Prithvi... [Vol 5]

Chapter 134

Prakash walked slowly towards the last flight of stairs, holding the cup of tea carefully. He had not found his sister in any of the rooms, which meant she had to be on the terrace. 

He was startled to see her sitting on the steps, with her hands crossed over her knees, and her forehead resting on her arms.

"Di," he called out, his voice sharp with worry.

Nandini lifted her head, and gave her brother a subdued smile.

Prakash's thin shoulders relaxed visibly. Though she seemed stressed, her face was dry.

"Are you okay?" he asked doubtfully.

She started to reassure him, but then hesitated, and finally muttered, "I have a headache."

"Oh...okay," Prakash said thoughtfully. "Here, have this..."

Nandini smiled gratefully while taking the proffered cup of tea. 

"Why didn't you go to your room to rest?" Prakash asked tentatively, sitting down near her.

"I thought I'll feel better if I take a walk on the terrace," she mumbled in between sips. "But it didn't help."

"You shouldn't have worked in the kitchen in the evening. Didn't I tell you to rest?" he said sternly.

"I walked for some time on a paved road in the morning, I didn't climb a mountain," Nandini said wryly. "And you know I usually go straight to work from the temple on Fridays."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You are superwoman in the disguise of a hippopotamus," Prakash grumbled.

Nandini's free hand seized her brother's ear. "In the disguise of a what?" she demanded.

"A flower fairy," Prakash clarified hastily.

She released the ear and patted his cheek. "Smart boy."

As he frowned and rubbed the ear, Nandini tentatively asked, "What is Rajeshwari doing?"

"She got a call from a friend from abroad a while back, and she asked Maa for permission to talk in the guest room," Prakash shared with a baffled amusement. "Di came out of the room soon, but then she got another call and she went back inside to answer it and closed the door. She's still there, I think."

"Okay," Nandini murmured, relieved to know that Rajeshwari wasn't getting bored. She had let down Rajeshwari today. She would apologise for her failure and make up for it tomorrow. But today...today, she needed time to restore herself...

She drank up the rest of the tea quickly.

"How do you drink hot tea so fast?" Prakash asked, taking the cup from her hands.

"It's one of my superpowers," she said flippantly.

"Very funny. Now go to your room and rest," he instructed, getting up.

"Prakash, wait...what – what happened after I left?" Nandini asked hesitantly.

Prakash squirmed. "Prithvi bhaiya was about to take one of the cutlets, but then you left in a hurry...and he didn't take it. Maa was very angry, though she didn't show it at that time. She told him you weren't feeling well. Then she moved other dishes to the front, and moved your dishes away. She pestered him to eat one or two things, and he did...but he left very soon after that. Maa packed up the snacks and asked me to keep them in Ayodhya's kitchen, so he could have them later if he was hungry. But she didn't add the items that you had prepared. I asked her why...she said you had not made it with any interest or respect, and so she didn't want to give it to him," he mumbled. Then he charily said, "Di..."