The Valley || ONC2023

Chapter 1

*Four days ago*

"Jai Shree Ram!"

Bhairavi's voice was barely a whisper, yet it echoed within the four walls of her pooja room. With her left hand, she pulled out the secret compartment strategically hidden under her white marble Pooja platform while her right hand grabbed the incense stick before lighting it with a match and placing it in its stand.

A mild fragrance of freshly bloomed lotus engulfed her as she joined her hands in prayer.

"Bhagwanta, thank you for guiding Maithili. Without your blessings, she wouldn't have reached where she is now." A soft sob left her chest. "Still, my heart feels heavy. Why can't the college admins give her a proper break, ha!? I mean, she deserves it, doesn't she? Being a second-year medical student is hard, right?"

Bhairavi shook her head. A louder sob escaped her this time. Wiping her tears, the woman smiled. Adoration, above all, shone through her almond-shaped ebony pools as she glanced at the garland-clad seven-by-four-inch photo frame. In the center was a man, the best of all, according to her: Lord Shree Rama. He stood with his beautiful wife, Sita, on the right and a dashing young man, his brother, Laxman, on the left. A fourth figure, a humanoid male with features that looked borrowed from a monkey, was crouching at Lord Shree Rama's feet with hands folded in devotion. The only commonality between the four was the brilliantly gleaming golden crowns on their heads and vermilion and saffron attires.

"I can't believe she agreed to go on a trip with me instead of her friends!" The woman chirped. A Cheshire-cat-like smile tugged at her lips. "We are going to have so much fun." She beamed. "Can you imagine, I won them in a lucky draw!? An all-expenses paid trip to an exotic valley in Kashmir!"

Bhairavi felt beyond lucky. A month ago, her daughter had announced that her professors had decided to shorten their mid-summer break by a week, which left her with a week's worth of vacation. It had been ages since the mother and daughter had spent time together. The cracks in their once-smooth relationship concerned Bhairavi. Thus, she had pleaded with the latter to go on a trip with her instead of her friends. To her utter surprise, her daughter had agreed, but with one condition.

"Bhagwanta, please watch over us, alright? The organizers haven't planned a single temple visit during this whole trip. I can't believe that brat sometimes." The woman's face turned grumpy all of a sudden. "I don't understand why she had to keep this silly condition. I mean, did she have to be so specific? Do you know what she said?" She raised her voice by an octave or two and continued, "'Amma, anywhere, I will go with you anywhere as long as you don't drag me to any temples, capiche?'" Then back to her usual self, she added with a huff, "She has turned out like this thanks to her dad!"

A knock on the door made Bhairavi turn. "How long have you been standing there, my dear?" She asked. Guilty. So so guilty!

"Oh, I see. You have already ratted me out to 'your Bhagwanta.'" The man stressed the last two words for good measure and rolled his eyes before bringing his hands together in prayer and bowing to the photo frame without entering the sacred place.

Col. Ashutosh Chopra had always felt like a third wheel in their relationship every time he caught his wife of twenty years chit-chatting with her beloved Lord Rama. The army man sometimes seriously doubted if she would have married him if she could marry Lord Rama instead. Yet, he couldn't help but smile at the beautiful relationship the two: the Lord and his devotee, shared. His mother prayed too, but never like this. Theirs was a bond deeper than devotion between a mortal and a God.

The two had met almost twenty-two years ago. A fresh graduate from AFMC (Armed forces Medical College) at that time, Ashutosh's first posting was in Jammu. Here, the young medical officer had seen...no, heard Bhairavi for the first time and fell in love with her voice even before laying eyes on her. A Brigadier's only daughter, he still reminisced how she had mesmerized the crowd singing a Bhajan on stage while playing sitar at his unit's Diwali function.