Winner of Wattpad India Awards 2020 (Judge's Choice) in the New Adult category.
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"The lights are cheeky, you can't live without them, and yet if you get too close, they'll blind you. Darkness? Well it doesn't cheat. It's cool and soothing. It's r...
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The following morning, Madhulika decided she hated birds with a burning passion.
She couldn't imagine why people broke laws to keep them in their houses when their early-morning racket was capable of causing migraines.
And if the birds weren't enough, she could feel someone licking her hand with a very wet tongue.
"You fucking son of a bitch," she said through gritted teeth. "Go away."
Seeing that she was awake, Chikki hopped on the bed and proceeded to lick her face, whining when she stubbornly kept her eyes shut. The bed dipped under the weight of his fat body, making Madhu feel a bit guilty.
"How long has it been since you've gone on a walk?" she asked, cracking one eye open.
He whined at the word walk.
"Fine, get your leash."
Jumping down the bed obediently, Chikki left to do as asked, leaving Madhu to freshen up in the bathroom. One glance at the bucket full of cold-water Nakul had left for her was enough to make her shiver, and she decided to skip showering. The temperature had dropped considerably since the night before and she was in no mood freeze herself to death.
The clock read ten by the time Madhu made her way to the kitchen, only to find Champa cooking something over the stove.
"You don't have to get back to work so soon, take a few days off."
Champa gave her a look over her shoulder which wouldn't have been out of place on the face of a tired schoolteacher. "Between you and Nakul bhai, it'll be a surprise if you two don't starve, especially now that you can't eat Maggi."
"Why not?"
"It has garlic."
That was when it dawned on Madhu. "Wait, it's Navratri already?"
"Mm hmm." She turned back to mixing the pure Navratri food simmering in the pan. "Also, you should take a bath."
"Right!" Madhu rose to her feet, not seeing any point in refusing her commands. "Have you seen Nakul?"
"He already ate and then went to feed the cows I think, must be in the workshop now."
A quick bucket bath and breakfast later, Madhu was walking towards the bazaar with Chikki on her heels, her stomach full of the bland no garlic, no onion meal Champa had made. Though she was thankful to finally get some nutrition in her blood after having survived the last couple of days on junk.
The unmetalled roads were damp from the rains, and she had to jump over quite a few potholes lined with brick steps, but the slipperiness had vanished. Even the occasional wet patches of mud ceased to be in her path when she reached the mouth of the bazaar.
A dirty green carpet was rolled out all the way to the temple, with stalls on both sides of it. The marketplace was buzzing with its usual colours and noise, and amongst the crowd of weekly shoppers, Madhu could spot several middle-aged men going up and down the carpeted pathway, talking to shopkeepers with folded hands and plastic smiles. They all were wearing different versions of the same outfit. One she was used to seeing on politicians--white kurta-pyjama with a khaki vest on top of it.
