Flashback continued
The groom, Ganak had respect well-up in his eyes at her words. "You are really nice, Second Miss. This old little mare is lucky. Did you know that she belonged to the old lady of the house? After her passing away, no one was allowed to ride her. She has been lonely all these years."
Katyayani was surprised at his disclosure. She hadn't known that her grandfather gave her the mare which belonged to his beloved wife. She didn't know what to make of this gesture but she was definitely moved.
Without her consciously knowing, her expression softened.
"In fact, this old thing is partial to watermelon instead of apples and sugar," the boy said helpfully.
Katyayani stroked the area between the nostrils and head of the mare and smiled. "I'll get you watermelon next time, old biddy."
"What is your name?" She turned to look at the groom and asked, while removing the sheepskin gloves from her hands.
"This servant is called Ganak, Second Miss. I am the groom for both young masters in the household," he answered with a hint of pride in his voice.
He was referring to the two sons of Katyayani's youngest uncle, Daivik and Divij.
"Good. This is for you," Katyayani tossed a copper coin towards him, which he caught with a deft hand.
She didn't wait to hear his thanks and walked out of the stable where Chatvari was waiting for her.
"Miss, this just came from the shop. Mandodari didi wants you to have a look," said Chatvari.
None of the four attendants referred to Katyayani as Second Miss. For them, she was their only mistress. Moreover, the rest of the Bali household had nothing to do with them.
Since that day, everytime Katyayani came back after a ride, she found Ganak waiting for her at the stable.
He chatted with her, made her laugh with his anecdotes and gently pampered her, without her even realising it. Slowly, his interaction was not limited to just the stables. Sometimes, he would share his hand-cooked meal with her, or ask her to sneak out of the house and take her to the market to see cock-fights and street gambling.
Katyayani spent her happiest three months in the Bali Mansion after the passing away of her parents. Even though she felt guilty of sneaking behind her attendants, she justified it to herself by thinking that it was alright to seek some selfish happiness once in a while. Didn't she deserve it?
By the time she left for the Mandh mountain at the beginning of spring, her heart was heavy and reluctant to leave behind her close friend. She promised to write to him often and told him again and again that she would come back within nine months.
Katyayani turned thirteen that year and not just her body but also her mind underwent a change. She didn't know why but everytime she would think of that secret friend of hers, her face would turn red.
She missed him terribly during that period.
"Ganak, I am back," Katyayani hadn't even changed her travel-worn clothes when she rushed out to meet him.
In her eyes, he had grown into a handsome young man with rippling muscles and a roguish air surrounded him.
"Second Miss, how is it that you have changed so much? You look wonderful!" Ganak's face stretched into a happy smile.
Katyayani bit her lip in vexation. For the first time in so many years, she wanted to wash off the mucky pack from her face and show him her real self.
She wanted to see his reaction to her beauty. God! She had become vain… in Dvi's company.
"I am so happy that you came back a week earlier than last year. I have been counting the days since early this year but I dare not hope... I will finally have someone to celebrate my birthday with. Will you… will you mind spending…" he hesitated, unable to complete his sentence.
Katyayani's heart melted seeing the expression on his face. An orphan like her, she completely understood his loneliness.
"Of course, we will celebrate your birthday. But you are terrible. Why didn't you mention it to me in the last letter that you wrote to me? What if I hadn't come a week earlier?" She chastised him in mock anger.
"Second Miss, to be honest, this entire year has felt like a dream to me until you returned and stood in front of me today. For a person like me to have a friend like you is nothing short of a miracle," his voice trembled and his eyes turned misty.
Katyayani's heart swelled with warmth but she scolded him in a brash manner. "Why are you so stupid… hung upon these silly notion? Anyways, I am going away now before my attendants come looking for me. I will see you later, hmm?"
Saying so, she turned to go but suddenly her hand was held in a warm, callused filled rough palm.
"Th… thank you for being my friend," a shy voice spoke from behind.
Katyayani's face turned ripe and she dared not look back at him. She nodded and gently extracted her hand from his grasp before running away.
Two days later, Katyayani feigned a stomach ache and sent all her maids out of her chamber on the pretext of resting. Even though Chatvari seemed perturbed, Katyayani had learnt under her long enough to be able to show the right symptoms to fool her medicine teacher momentarily.
"What took you so long?" Katyayani whispered as she saw Ganak slipping in through the window which she had kept open for him.
"I was caught by the head groom who wanted me to clean up the entire stable before the end of this evening. By the time I finished, I smelled no different from a sewage dump. Everything kept getting delayed," he finished morosely.
Katyayani laughed softly at the foolish and despondent expression on his face.
"Nevermind, you are here now. Tell me what is that wish which you want from me. Just because you made me promise, I didn't even prepare a gift for you," she said in a wronged voice.
In fact, she had really wanted to gift him a pair of breeches and a set of thick, new clothes to replace the torn ones which he currently possessed and wore all the time. The weather was so cold that her heart ached at the thought of his body shivering under the onslaught of the harsh winters.
"Will you really give me what I ask for?" He asked shyly.
Looking at his expression, her heartbeat suddenly kicked up. She lowered her eyes bashfully and nodded.
"You promise?" His whispered question floated in the air.