She exhaled and opened her eyes. And the houses now looked like a whole rainbow. One was pink, the next blue, the one after it yellow, then green and so on and so forth. Beautiful, earthy tones. All the houses were built the same, from the same ancient era, all in different hues.
“Huh? How is it possible?” She glanced back from where they had come. “Is it a trick of the sun?”
“It’s a NiP trick.” He rubbed his hands suavely together and showed her his palms. Ritu turned around and began to stride back. The colours changed and the rest of them were just as she had left. She whirled and glared at him. He grinned.
“It was a NiP trick. You opened your eyes and the colourswerechanging.”
“It was no trick!”
He shrugged.
“How do you know so much about this place, NiP?”
“Nilay.”
“Everybody calls you NiP. In fact, I haven’t met anybody who calls you Nilay. Some special reason? Or you like them rolling on the floor in front of you, pronouncing your grand brand name?”
“My brand is grand?”
“To those who are psyched by things like that.”
“What are you psyched by?”
“Nothing,” she shook her head, a little too violently. Her bangs fell free from her ponytail and she brushed them behind her ear.
“I don’t believe that.”
“I am not starstruck. I am not impressed by big things, big brands, big… beauty.”
“Then what strikes you?”
“Why wouldyouwant to know?”
“Because you have genuinely got me convinced that nothing can impress you.”
Ritu stopped short. Was she like that? So unmoved? Did it come across so brutally?
“A good moment,” she found herself answering. He looked at her, stunned.
“What isinthat moment?”
“Something good, hopefully,” she smiled cheekily, feeling some bubbles from her girlhood float up to life. The sun was softening in the sky, the winter wind was getting colder, the sparse locals were milling about and thinning as time elapsed. And this was a good moment too.
“Let’s play 5 Whats and 1 Thank You,” Nilay proposed.
“I am not playing games with you.”
“You are.”
“I am not!”
“You are. My turn first. I will ask you five whats and you have to answer them honestly. No lies, no half-truths. Then I will say Thank You and pass the baton onto you.”
“Who made this game?”
“It’s a very old game.”
“How do I not know about it?”
