Prithvi... [Vol 1] (Ongoing) (Winner of Wattpad India Awards 2019)

Chapter 8

Nandini checked the lock on the front door, and then moved around the ground storey of her house to verify if all the other doors were closed securely. She passed by her grandfather's room while returning after tightly locking the door to the backyard and saw that the lights were on.  Her grandfather was sitting on an armchair near his bed, engrossed in reading a spy thriller. He had a whole stack of books on espionage and international intrigue, which were his secret hobby, and which were hidden in one corner of his bedroom. Nandini had brought him most of those books with her pocket money, and she also often borrowed books from her friends for him.

Lost in the adventures of the hero who was an intelligence agent, he absentmindedly reached down and rubbed his ankles.

Nandini went into the kitchen and took a small bottle of herbal oil, which she then warmed in a small vessel and poured into a tiny container. She returned to his room and sat down at his feet. She gently lifted his feet and placed them in her lap. Then she started to gently massage the warm oil onto his ankles, which were swollen due to the cold and also because of standing for long hours in the temple.

When she looked up, her grandfather was looking at her with a very sweet smile on his face.

 Nandini grinned up at him. "So what's happening in the book, grandpa? Has the hero found out that there is a conspiracy to destroy his country?"

"No...not yet. He's just come across a spaceship in a room in the government office and he's going to go inside to find out if there are any aliens inside. Because the heroine has been kidnapped by some extraterrestrials," Bhootnath said animatedly, and Nandini giggled.

"But you know, there is a lot more mystery in Shamli these days," he added and laughed. "Everyone who has been coming to the temple has been asking me about Prithvi and Sumer Singh. Some of them came home too, with so many questions, but your mother and I told them that Rajesh had strictly instructed they were to be left alone and not be troubled by anyone," he said smugly.

That would have put an end to any questioning, Nandini thought. Rajesh uncle's sway in Shamli had not decreased at all even though he had moved away two years ago. And if people came to know that he had issued an edict, it would be followed without question.

Then Bhoothnath turned faintly grave. "You know, I have a little suspense to solve myself," he said slowly. "Ever since I've seen Prithvi, I've been thinking about this.  I know for sure I have never seen him before. But there is something familiar in the way he walks and speaks... I wonder if..."

"I am not going to sleep so early," Prakash's defiant voice floated down from his room upstairs. "It's Saturday tomorrow, there is no school. I want to stay awake for some more time."

"That boy is very disobedient. He should be sleeping by this time," Bhoothnath said, shaking his head in disapproval.

"It is time for you to go to sleep too, grandpa," Nandini said, laughing.

"But this is an action-filled part of the story," he protested.

"You can read it first thing tomorrow morning," she reassured.

Nandini stood up with the empty container and went into the kitchen and washed her hands. When she returned to her grandfather's room, his nose was still in the book. She firmly took the book from his reluctant hands, put a bookmark on the page he had been reading, and kept it on the table. She tucked him comfortably into bed, covered him with a warm blanket and put out the lights.

On the way to her own room, she passed by Prakash's room, from which her mother stepped out. "He's really drowsy, but is reading his comics book and is not willing to go to sleep," her mother said, exasperated. "Anyway, tomorrow you don't need to go to clean Ayodhya, Nandini. Sumer Singhji insisted that they will keep a maid for all that work. I asked the Sharmas if their maid could go to Ayodhya too once their work was over, and they've agreed."