj warned the girls not to tell their father that Rajjo had predicted something and it had turned out to be right yet again.

She counted the little girls scurrying around and as usual Rajjo was missing.

‘Where is she?’

‘She went to throw the trash out and is stuck there, standing by the bridge. She has been there for an hour now, useless oaf! I bet she is going to get us in trouble by just standing there!’ Reet muttered as she herded the cows back into the courtyard from where they had been sheltered.

Rano was constantly on the lookout for Rajjo. Now she could see her huddled in the corner staring at the bridge of the village. Her pale green frock was billowing in the wind. The rickety bridge made of dry bamboo logs put together with iron nails was the focus of her attention. It was built over a canal where kids bathed with the cows and buffalos in hot summer months.