She could smell the wet mud in her courtyard. She could hear Totu imitate the call of the bangle-seller outside the house and she could feel her mother’s love enveloping the house. She remembered her mother’s faith that kept them safe. She remembered the village. It was time to move on. It was written on the walls, the shadows had whispered. His precious life sat in the palm of her hand. It was time to fight destiny and bring her beloved back.

8

8

IT was post five and visiting hours were over for the imambara. Built by the Nawab of Awadh, Asaf-ud-dowhala in 1784, the building was a magnificient piece of architecture. Karam waited in the empty halls of the Bara Imambara and Rano moved around reliving the history while Rajjo had her meeting. She could almost imagine the nimble nautch girls gracefully dancing in the jasmine-scented courtyards. Although visitors were not allowed at this hour they had managed a private audience as Rajjo wanted to meet Kuljeet and Arjan here. Rano plonked herself on a ledge. Tired and exhausted. The last few months had taken a toll on her.

‘They say the construction of this took fourteen years.’ She looked at her handsome friend with peppered hair and crinkled eyes. It had been tough on him too. Perhaps it was Rajjo’s state that ate Karam up or perhaps his guilt. The nagging thought refused to leave her head. Perhaps she could have stopped things escalating to this. What if Rajjo’s mistrust for her and Karam was not baseless? Not wanting to wallow in this thought, Rano turned away from Karam, impatient and restless. She was certainly in no mood to talk or admire any architecture. All she needed was to know Rajjo’s exchange with Arjan and Kuljeet. Warning bells were ringing in Rano’s head the moment Rajjo expressed her desire to meet them, after getting out of the hospital. Rajjo was not in her senses completely and she wondered what the idiots filled her head up with.

It did not help matters as Rano had the feeling Rajjo suspected their hand behind Harsh’s crash. Both of them felt the weight of Rajjo’s suspicion but never discussed it.

‘Don’t worry. Devi is there with her.’ Karam tried to soothe the worry lines knotted around her brow.

It didn’t help, as Devi troubled her the most. She stayed close to Rajjo like a shadow, while Rano sat here, an outsider, wondering what her sister was thinking. It made her violently angry. But she had to control her fury. She needed a calm head to see this through. A lot was at stake. She was going to fight Rajjo till the last breath to save what they built together. How she secretly wished that Harsh had died and they could have carried on with their lives!