Two days after she went back to the Shani diety and made her vow, to give up her empire in exchange for Harsh’s life, she finally got the news she awaited. He was not dead, he was showing signs of recovery. She stood in the fields for a long time, staring at the diety, offering it oil and flowers. She chanted the Shani Mantra loud and clear, ringing the small bell in her hand. The wind howled around her but she stood there ringing the temple bell in her left hand, grateful that God had accepted her vow. Harsh was recovering.

She shared the news with Saroj who hugged her daughter tight. She cooked brown rice in sweet jaggery and distributed it around the village.

Rajjo knew it was time to pay her respects to the goddess and figure out her way forward. She was going to visit every shrine of the goddess Durga she could in the following months, till Harsh walked out from the hospital.

But Rajjo knew getting rid of her robes was not going to be easy. Durga Maa, the Godwoman, was entwined in her soul, how could she kill her when Rajjo was alive? How would she give up her vast treasures when so many sat on the gates guarding it? The moment they got a whiff of this, they would unleash the dragons. They would kill Rajjo and keep Durga Maa alive, they would give up their lives, but they would not let the trust die. Rajjo knew she had a dangerous and mammoth task. She had to stop the giant wheels of the Durga trust that churned business worth crores.

As she sat in the courtyard, packing her bags with a frown on her face, her mother whispered in her ear, ‘He has heard you, he will show you the way forward.’ Saroj hugged her daughter. She wanted to dance under the clear blue sky.

Rajjo prepared to start her journey. Her first stop was the Vaishno Devi temple in Jammu. She was ready to climb mountains, bow down in caves, face the winter and bear the blisters. She was ready to have faith. She believed in the devotion and the purity of purpose. It was her cleansing.