The strong arms around Mira caught her firmly as she lost consciousness.
'What is it that I'm seeing?' Mira asked herself. She couldn't believe her eyes. It was another world altogether. There were women and men dressed in flamboyant colours. They mostly wore long ornate skirts or pants with mirrors and other embellishments. The men wore turbans. 'Where is this?'
She kept walking ahead as none of this made sense. She now entered a fortress. There were shops on either sides of the fortress. The entire place was decked with tall lampposts and oil lanterns. They heard the men and women chatter away in an unknown language. Strangely, the more she focused on the language, the more she understood what they were saying. It was a foreign tongue which she didn't know, but she understood every word of it.
The women giggled and made fun of each other.
"He is just 12, but he is such a flirt. The washerwomen told me that when they were working at the river, he watched them, hiding, from a tree. And after work when they removed their clothes to take bath, he stole them. Such a cheeky little boy."
"I wish he had stolen my clothes too. What would I not give to be with him?"
"Stop daydreaming, Asha. You're way too old for him."
"So what, Radha is the same age as me. He feels no shame in sleeping with her."
"You make it sound like something else. She's his nanny. She just takes care of him."
"Ha, ha. Tell this to someone else."
The women chattered away about this unknown child and his promiscuity. Mira found a small cottage in the corner and she walked towards it. A boy of 5-6 ran out. She peeked into the house.
"What are you looking at?" She turned around to see an old woman.
"Where is this, grandmother?"
"This? This is my house. If you're asking about the place, this is Sweetura, the land of the Shepherd King. Where you kidnapped and brought here?"
The wonder in the old woman's eyes made it sound as if it's a common occurrence. I nodded to agree.
"Oho, deva re deva. When will these young men learn. If they liked someone, they should ask for their hands in marriage. What is this kidnapping? Shameful."
"So your gods and your Kings can, but normal man cannot?" A short, petite young woman came from behind the cottage. She had a pot of water placed snugly against her waist and another on balanced on her head. I helped her set it down.
"Talk auspiciously, Radha. Sometimes, you sound so...uncultured. No granddaughter of mine should be like this."
"Oho. My old woman has quite a temper. Calm down, lady. I'm still the best granddaughter you could ever have. Where's Kiran?"
"He must be playing with the village kids. That boy has no limit."
"Always complaining, our old woman. Go inside now, grandma, I'll boil some sweet potatoes for you."
"Alright. Feed our guest some too." Before Mira could refuse, the grandmother walked into the hut. Radha started working on the mud stove outside. She didn't speak to Mira and acted as if she wasn't there.
Mira cleared her thought.
"Why have you come?" Radha asked. "The last time you came, I told you that you cannot meet the young lord. He's not someone anybody can meet."
Mira didn't understand what she meant by that. "But I..", she started to explain.
"Yes, yes, I know that you're no ordinary person. You're from the royal family in Pali. You've told me. But you're married, can't you see it's not right? Please leave."
'Who am I?' Mira asked herself.
Radha placed a plate of sweet potatoes in front of her on a cane table and left. Mira hesitantly reached for a piece. They looked strangely delicious.
"Don't eat them, " whispered a voice from somewhere. It belonged to a young boy. Not too young. Adolescent, perhaps. "You'll not be able to go back, if you do. You have to go back now."
Mira looked around and he couldn't see anyone. Suddenly, her body moved as if she slipped and fell -- suspended mid-air, and then she dropped down.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Hey.. Wake up." Mira opened her eyes. It was her neighbour, Mr. Brinjoy. Mira tried to get up quickly, but she felt faint again. She held to the stool nearby and got up.
"Mira, are you okay, child? A customer came and called us. We got so scared. My son just went to get the car." Mira blushed. This clearly was unprecedented. And soon enough, Clint came through the door.
"Oh, Mira! You scared the hell out of us."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Brinjoy, sorry Clint. I don't know what happened."
"Me neither but starting tomorrow, we will close our shop only after you leave." Clint reached out to help her stand up properly and he helped her outside as well. He locked the door and shutter for her. Mira blushed deeply. Back in high school, Clint was her crush. Mira used to follow him around whenever she could. She had daydreamed about thousand such scenarios where Clint would rescue her and they'd fall in love. But today, that's not the case. Not only was it embarrassing, but she also remembered that Clint was getting married next month and that too, to his high school sweetheart Margaret.
Mira sighed and climbed into his car. She lived 30 minutes away from the shop. On a normal day, she'd either take a bus or she'd walk halfway and then either take a cab or a bus. Whatever her mood was like. She preferred those long walks as it gave her time to enjoy nature. Spending the entire day in that shop wasn't easy for someone like her.
Upon reaching home she thanked and apologised again to Clint for the inconvenience. She didn't have the courage to invite him for a cup of tea as it was so late into the night. She quietly entered the house alone and went to the bedroom, straight. Without thinking anything, she dropped onto her bed.
"Awwch!" A familiar voice groaned. It was him. The same man.
Mira turned around and looked at him. There he lay, naked under the covers.