Page 89 of The Love Position

‘Can we go to the bench at the very back?’

‘Sure.’

Sophia followed him to the table, and Isaac placed her food down.

‘Tuck in, don’t wait for me.’

As he jogged off, Sophia kept her attention on her plate and the sargassum-covered beach through the trees. She hated being observed, and now there were too many reasons for people to look at her.

Even though she wanted to spend this time with Isaac, she missed the way Jessica unpicked the contradictory nature of the ashram and the inbuilt hierarchy and hypocrisies. Isaac either didn’t seem to notice, or just accepted things for being the way they were.

‘How did the Devanandara organisation get this island?’ she asked when Isaac returned.

‘Do you want the official or unofficial story?’

‘Both please.’

He smiled. ‘Well, you know Swami Devanandara founded the first ashram in the nineteen-fifties in Rishikesh?’

She nodded. The TTC manual spoke of westerners flocking to India to follow his teachings, then carrying them back to their home countries.

‘Did you ever meet him?’

‘Unfortunately not, however Swami Vishnu was very close to him and has shared a lot of stories with me. He was apparently intensely charismatic and popular with pop stars and people who had a lot of money but not much inner peace. One of these was a billionaire whose son was struggling with addiction. Swami Devanandara cured the son, and in gratitude, the billionaire gave Tranquillity Island to the organisation.’

‘Wow. That’s quite a gift. So, what’s the unofficial story?’

Isaac leaned forward. ‘Swami Devanandara won it off him in a game of poker.’

Sophia clapped a hand to her mouth as a shocked laugh escaped.

‘Apparently he was a bit of a card shark and knew enough about people to play them. Coming across as a genial old yogi, then going in for the kill.’

‘I like that story the best. How did Swami Vishnu get to be in charge?’

‘The plan was to leave the organisation in the hands of the swamis who headed up each ashram, all of whom had been trained and appointed by Swami Devanandara. But on his deathbed, he changed his mind and gave it all to Swami Vishnu.’

In Sophia’s head she could hear Jessica yelling ‘yeah right’.

‘Did anyone… I mean, er…’

Isaac smiled as if knowing where her mind had gone. ‘There were two others who witnessed the decision.’

‘And are they still at the ashram?’ Shut up, Miss Marple!

‘They left the ashram shortly afterwards, I presume devastated by their guru’s death. By all accounts, the organisation was a bit of a mess when Swami Devanandara died, but Swami Vishnu really turned it around.’

Sophia nodded and took a mouthful of food, not wanting to ask any more questions and look like she doubted what had happened. Just because Swami Vishnu creeped her out, it didn’t make him a bad person.

After she’d polished off her second plate of food, Isaac took Sophia’s plate.

‘I’d like to do something, but it’s going to take about fifteen minutes. Do you mind waiting here?’

‘Not at all. Do you need any help?’

He shook his head, then glanced towards the private dining area. ‘Hang on, one sec.’

Striding away, he dropped off her plate, then disappeared from view, returning a moment later with a bowl.

---