INDEX the lights diminished to a low almost eerie, then were completely extinguished. darkness was all around. the hum of voices died down. stillness came and settled into the black quiet space. hands reached out and fingers intertwined, pens were put down on notebooks, fingers alert on shutter buttons took a break. people were mystified, even frightened. yet there was a waiting… bated breath… a hush of expectation. sound came first, then light, reversing the order of nature. feet…
INDEX the sand was still and smooth, a supple stretch extending all along and beyond. the water danced and gleamed. seagulls called out loud and almost demanding a ear. feathery white clouds roamed aimlessly about in the powder blue sky. a quiet lapping of waves could be heard along the shore. the edge of water was frilly and had a fine topping of white. khushi felt wave upon wave of feelings fall against her heart. not so peaceful these…
INDEX the alarm was strident and it wouldn’t stop. he reached out in his sleep, eyes still tightly shut, searching for his phone. where was that phone dammit! his fingers touched something soft. what was that?! he stretched farther. he felt a contour, sharp and straight… it was someone’s nose. asr’s eyes opened instantly and he sat up with a start. what the! who was in his bed… with him!! furrows rushed to his forehead knowing exactly where to…
INDEX she was soft and pliant in his arms, her breath was hot on his throat, the crook of his neck. she was kissing him around his neck and then her lips returned to hover near his, inviting his touch. he could feel a need rise in him. a need to hold her and lie by her side, to feel her body falling against his, to be with her, just her and no one else. what’s the matter with…
INDEX khushi sat head bent before devi maiyya. something inside her trembled even now. why was he so angry with her? and what was it she had felt as he had hauled her to him, his arms unyielding around her even as he shouted and berated her? khushi closed her eyes remembering the heat of his breath on her face, the fury emanating. she had felt bludgeoned by it, almost physically hit. perhaps when she decided to go to…
INDEX he frowned at the laptop screen. back of his mind a tick. somehow his concentration was not there one hundred. he pursed his lips and went back to the work at hand. coffee, he needed a cup of hot black coffee, fairly bitter. always worked. he reached for the phone. “asr,” lavanya stood at his door, pouting. she was looking good as usual, he liked that. at no time of day, evening, or night was la to be…
INDEX “it’s so big, isn’t it?” khushi was staring at the water, her eyes fixed on the horizon, a stillness gathered over the ocean and the afternoon light suddenly lost some of its brightness. khushi was too engrossed in her contemplation of the vast stretch of waves and ripples and endlessness before her to notice. “what is?” asr asked casually from the hammock where he lay while khushi sat on the sand near him. “the samundar, arnav ji… there’s…
INDEX aman was in a fix. a young, pleasant looking man in his early thirties, though he was a few years older than the twenty seven year old man he worked for, aman had the highest regard for his boss. asr was ruthless and arrogant perhaps but he was also sharp as a tack, completely fearless, imaginative and inventive by nature, with a formidable nose for business. and somehow it felt exciting to be around him. aman wouldn’t dream…
INDEX “damn!” he cursed under his breath. his teeth clenched for an instant. fire glinted in his irises, his lips tightened. then he narrowed his eyes and looked at the laptop screen, willing the figures to mean something. this was important. he needed to get this done today itself, they had to take a look at costs for blooms in agung, akash would be waiting for his go ahead and revisions. lavanya had to get some figures and trends……
INDEX khushi sat, distracted, at the dining table. buaji huddled on the sofa, fanning herself with a palm leaf fan and looking at sanka devi with an arch look. behind the visible and familiar exaggerated air of impatience lurked a worry, a concern. something was not alright with her niece madhumati ji was absolutely sure. she had come back looking dejected the night before last after dinner at the raizadas. payaliya looked somewhat down too. but she had recovered…