“What do you mean?” She raised her gaze and tilted her head.
“Float the lights. What’s it supposed to do?”
Her face cleared. “Oh that. The lights represent unfulfilled wishes that we hope Lord Brihadeeshwar grants us.”
“Five lamps…hmm? Didn’t know a princess could have so many unfulfilled wishes. Makes you wonder if being a daughter of Amaravathi isn’t all that gratifying,” said Veer.
* * *
Chandra noticed the glint of mischief in his eyes. He was spoiling for a fight. But she was in no mood for an argument.
“One could say the same about being the daughter-in-law of Rajgarh.”
The corner of his mouth rose up in acknowledgment of her retort.
He wore no shirt today, his chest with the interestingly shaped scars on full display. The wound he got a few days ago had already faded into an uneven blemish that looked weeks old, clashing against an even older sucker-shaped row of injuries.
She couldn’t blame him for taking his shirt off. The weather was perfect and the breeze pleasant, bringing the scent of a million flowers scattered across the waters. And the pond was almost deserted, as people assembled at the temple for the evening festivities. There was no one here who would question his rapid healing.
Chandra gave herself a stern talking to and avoided looking at him.
She bent down to adorn the floats with loose blooms of orange crossandra and pink periwinkle along with a sprinkling ofkumkumand turmeric.
She had thought to come to the pond with Sameera and Matangi, but Agrani had more tasks for Matangi, and Sameera had to leave for Amaravathi. She had gifted the red-and-blue glass bangle set to Chandra before her departure. The one that Chandra had so admired in the bangle shop. Overriding her objections, that no one would think to question it, and if someone asked, she could say it was a present from an acquaintance.
Matangi meanwhile, had fulfilled her dead mother’s wish. Chandra had seen her walk with Radha earlier, their arms linked together, chattering away. Chandra was happy for Matangi, having found a friend from her lonely life on the road. She herself, felt very fortunate in that regard and missed both Kalpana and Sameera.
The distorted reflection of herself in the moss-green waters, overlaid by the floating petals, caught her eye, and she touched a hand, once again, to her new earrings, feeling…something. A mix of appreciation and gratitude, perhaps.
Earlier in their stay, Veer had made a claim to Agrani about earning enough to buy his wife something, so he had used his free time and some spare money to make the metal earrings for her. They weren’t expensive but made with care and spoke to his skill as a blacksmith.
More importantly, she liked them. She was speechless when he gave them to her, not expecting such a thoughtful gift from someone like him.
“What did you wish for?” came Veer’s voice, as he leaned back against the steps, eyes closed.
“Wishes are not meant to be shared,” she said by rote, intent on her task of adorning the floats.
“Surely, as your husband, I don’t count,” he argued, cracking open an eye.
“You use that tactic frequently whenever you want your way. It’s getting to be annoying. Why do you care anyway?”
“It’s my job as your husband to fulfill your wishes,” he said looking more interested, the more she fought his nosiness.
Chandra knew he didn’t really mean it and was saying that only because he wanted to win a point. And get her to reveal her secrets.
The half smile he sported was at odds with the tinge of hostility in his eyes. Her heart gave a disappointed beat. There was curiosity, but their every interaction was laced with bitterness on his part. And Chandra knew she was mostly to blame for that, for hiding the truth.
“The things I desire are beyond you to give, Prince Veer,” she said loftily, hoping he would abandon his questioning.
“Why don’t you tell me what they are and let me be the judge of that,” he said.
A temple bell rang in the distance, its peal resonating across the temple pond. People began to thin as the hour grew late, until even the few stragglers left, and they were the only ones on the bank.
Chandra finished putting all the floats into the water, where they bobbed gently. She dipped her fingers into the cool waters, coaxing them along. Joining her hands she said a short prayer.
Her ritual done, she sat on the steps, relaxing after the frenetic pace of the past few days. Light was rapidly fading away. The breeze was turning cooler but carried the scent of blossoms, and the stone underneath still retained the day’s heat. The sound of reed pipes carried over from the temple and a peaceful serenity stole over her.
“I wished for the safety of four people,” she said, as she gazed at the lamps undulating on the waters, shining bright against the dark waters, their reflections making them appear more numerous. “My father, my brother, my maid Kalpana’s son…and you.”
