Sitara and The Dayan

Chapter Two

As the sun rose, Sitara awoke to the melodious songs of the birds, a stark contrast to the bustling city sounds. She walked over to the window and marveled at the breathtaking view of the mountains in the morning. After basking in the serene moment, she texted her mother and father good morning. They would have arrived in Darjeeling.

Sitara had planned a lot for today. She wanted to explore the market with grandma, visit the bookstore, and gather all the necessary ingredients for baking. Then, after they returned, she would bake the strawberry cookie with fresh strawberries from grandma's garden. She was sure all the activities would cheer up Grandma. They could even cheat on her diet and she could eat a few of the cookies.

After completing her morning routine, Sitara went downstairs to share her plans with her grandma.

"Morning Grandma," she said, walking into Grandma's room.

The bed was empty, and Grandma was nowhere in sight.

Grandma's room was just like how it had been since Sitara was young. The walls were covered with peculiar astrological paintings and weird symbols. A vast collection of old leather-bound books adorned one entire wall. And a wooden cabinet with a glass door displaying a variety of fancy daggers, knives, and swords, that looked like they belonged to the medieval, stood near the grand window that overlooked the garden.

Sitara stared at her grandma's most prized possession for a second, then walked to the bathroom. She knocked on the door only to find it was unlocked. Grandma wasn't inside the bathroom as well. She returned to the living room and saw Tripti walking towards the kitchen.

"Good morning Didi," she said.

Tripti looked surprised to see Sitara as if she had forgotten Sitara was here with them. "Good morning," she said.

"What are you cooking?" Sitara asked, approaching the stove and peering into the pot. A thick greenish soup was bubbling inside the pot. As Tripti stirred the soup, it became thicker and thicker and filled the room with the aroma of some strange herb.

"Your grandma's breakfast," Tripti answered, pouring a small cup of water into the thick soup. "It's some herb and leaves. I don't have any knowledge about it. She brings it to me and I cook. The herb soup is all she ate now."

"What?" Sitara asked, shocked. "I can't even imagine how hard it is for her."

Tripti gave her a sad nod. "Yes. And the medicines, they have some really bad side effects. It is so hard to watch her. I have not cooked anything good for her for the last four or five months."

"Is she diagnosed with something..." Sitara stopped herself from finishing the sentence, dreading the worst.

"Now all we know is that she has high blood pressure," Tripti answered, as she turned off the stove and covered the pot with its lid. "The doctors had done some basic tests and there wasn't any problem so they are doing more and more tests each day but yet to figure out the problem."

"I'm sure she doesn't have any underline problem," Sitara said, more to herself.

"I hope that as well," Tripti said, then she suddenly took Sitara's hand and squeezed it. "Sitara, please don't tell her I told you this. She will be furious if she finds out. She doesn't want you to know how sick she is."

"Don't worry," Sitara assured her. "And where is grandma?"

"She went to work in the garden."

"Garden!" Sitara almost shouted. "But she's sick."

"I told her, but you know your grandmother," Tripti sighed. "She doesn't listen to anyone. After all, she's the boss."

"I'm going to get her."