The next morning, the sun rose, but the air felt heavy in Ram's house. Seetha was sitting in the living room, her hands trembling slightly as she held her tea. Sanjana was sitting right across from her, looking just as troubled.
"Sanjana," Seetha whispered, her voice full of fear. "I am feeling very strange today. I feel like something bad is going to happen to us."
Sanjana nodded quickly. She looked worried. "Even I am thinking the same thing, Seetha. My heart feels heavy, like a dark cloud is hanging over my head."
Raghu, who was sitting nearby, looked at the two women and shook his head. "Nothing is going to happen," he said, trying to sound brave. "You both are just overthinking. You are letting your imagination run wild. Stop worrying so much."
Sanjana looked at her husband. "If only I felt this way, maybe you could call it overthinking. But Seetha feels it too. How can we both feel the same bad vibration at the same time?"
Ram walked into the room and sat beside Raghu. "It is because you two are best friends, just like us," he said with a smile. "You share everything, even your moods. There is no reason to be scared."
Despite their words, the two women did not look happy. Their faces remained tense. Raghu and Ram looked at each other. They wanted their wives to relax.
"Why don't you both go to the temple?" Raghu suggested. "It will give you some peace of mind. You always feel better after praying."
Seetha looked at Sanjana. "Yes, Sanjana. We should go. We already planned to go anyway. Why don't we go today?"
Just then, Rudra walked into the room. He saw the serious faces of his mother and his aunt. "What happened, Maa? Athaya? Why do you both look so stressed?"
Seetha and Sanjana forced themselves to smile. They didn't want to worry Rudra with their "bad feelings."
"Nothing, Rudra," Sanjana lied quickly. "We just decided to go to the temple. But Shiva is at college, and these two men have work to do."
"We were just wondering how to get there," Seetha added. "Should we take an auto or walk?"
Raghu watched them and smiled to himself. He knew they were telling stories to hide their real worries, but he was glad they were trying to be positive.
"I will drop both of you at the temple," Rudra said. "I have some time before my meetings."
Seetha patted his cheek. "Naa bangarame (My golden boy)."
Raghu then turned to Ram. "Oh, Ram, I forgot to tell you. Yesterday, Ramesh invited us to his daughter's birthday party. It is at their farmhouse."
"Actually, I have some urgent work today," Ram replied. "You three go ahead. If I finish my work early, I will join you there later tonight."
"Okay," Raghu agreed.
Rudra looked around the room, noticing someone was missing. "What about Maha? Where is she? Usually, she is roaming around here like a little bird."
Raghu laughed. "Maha is staying home. Her close friend is moving to Bangalore today, so she went to the station to give her a send-off. She'll be back soon."
Rudra nodded. He drove Seetha and Sanjana to the temple, dropped them off at the gate, and told them to call him when they were ready to be picked up.
By the evening, the house was busy again. Sanjana, Raghu, and Seetha were dressed in nice clothes, ready for the party.
"Maha," Sanjana said, looking at her daughter. "We are going to the birthday party now. We will stay overnight and return tomorrow. You stay here at Seetha Athaya's house. Don't be naughty, and don't do anything mischievous while we are gone!"
Maha pouted her lips. "Maa! I won't do anything mischievous. Why do you always say that?"
Seetha laughed and pulled Maha into a hug. "Leave her, Sanjana. You are always picking on her. Maha, stay with Lucky. Mamaya (Ram) will be here if you need anything. Just ask him, okay?" She kissed Maha's forehead with love.
Lucky walked in just then, returning from college. She saw everyone dressed up. "Where is everyone going?"
"They are going to a birthday party," Maha explained. "They will be back tomorrow. Mamaya is staying here with us."
Lucky's eyes lit up. "Oh, how nice! Then we can spend the whole night together. Maha, I have so many things I want to discuss with you!"
Seetha looked at Lucky. "Lucky, make sure you both eat your dinner on time."
"Maa! I can take care of myself," Lucky pouted. "I am not a small child anymore."
Seetha raised an eyebrow and pointed at Lucky's bag. "Is that so? Then who is carrying all those lollipops in their bag?"
Maha tried her best to hide her laugh, but a small giggle escaped.
"And you three," Maha said, looking at her parents and Seetha. "Come back early tomorrow. Remember, my results are coming out in the morning."
"We know, Bangaram," Raghu said. "We will be back as soon as we can."
The three of them left, waving goodbye as the car drove away.
The next morning, the house was filled with tension, but this time it was because of Maha. She was walking back and forth in the living room, her footsteps loud on the floor.
"Maha, stop pacing!" Shiva said. "Don't worry. We all know you will get a great score. You are smart."
"Exactly," Lucky added. "Why are you so tensed? You told us you wrote the exams well, right?"
Maha didn't answer. She just nodded her head while biting her nails. She looked like she was about to cry from the stress. Lucky walked over and pulled Maha's hand away from her mouth. "Stop biting your nails, Maha!"
"The results come out at 11:00 AM," Shiva said, checking his watch. "It is only 9:30. You have been walking like this since the sun came up. You are going to wear out the floor!"
Ram walked into the room carrying a bowl. "Maha, calm down. Come and eat some of these fruits. Even if you want to pace around the house, you need energy to do it!" He said it playfully to make her smile.
Maha whined, "Ram Mamaya, you too? None of you understand how I feel!"
"Okay, okay, calm down," Ram said gently. He picked up his phone and called Raghu to see how far away they were.
On the Call:
"Hello, Raghu? Have you guys started yet?" Ram asked.
"Yes, Ram," Raghu's voice came through. "We are on the way. We should reach home around 11:30 or 12:00."
Ram looked at Maha. She was waving her hands and making signals. She was pointing at the phone and shaking her head 'no.' She didn't want him to mention the results yet.
Ram raised an eyebrow. Why not? he wondered. She was the one who told everyone yesterday. But he respected her wish. "Okay, Raghu. Safe travels. Bye."
He hung up. "Why did you stop me, Maha?"
"I want to tell them the news myself," Maha said. "I want to see their faces when I give them the marks."
At 11:00 AM sharp, the website opened. Maha couldn't even look at the screen. She hid her face in a pillow while Lucky and Shiva checked the computer.
The room went silent.
"Maha..." Lucky said, her voice sounding very serious. "What have you done? I really didn't expect this from you."
Maha's heart stopped. Her tension reached its limit. Did I fail? she thought.
Lucky stood up from the chair. She walked toward Maha with long, slow steps. Suddenly, she lunged forward and hugged Maha as tightly as she could. Maha was totally confused. Her eyebrows pulled together.
"How much did I get?" Maha whispered, her voice trembling.
Lucky pulled back, a huge smile on her face. "You got 94 percent! Maha, I am so happy for you! You did it!"
Maha felt like she could fly. She was so happy she wanted to scream. "I need to tell Nanna!"
She grabbed her phone and dialed Raghu's number. It rang and rang, but nobody picked up. She waited a minute and called again. This time, after a few rings, the call was answered.
"Hello, Nanna! Guess what? My results—"
Maha stopped talking. On the other side of the phone, a voice spoke. It wasn't her father. It was a stranger's voice, cold and professional.
As Maha listened to the words the person was saying, the world seemed to stop moving. Her eyes went blank. Her hand went limp, and the phone slipped from her fingers. It hit the ground with a loud crack.
Maha stood there like a statue. She didn't move. She didn't cry. She just stared into space, her life changing in a single second.