Prithvi... [Volume 4]

Chapter 87

Clutching the small bag to his chest, Sankatmochan nervously peered out of Ayodhya's door. Nandini was watering the plants in Vrindavan's courtyard.

Sankatmochan sighed.

He'd not felt adequately courageous to discourage Prithvi from going on a wild goose chase to find a long dead mother. He had also held his peace on the worrisome topic of Nandini being kept in the dark.

It was for his own well-being. He had not seen Prithvi in that sort of a mood for a long time. But the memories weren't so far in the past that he'd forget the consequences of disturbing his friend when he was in that particular frame of mind.

Prithvi had not phoned after meeting that delusional woman who claimed to have seen Priyamvada, forcing him and Sumer Singh to endure more than twelve hours of paralyzing anxiety. Then, today morning, the call had finally come, and Prithvi had told them exactly what they didn't want to hear.

He was going to look for his mother.

A flurry of phone calls had taken place in the subsequent hour between Sumer Singh and several of his friends and acquaintances, as travel and living arrangements had to be finalised. The planning was difficult, because it was impossible predict the duration of the search. It could take days or weeks or months...

By God's grace, a swift and easy solution had arrived from an unexpected quarter. Prithvi had given his approval to the arrangement, albeit reluctantly. And it was also decided that Sumer Singh would leave Shamli very soon and join the search.

Sankatmochan sighed again.

He would have liked to accompany Prithvi. But he was ordered to stay put in Shamli and continue to be of help to the Bharadwaj family. And Prithvi had also entrusted him with two life-threatening missions.

He badly wished he had armed guards to protect him. But to his bad luck, even Sumer Singh had outright refused to accompany him.

He started on realising that Nandini had nearly finished watering the plants and was about to go back into the house. He had to speak to her right away or risk displeasing Prithvi.

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Nandini swivelled and smiled at Sankatmochan.

The plump man was looking nervous as he approached her.

Her smile slipped. She instantly knew what he was going to say. She had known since yesterday's evening...

Her limp fingers nearly let go of the watering can, but she tightened her hold on it at the last moment. She swiftly looked down at it to conceal the tears in her eyes, and to seize a moment to get rid of the lump in her throat. A sense of murderous rage was infinitely helpful in doing both.