A tumultuous year had passed by and strangely Rajjo was feeling more detached than ever. She took a calming breath and forced the beautiful surroundings to lull her senses. The deer and elephants spotted in the flowering foilage spread over 65 acres mocked her. The winding footpaths, peaceful lake and beautiful buildings left her feeling barren. Her days were spent agonizing over Harsh and their secret meetings. She yearned for him every minute he spent away from her. She tortured herself about every minute he spent with his wife.

To keep her mind sane, she had started to do menial jobs in the ashram. Karam and Rano were finding it extremely difficult to explain her erratic behaviour to the media or her devotees. They were not going to hold fort in Rajjo’s absence for long. Rajjo walked on eggshells and it was going to fall apart as the clock ticked on. She felt the churning was starting inside her heart once again.

As she casually walked barefoot by the calm lake, the calm and deep waters made her shiver. Rajjo knew that many sinister secrets and strategies were mushrooming in the lofty gardens of her empire. She knew they were dripping from the mango trees along with the luscious fruit and lurked behind the flames of candles and incense sticks that lit up the ashram in the evenings. She could smell them in the air. Her siblings and family was carrying them in their hearts. No one could be trusted. With this empire that fed hundreds, many lifes were at stake and they were not going to let go of Rajjo so easily.

Recently, Rajjo found out that her own brother, Sheru, had been in touch with Upasana the whole of last year. They told her Upasana visited his ashram twice a month. What cure did she seek? She was a wronged, meek housewife in the background and that only made Rajjo more uncomfortable. Ever since Upasana had visited her in the ashram, Rajjo had been in a state of discomfort.

All she was left with was her acute faithlessness, her longing and this empire that was eating away at her like a termite. She longed to go back under that starlit sky once more, and disappear in the swirls of the wide white skirts of the dervishes.