Rajjo woke up early in anticipation. She looked forward to an afternoon with Harsh today by the lake. There was a secluded spot and she was going to pack lunch for both of them. Harsh often met her there and they made love under the cloudy sky, with the smell of jasmine and the silent lake watching them with a smile. She loved that spot. She had called Devi and informed her about the meeting. She had also instructed her to pack a picnic basket for her. They were going to have a light lunch of sandwiches and the leftovers would be fed to the birds after their lazy lovemaking. Perhaps she could pack some champagne instead of wine.

Rajjo stepped out in her little courtyard where she had personally supervised a rose garden. The perfume and lovely fragrance of roses sweetened the leaf buds of the flowering plants. Peacocks and white-feathered birds adorned her little garden. She sat beneath the shade of the banyan tree and created a flowery fantasy about the afternoon that was to come. Bathed and oiled in scents, draped in red silk, kohl in her eyes, moist rose-tinted lips, Rajjo waited for Harsh.

Hurried footsteps alerted her to Karam’s arrival. Devi hid behind them in the shadows like she did not want to be seen. Rajjo loved that about her. Her need to be invisible, Devi saw and heard the most. Karam had a strange look on his face and Rajjo did not want to hear what he was about to say to her. Before she could cover her ears Karam spat out, ‘Harsh is not meeting you today as he was supposed to. He is in Delhi. You met him last week.’ Karam spoke slowly like he was talking to a child. A dreadful feeling rose in her lungs, or was it bile? It happened to her again. How could she be so wrong? She was convinced it was the day and time they had fixed to meet. Devi stepped out from the shadows with a phone in hand. Harsh was on the line. She stuck the phone to her ear. Harsh spoke to her in a soothing voice. Telling her he was in Delhi, they would meet soon and his heart was beating for her. He continued to talk, like a mother singing a lullaby, soothing her, telling her about his day.

Rajjo knew they were all worried for her. The rose scent and the spidery web were disappearing, and bitter dark dread was filling her up. She was getting blurred in the head. Something told her this was not the first time. She could hear it in Harsh’s soothing notes, she could see it in Karam’s compassionate gaze and she could see it in Devi’s shadow.