‘I am sorry. In the name of God that you so trust, do you think you can forgive me? I misunderstood you… And then I went about looking for something to blackmail you with. And then I realized it would be fine if you want me to go, because I think you are a brave woman. You live by your choices and your faith. I respect you. Please forgive me… I’ll go if you want me to.’

Whatever Kuljeet was about to tell her died in her throat.

‘What did you learn about me…?’

Kuljeet had a wary look on her face. She was vulnerable, waiting to be hurled a blow. Taking a defensive position against the approaching squall, she repeated the question softly.

‘What did you learn about me?’

Rajjo in a sincere tone uttered aloud,‘Just the truth. That you were brutally banished by your in-laws. They beat you with hockey sticks, broke your leg, called you a witch. You braved all that. They found out about your true love from your impotent husband.’

Kuljeet’s legs buckled as she sat on the cot with a loud thump. Rajjo continued with compassion, ‘I learnt about the bare-skinned truth in the fields, no one else knows or heard. Don’t ask me how it travelled there. What’s important is for you to know that you should not be ashamed. It’s a personal choice and you don’t need anyone’s permission, not even God’s, to exercise it.’

Kuljeet was silent. She had stopped breathing.

Rajjo continued.

‘I want to share something before I go. The day you found me half dead, I had travelled a long path and reached here…’

Rajjo relived the horrors of her life. Kuljeet was on a journey with Rajjo, forgetting her misfortunes for a moment as she was unwillingly drawn to her fears and pains. She wept at the death of her unborn child, she cowered under the whiplash of the minister’s leather belt, she curled her toes in rage as Rajjo’s body was plundered and violated, she tasted blood as Rajjo relived her horrors. Involuntarily her hand moved towards Rajjo’s in a comforting gesture. Kuljeet sat next to her, turned her face towards Rajjo’s and kissed her on the lips.

Rajjo did not shrink or cower back. She did not kiss her back either. She just let it pass, like a wave washing over, waiting for it to retreat. It was the most natural thing in the world, as natural as the green of the grass or blue of the sky. She conveyed that to Kuljeet without flinching or shirking away from her. Kuljeet relaxed and sat next to Rajjo with her shoulders slumped. Her face was as calm as a pearly winter morning after a tempestuous night.