“Garuda set off on the quest. Along the way, he fought a tribe of fishermen, then a monstrous elephant and tortoise, and saved a group of Valakhilya falling from the branches of a banyan tree. Finally he made it to the chamber where the nectar of immortality was guarded by the gods. The fiercest battle ensued, but Garuda vanquished the gods and claimed the nectar.

“More quests awaited him on his way home, but he made it through each. Finally, the king of the gods, Indra, tried to win the nectar back, but Garuda’s courage and strength impressed him and the two became friends. Garuda told Indra that after he had delivered the nectar and earned his freedom, Indra could immediately steal it back from the snake broth—”

The plane gave a violent jerk, cutting Aie off. A few startled screams rose, then died down amid shocked laughter. Before Esha’s heartbeat could return to normal, another violent bounce followed and the plane started to drop. Right out of the sky. This time the screams filled the plane and didn’t stop. Esha’s parents’ arms wrapped around her.

“Stay calm, everyone. Stay in your seats.” Baba Saheb’s voice was lost in the screams.

“Think about the story,” her mother said. “Don’t be afraid. Focus on the story.”

“What happened next?” Esha asked as the plane bounced and slipped and heat rose around them. “What happened to Garuda?”

“Garuda . . .” The word flew from Aie, slicing the air as the plane blew apart around them. For a second Esha was suspended, her parents’ arms flying from around her. But only for a second. Then she was wrapped in warmth, a thousand feathers enfolding her as she spun down to earth, leaving flames in the sky.

The next thing Esha remembered was waking up tangled in tree branches. Rain falling from the heavens in sheets. The sound of voices rose from the earth below. Great beams of light cut through the night.

“Aie . . . Baba Saheb . . .” She tried to say their names but her voice wouldn’t come out as more than a whisper. The voices on the ground continued to blast through the air, but Esha couldn’t make out their words.

That’s when she heard a sound. Much closer. The flapping of wings. It was hard to see in the darkness, but she squinted, and it spread its wings, the span wider than Esha’s own spindly arms, the head a stark white. Eyes like two moons ringed in light.

“Garuda?” she whispered, and the word gave her back her voice.

“Say it louder,” the bird seemed to say to her. “Say it louder.”

She screamed it. “Garuda!” Her voice got louder with every scream. “Garuda! Garuda! Garuda! . . .”

“It sounds like there’s a voice coming from up there,” someone said on the ground. The beams of light poked upward, slashing through the branches she was tangled in.