The Enchantress

12. Missions stopped

She quickly opened the main door, tiptoeing inside and laying on the bed. Thankfully, she slept in the same salwar kameez (Indian dress type) so she didn't need to change. She just burnt the paper and slept.

A few minutes later, her alarm woke her up as she got up, yawned and stretched. She also heard the alarm go off in the master bedroom, meaning that her mother will get up and start preparing breakfast too.

Her entire body felt heavy as she didn't want to wake up. It was first time in her life that she stayed awake all night. Even while studying medicine, she would study in normal hours.

Indrayani came to her daughter's room, only to find that her daughter's face looked too flushed. She held her delicate hand, feeling it warm up.

Indrayani sighed, mumbling, "You are having a few days off anyways. You wouldn't die if you rest up. Sleep is necessary as well."

Mahamaya knew how important sleep was. That's why she made sure to get all the rest she needed. Her mother's rambling made no sense at all. She turned away from her mother, laying down as her heavy eyelids drooped.

Indrayani sighed, trying not to get agitated. Nobody would believe her if she said that her daughter had fallen ill for the first time since more than two decades. She simply stopped falling ill after she was five.

Indrayani however would be ill everytime the weather would change. Mahesh would fall ill at least once a year. Their daughter however had a strict routine and she had stuck to it since childhood.

Because of Mahesh's job, he couldn't follow the routine as good as she could. However, in the recent years after she started practicing, she was called in at odd hours. Maybe that's why she was so ill.

Indrayani sniffled and got up, wiping her tear with the end of her saree. Her daughter was ill for the first time and she didn't know what to do. Rather, she knew what to do. Indian mothers always knew what to do if someone was ill. However, she felt mentally drained because of her daughter's ill health.

Indrayani knew that her daughter's immunity was super strong. She had the best lifestyle this age could manage. She decided against giving Mahamaya any medication as she thought that her daughter's body would deal with it appropriately.

Going to her room, she also laid down beside her snoring husband, pushing herself in his arms.

He instinctively wrapped a hand around her body, enveloping her in his warmth as she sighed and decided to sleep too because there was no one to make breakfast for.

Indrayani woke up to the smell of freshly brewed tea. No, not the British tea, but the Indian spicy tea, with lots of milk and sugar along with tea masala which was capable of waking up even the dead.

"Come, I have applied ghee on the bread generously and the tea has a layer of cream, just like how my wife likes it. I have also put brown jaggery instead of sugar, just like how you do it," he set her tea on the nightstand as she blushed, getting up to brush her teeth.

Doing her morning routine, she joined her husband for the specially arranged tea on bed program. Indrayani voiced out her worries lowly, "Maya has a mild fever today for the first time in a while."

Mahesh frowned as he mumbled, "I know. This is an hour past her waking up time. If she sleeps more than this, she will have trouble falling asleep tonight. I think we should wake her up."

She bit her lips. Should she tell him about the sound of the front door opening and closing just before the alarm had rung? Or was she dreaming? Where was her daughter though?

No, she trusted her daughter. There was no need for her to worry. If her daughter saw fit, she would tell her.

Before Indrayani could wake her up, Mahamaya's phone rang. This ringtone was different than her normal ringtone. Mahamaya woke up with a start as soon as she heard it.