The muscles in my neck tightened as I brought up my fingers to touch my swelling lip. My jaw felt as hard as stone. Men had been known to break their hands on my face. I hissed as I touched the tender skin and glared at the woman who’d wounded me. My battered face screamed like I’d been pounded with an iron stake.
Slowly, the pain faded, but the woman who’d inflicted it still sat at my side—a pulsing, irritating reminder of a mistake I had no business making. What on earth came over me? I felt like a fool. A wet-behind-the-ears boy caught up in the blush of a first crush. What really irritated me, though, was the fact that she wasn’t even hurt. Anyone else would be nursing their hand.
Almost devoid of emotion, Ana said, “You should not have attempted that, Kishan.”
“Yeah?” I answered brashly, rubbing the back of my neck. “I think I’m bright enough to figure that out on my own.”
I shifted away from her on the bench, and she lifted her eyes to me, a trace of an indiscernible emotion fading from them. She gripped the bench, her fingers turning white as she lowered her head, her hair falling around her shoulders, obscuring her face from view. She’d made me mad before. It was almost like she couldn’t help herself. Sometimes I thought she even liked egging me on.
This was different. She’d never lashed out like that before. Granted, I’d never tried to kiss her before either. Thinking about it now, I wondered why I did. It’s not like I loved her. I barely even liked her most of the time. Maybe it was a soldier thing. Kind of a Hey, we survived! sort of celebratory response. But no. That didn’t really apply in this case. I definitely wasn’t thinking about war when I was looking at her.
I didn’t realize she was talking at first. “What was that?” I asked. “I’m afraid I can’t hear so well after you cuffed my ears.”
“Your ears are fine,” she said. “It was your mouth I hit.”
“Right. So it was.”
“I wouldn’t have done it if you hadn’t been trying to…to…”
“Kiss you, Ana. It’s called a kiss. And don’t worry. I won’t be trying that again. Ever.”
Her shoulders trembled. “I…I’m sorry,” she murmured, her voice brittle.
I studied her profile. I’d never seen her act in such a broken manner before. You’d think after that punch that I’d be the broken one, not her. I sighed. “Look, it’s fine. I’m all healed up. Don’t give it a second thought.”
“Are you certain?” she asked, peeking up at me through a curtain of her hair.
“I’m certain,” I said. “Besides, I should be apologizing to you. I know you aren’t appreciative of such gestures. I assure you, I didn’t mean anything by it.”
She cocked her head. “So you are not desirous of pursuing me then?”
I laughed, my voice booming, perhaps a bit too much. “No. I have no desire to pursue you, Ana.”
“Good,” she said, though her face didn’t seem as certain as her voice.
“Good,” I echoed. “Let’s forget it ever happened.”
“Yes, I will endeavor to do so.”
She nodded and went back to scanning the crowd. It seemed easy for her to set aside any emotional drama and just focus on whatever it was we were doing. She said she was going to forget it and I knew she would. The thing was, I couldn’t seem to shake it off as easily. The memory of what had nearly happened churned in my mind like an aimless cloud. It produced nothing but it darkened my thoughts all the same.
“She is here,” Ana said. “I would speak with her. Will you help disguise me properly?” she asked, handing me the scarf.
I took it and drew it slowly from her shoulders. Cupping the fabric in my hands, I studied it and said, “Nilima’s never met you. She’s never seen you come alive in the temple.” I wrapped the scarf around her again, positioning it over her hair and trailing my finger down her hairline to adjust it. I noticed then that the scarf was now the exact same shade of green as her eyes. With my hand still in her hair, I said, “To her, you will just appear as a beautiful woman with a remarkable resemblance to the goddess.”
She nodded and removed the amulet, handing it to me along with our bag. After adjusting her dress, she headed toward a woman who’d just entered the temple grounds. Clutching the amulet, I phased time around me so I became invisible and followed her. Nilima sat down by a fountain and Ana took a seat nearby. I felt a shift in the air, and Ana’s scarf, the Divine Scarf, rose from her hair and flew to the ground in a whisper of silk.
It was obvious to me that the movement of the scarf was unnatural. It undulated like Fanindra in the ocean, finally wrapping itself around Nilima’s legs. Kadam’s great-great-granddaughter reached down and picked it up just as Ana rose and said, “Oh! Thank you so much. That scarf has been in my family for generations. I would hate to lose it.”
“It’s very beautiful,” Nilima said as she offered it back to Ana.
“Do you mind?” Ana said, indicating the space next to Nilima. “My mother suggested I come. I am to be married in two months.”
“Congratulations,” Nilima said.
“Are you marrying soon as well?” Ana asked.
Nilima laughed. “Oh, no. I haven’t met the right man yet.”
“Surely your parents can arrange—” Ana began.
“No,” Nilima shook her head. “I’m not interested in anything arranged.”
“Ah.”
“Not that I wish to disparage your choice,” Nilima quickly added.
Ana was quiet for a moment and then said, “Truthfully, I am not certain if marriage is right for a woman such as me.”
“Oh?” Nilima said. “Why is that?”
Anamika gave her a slight smile. “Men…frighten me.”
I could feel my mouth turning down at her words. Had I frightened her? That hadn’t been my intention.
“Besides,” Ana continued. “I am a…a hard woman.”
“Hard?” Nilima laughed. “How do you mean?”
“I do not wish to be held beneath a man’s thumb and twisted.”
“Ah,” Nilima said. “That’s understandable. If that’s your definition of hard, then I, too, am hard.”
Alarm crossed Ana’s features. “But Sunil would never—” Quickly she cut off her words and bit her lip.
“What?” Nilima asked. “Who is Sunil? Your fiancé?”
Grimacing, Ana nodded while I looked up at the sky, wondering how she was going to pull off whatever she was trying to accomplish.
“What I mean is…I am not the type most men desire.”
Nilima really laughed this time. “You mean the tall, leggy, gorgeous type? Yeah, men hate that.”
“No. I do not speak of an outward appearance. As to that I do not care. When I say hard, I mean…I mean I am not gentle of tongue, or tender. I do not fuss over a man with heartening words as if I am watering him like a flower.”
“You don’t need to be that way. I’m very much like you in that regard. You’re right that it turns off a lot of men.”
“Turns off?” Ana asked.
Nilima waved a hand. “Makes them uninterested in pursuing a relationship.”
“I see. But you believe there might be a man somewhere who is turns on by frankness and honesty?”
“Turns on?” Nilima giggled and I snorted but quickly stifled it when Nilima glanced around. “Yes, I suppose I believe that,” she said.
“Where do you find such a man?” Ana asked.
“If I knew where to find one, I’d have caught one for myself by now.”
“Then how will you recognize such a man when you find him?” Ana asked, a sober expression on her face.
“Sometimes you don’t,” Nilima said sadly. “But I’m not here for a man anyway. I’m here for my friend Kelsey.”
“For a friend?”
Nilima smiled. “Yes. She’s got a rough road ahead. I thought it would help to ask the goddess’s blessing.”
“Right, the goddess.”
Anamika squeezed Nilima’s hand. “It was nice to meet you. I think the goddess will answer your supplication. Your friend will find the happiness she seeks.”
“You think so?”
“I am very certain.”
“I’m Nilima, by the way. It was nice to meet you.”
“And you.”
“I didn’t catch your name.”
“It’s Ana.”
I cut off a hiss and wrapped an arm around Ana’s waist when we were far enough away that Nilima couldn’t hear and rematerialized when we rounded a building. “What was that?” I demanded.
“What are you referring to?” she asked briskly.
“Telling her your name. Don’t you think she might remember that?”