Bhabra

9. the powerful

Madhu's earliest memory dated back to when she was three. She couldn't remember the details, only a hazy image of her mother wearing a blue sari as she stood perched on a ladder with a brush in hand, painting the ceiling of their bedroom, a large blue bindi between her brows.

She could see her bindi. The blue dot coming towards her as her mother bent down to kiss Madhu goodnight, and then burst into flames.

Madhu woke up with a start, a silent cry for her Ma remaining unuttered on her lips.

Realising she was back in her childhood bedroom, Madhu tried to calm her rapid breathing. Chikki, who was sleeping soundly beside her, moved closer to her.

Blinking through the foggy mist of her eyes, Madhu focused on the ceiling. The image was faded but still vibrant. It was a large banyan tree beneath which a sage was sat, narrating fables from the Panchatantra to the jungle animals that surrounded him. The jobless jackal, the wise owl, the royal lion, the cunning snake, the clever monkey, the crocodile couple, the loyal mongoose, the shrewd rabbit, the beautiful donkey, the serene elephant, the graceful eagle, the kind mouse and every other animal imaginable. As a child, she could easily lose herself in that image, with her mind painting the stories her grandfather and Raghu Kaka used to tell her.

She wished she could go back to those tales again and forget everything else.

A knock sounded through the door.

With a flinch, Madhu parted her cracked lips. Sand grated the inside of her parched throat as she called out in a feeble voice, "Come in."

Suman stepped inside, holding a tray with a bowl of food and jug of water in one hand, and an ice bag in another. Placing it on the bedside table, she sat down beside Madhu and smiled sadly.

With her help, Madhu sat up straight, wincing when a sharp pinch clamped down on the mid-point of her spine. She slowly gulped two glasses of water and the relief was instantaneous.

"What happened?" croaked Madhu, leaning back against the headboard.

"Nakul bhai said you fainted due to dehydration, and you've bruised your shoulder and your back but it's nothing serious. He thinks you just need to rest. Also here," she handed her the ice bag. "This will help with your back."

It was only when she said it that Madhu became aware of the light pain in her right upper arm all the way to her collarbone. It was not too intense, kind of like fifty something needles stabbing her muscles, but nothing seemed to be broken. Although her arm did feel too stiff to move.

"And how did I get here?"

Suman hesitated for a moment, but then started speaking. "Well, after I came here, I fell asleep in Nakul bhai's room. He woke me up late in the afternoon after coming back from the district headquarters and asked about you. I told him you must still be in the market. Then he asked whether a woman named Champa had come here to cook, when I said no, he picked up a lathi and rushed to check up on her. You were unconscious when he came back, and he was carrying you. Then he went out again, talking about going to the hospital."