Daughters of Kalika

৭. two bundles of cash

Money and power walk hand-in-hand.

****

Whether evident or not, Maya was slowly losing her heart to the 'someone special' of the whole village. And like a moth attracted towards a flame she accompanied Aadi Babu to meet that very man, who was none other than the head priest Hrishav.

She had imagined herself going to visit Hrishav's house for the first time along with him, not to visit him while he was sick. But life always threw surprises.

The scenery of the village didn't call to Maya today. She wasn't looking at the tall date palms to which were clinging pitchers tied with ropes, or the curious children who stared at the newcomer that she was, or yellow little chicks running after the mother hen with brisk steps. They all passed by like just another ordinary glimpse. Her interest was heightened when the carriage came to a halt. Climbing down with Aadi Babu, she now walked in through a huge towering gate embedded within powerful standing walls. In front of her was an ancient wonder of the world.

Well, that was how her heart named it when her eyes saw it for the first time. She had never seen such beauty in the city. The pale yellow mansion was three-storeyed, surrounded by a balcony. At some places the paint and cement had scraped off to reveal the bricks, but those little imperfections just told how long this mansion had stood proudly. This house too had a ringing bell like Aadi Babu's home. Well, of course it would– it belonged to the wealthiest family of the village, maybe even the richest combining the nearby cluster of towns.

A maidservant opened the door. She beamed upon looking at Aadi Babu, also cordially smiled at Maya.

"Sundar Babu is not here. Choto Babu is up above, resting."

The two were welcomed in and served refreshments. Maya sat down on a sofa. At present, she took a good look of the house.

The staircase led to the first and second floors of the room. The second floor looked quite dark and ill-maintained compared to the lighted up first floor. The sofa they were sitting in was in the part of the house to the right side of the staircase. A dining room and attached kitchen was adjacent to this. A golden chandelier embellished the abode even further. There were certain rooms behind the staircase, probably belonging to servants. Marble busts and terracotta horses were used as decorations along with vases of flowers.

This is enough to house me and all my close relatives, Maya thought. Do they not feel lonely and afraid to live in such small numbers in this house?

Maybe they have a lot of servants.

Her eyes minutely studied each and every feature since she had no other work to do while Aadi Babu was speaking with the maidservant, whose name she concluded was Shashi. While taking in her surroundings, her attention was grabbed by a photo hanging on the wall.

It was a family of four– a man with ochre eyes and thick black beard stood behind the very sofa Maya was sitting in now, and a woman with wonderful blue eyes, possibly pregnant, was sitting on it. She had a baby in her arms. A kid with a tanned complexion sat in the farthest corner of the sofa, a huge gap between the mother and the son.

"I think we will go up and see him," Aadi Babu said.

Maya's focus diverted from the photo, though by now she had understood who they were– the tanned kid was Hrishav, the baby was his younger brother and the couple were the parents. It tickled her curiosity– why was he sitting alone on one far side?

Maya and Aadi Babu got up to the first floor, following the maidservant who showed them the room.

Aadi Babu knocked but no noise came from inside. He slowly pushed open the door. There, a man was laying on bed with his back towards them. Maya went and stood beside the bed.