The elopement scandal had ruined Tirthankar’s reputation. He migrated somewhere to spend the rest of his remaining years.
That was three years ago.
Sabari’s state of marital bliss was well expressed through her kohl-laden eyes. They were always perfectly done. She made the kohl at home and every morning, after taking a bath by the tube-well, she scooped some of it using her little finger and smeared it through the inner lining of her eyes. And then she parted her dark hair and shielded the exposed part of her scalp with a generous sprinkling of sindoor. The red channel bisecting the front of her scalp livened up her face, which was now blighted with red sores. The disfigurement sat starkly on her pearl-white skin. Her grey eyes were still capable of reflecting her innermost sentiments. Perfect round cheeks made her face look somewhat swollen. Her snub-nose and bee-stung lips did nothing to sharpen her appearance. The only oddity was her chin that jutted out from the rest of her face. The innocence of her face subtracted quite significantly from her actual age.
Except for his beard, which now grew prolifically and covered half his face, nothing much had changed about Shailendra. He was short and stout, and continued to labour hard in the fields. Sabari wasn’t immune to hard labour either. They were expecting a good yield that season. The couple had gotten sufficiently wealthy in the last few years. Their homes were now equipped with the comforts of television and refrigerators. Both were still in the embrace of youth. They spent their time in soothing conversations. The silence of the night sky held a special place for them. The moments spent out in the open, amid the blue glares, were imbued with pleasure. Soon they came to be characterized with a sense of utopia ,as the young lovers had failed to comprehend the finiteness of such enticements. Lost within the illusion of invincible youth, they had not anticipated the vicissitudes that would rile up their placid lives.
The rains came like an ominous foreboding, not ceasing for a month. The river levels swelled dangerously. The islanders saw their land shrinking right before their eyes. When the worst was over, cultivated lands lay overwhelmed. The blooms sickened with rainwater and lay lifeless. And Sabari, was brought to the dai. An absence of a baby had set tongues wagging, but now it was time.
She heard the dai whisper, “A wet blanket will do.”
By the thin yellow light of the lantern the words acquired a more sinister meaning.
