With a grunt Mehtaab disengaged, gulped some water, lit a cigarette and covered himself with a sheet.

Rajjo stood naked, some warm liquid flowing down her thighs. She bled.

‘I want to hold my own sermon. You know I can handle the stage.’

The thick warm liquid trickled from her thighs and spilled further down.

‘It’s a good idea, let’s talk more tomorrow.’ Mehtaab rubbed his eyes wearily.

‘She is going with Kumar, you would not have any option if Rani Maa leaves. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Build another Rani Maa, and I can pull in the crowd. Give me a chance and I will show you.’

By now the trickling liquid was on the white floor. She had spilt her blood for this, she had paid for this with her flesh. Rajjo put on her clothes, soiled and crumpled, and walked out. The floor smeared with a crimson trail.

Rajjo went to her room and washed herself with water repeatedly. She came out to find Arjan waiting for her at her door. He had a calm expression on his face. His eyes took in Rajjo’s plight and it seemed he read her untold ordeal.

‘You are leaving tomorrow, I hear…’

Rajjo was unable to speak, she was unable to sit, she was unable to lie down. Arjan’s discerning look had taken in the bruises both seen and unseen.

He sat down on her cot and she slid in beside him. She was happy to have him next to her; just breathing and sitting there. It was a tough night, and Rajjo survived it because he was sitting there giving her strength.

Rajjo was still unsure if Mehtaab was going to stand up for her. Would she end up on the roads again or was this going to fall into place?

That night, as she shared her plans with Arjan, she felt suffocated. The room was not large enough to contain her anxiety.

‘Why do you want this so badly? Who are you trying to prove a point to?’

‘Nobody.’

‘You hate the concept of God, you disbelieve in it, yet you will spend your entire life, proving him wrong – that’s a form of love and devotion.’

Arjan smiled.

‘Will you come and see me?’

Arjan looked at her and then gently touched her face.

‘Yes, someday I will, when you need me to.’

Her destiny was going to unfurl in a few hours.

She sat there on the cot, next to Arjan, waiting for dawn to bring in the verdict. She needed the Dhaliwal Ashram as the venue for her plans. If Mehtaab said no, it was all over before it began.