The Valley || ONC2023

Chapter 6

"Ma, let's go." Maithili tugged on her mother's shoulder gently. Meeting the latter's nonplussed eyes, she elaborated, "Raghav says if we don't leave now, we will miss lunch."

The mention of lunch did what a promise of a lovelier site hadn't. "Oh. Ho. Mrs. Chopra, your daughter is right. I am sure there will be more things to capture after lunch." Bela Bhatt, a teacher from Srinagar, who reminded Bhairavi of her rude cousin from Bangalore, agreed.

Standing up, the once-sitar player ran her eyes over the mesmerizing field. "Tulips are finicky flowers. It's a rare site to see them like this: in perfect bloom."

Alas, no one seemed interested in their ethereal beauty. Disheartened by the lack of enthusiasm, Bhairavi shook her head, but not a split second later, a smile touched her lips when she recalled her honeymoon phase. She couldn't believe it was over twenty years ago when Ashutosh and her had said goodbye to a similar-looking garden. Less than a month after returning, Bhairavi had announced her pregnancy to Ashutosh, who had shed tears of joy at the happy news and engulfed her in their warmest hug yet. Their romantic trip was long overdue, and a beautiful place like the Flower Cove, buried deep in the heart of The Valley, deserved a second visit; deciding to do just that, Bhairavi walked away from the Cove, happy.

Soon after the van started moving, Bhairavi noticed that though her backpack was resting against the wall next to her seat, Maithili wasn't sitting in it.

A cursory inspection of the van revealed unsettling data: Raghav and her daughter were sharing the front seat!

The distraught mother cursed under her breath, "Fine. Sit with him. Brat!" and not wanting to look too concerned, she pulled open her own backpack.

"Do you have Odomos?" The irritated mother heard Bela ask, first her seatmate and then Raghav. Tuning out the rest of the conversation, she dumped her phone back inside, and in the process, her eyes fell on Won Sungi's notepad. Deciding she wouldn't get a better chance to contact her, Bhairavi dialed her Korean friend's number.

"The person you are trying to call is out of coverage. Please try after some time." The bored-out-of-her-mind voice informed.

The amateur photographer pinched the bridge of her nose. "Nothing is going my way today. I don't like it!" she admitted to the powers that be.

"Beta-ji," Amrit's soft voice drifted over to her from the back of the van. Glad to be distracted from her present state of mind and noticing that just like Maithili, Harpreet had abandoned her mother, Bhairavi smiled at the older woman and joined her.

Lonely mothers should stick together!

"It seems our Soni has taken a shine to Raghav." The graying woman spoke, eyeing the youngsters occupying the front seats. Then catching Bhairavi's gaze, she added, "She could do worse."

"I know." The concerned mother agreed, then wanting to change the subject, she enquired, "Aunty-ji, about the dead women, do you have anything more on them? As in, where did they stay during their time here? What did they do differently? Anything?"

Amrit scratched the underside of her forearm and smiled like all her prayers had been answered. "I thought you would never ask!" Leaning closer, she held her phone close to her confidant's face. "I couldn't get a chance to show this to you yesterday. And I think..."

The two continued to talk throughout lunch, brainstorming ideas about what may have happened and who may have done it.

Their conversation came to an unexpectedly jarring halt when Harpreet accidentally bumped into a table on her way back to her seat and spilled the steaming contents on her mother's hands.