“What are youdoing?”
“Experimenting.”
“Can you experiment on someone else’s forehead?”
“I could. But I won’t.”
Tap tap tap.
“Gupta. I realize you cannot die. But there are many ways to make—”
“You’re smitten,” he said. Matter of fact. As if he was remarking on the phase of the moon.
“You’re a fool.”
“So are you. Love has made a fool of you,” he said. And then hefrowned. “There’s a poem somewhere in there, but I am miserable at structure and rhythm, so I will spare you my attempt.”
“How merciful,” I said, crossing my arms. “And I am not smitten. I simply like order in my universe. And there’s no order because I don’t knowwhereI’m supposed to be this evening.”
“Just go back to whatever it is that you used to do during the evening.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but the words caught in my throat. For a moment, I struggled to remember what it was that I used to do during the evening. But when I closed my eyes, I only saw her face. Day and night. That was the difference she left within me. Every day after that had become a lesson in seeing.
Night fell. I waited. I didn’t know what I expected. A message? Some sign? A flock of eagles attacking me and dragging me to her? But maybe I waited too long. Because when I finally arrived at her grove, it was empty. Night had already been seamlessly sculpted into the land.
She was gone.
***
When I got back to Naraka, Gupta was dressed in a simple cotton-spunsherwani.He wore apagriover his head, strangely molded so that it looked like he wore a pair of horns. And he was holding out a length of black silk to me.
“Where are you going?”
“Correction,” said Gupta. “Where arewegoing? Stop pining. Your beloved is probably in the Night Bazaar surrounded by every other anxious and amorous person. It’s a big day today.”
“What’s today?” I asked miserably.
“Stop feeling sorry for yourself.”
“Or what?”
“Or I’ll take it upon myself to read you a bedtime story as one would to an infant who has fallen ill. We can start withThe Way the Mountain Grows over a Handful of Centuriesand move onto dissertations of the benefits of semiaquatic creatures guarding temple treasures. Once upon a—”
“Noooo.”
“Then put this on.”
I snatched the cloak from Gupta, tied it around my shoulders, and flung it over my head. The hood was enchanted, so I could see perfectly through the material. I found a blank mirror and grimaced. The top half of my face was obscured.
“You want me to enter the Night Bazaar likethis? I look ridiculous.”
“You always complain about drawing attention to yourself.”
“Gupta. I have a hood covering my face. What part of this doesnotdraw attention to myself?”
“The part where if your full face was showing not a single person would come near you. At least this way, they’re curious.”
“She won’t be there.”
