‘Bring me the picnic basket.’ Rajjo ordered Devi, as she stood up after returning the phone. Devi was ready with it nevertheless. If Rajjo asked her for something, Devi would get it, be it the moon, the stars or a piece of her flesh. Rajjo took the basket and walked out barefoot. She was going to sit by the lake and feed the bread crumbs to the birds, she was going to drink a bit and she was going to lie down on the grass for a while. She was going to swallow the green of the grass, the blue of the water and the yellow of the temple flowers. She wanted to run away from who she was, just for an afternoon. No one stopped her as she disappeared in the luscious gardens.

Karam saw her disappear into the trees, wearing a silken robe – the red silk like a beautiful stroke of paint against the brown and green of trees. She was drowning, and perhaps it was time to save Rajjo from her own self, before it was too late.

Rajjo stood on the terrace of her complex. It was the second Saturday of the month. Thousands of devotees gathered in the ground in front of her for a darshan. Rajjo had come out for the darshan after four months.

She had not been meeting Harsh. Rajjo had called off their relationship two months ago, in response to her sanity being threatened.

The crowds were swelling. Rano and Karam stood next to her like proud parents. Devi stood a step behind. Devi saw the smug faces of the two people standing next to Rajjo and knew they had no idea that the storm was coming. Only she knew, and that gave her joy. The two thought this adulation would soothe Rajjo’s breaking heart. Rajjo was always energized and drunk on the power of her devotees for days after such congregations. But this time, Devi could see she was unmoved, but perhaps the two could not. The devotees started chanting. As the chanting grew louder, a wolf’s howl echoed in her deaf ear relentlessly. Rajjo looked for cover as if under attack by the chorus. Rajjo moved aside to sit inside the shaded area, away from the direct adulation.

Rano approached her with a diary for the day. ‘Purshottam and party are here for the meeting. They will help against the allegations for land allotment.’

Karam continued, ‘Upasana’s father is behind it, they have started taking action even before they have come to power.’ Rano gave him a warning glance.