Page 39 of A King's Oath

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“Now listen to this, listen to this,” he scrolled down his phone and hit play. Ava pushed her half of the AirPod tighter inside her ear, burrowing closer to his shoulder so that he had to lower it enough for her to lay her head on.

The sun was going down behind them. The birds were flying over their heads, crossing the mild blue sky. They sat with their backs to the fence behind the stables, having finished their respective practises. He had gone to her cricket practise after his, waited until she was done, then brought her back here to steal a few moments before curfew time.

This had become their spot. The place where they would sometimes talk nonstop and on others stand quietly, her head on his bicep. Or, randomly, share music with one AirPod in each of their ears. Like today.

Nagar Nandji na Lal… raas ramanta maari nathani khovani…Aditya Gadhvi’s rich voice reverberated with the sweetest lost-and-found complaint he had ever heard. The words, the dialect of his North Gujarat, it made him want to stand up and sway.

“What does it mean?” Ava asked.

“It was written as a love song about Krishna by Narsee Mehta, but it’s actually calling him a thief,” Samarth smirked. “Radha is sounding the alarm that she lost her nath while dancing. She is asking him if he has found it fallen somewhere. She addresses him as Nandji’s little boy.”

Ava nuzzled his bicep — “Should I guess why you like that.”

He popped his bicep playfully. “Nothing like that.”

“If you say so. You are a Papa’s boy though, through and through.”

He tried to hide his pride in that observation. He was a Papa’s boy indeed.

Nani evi nathni ne maaye jadyache hira…Aditya Gadhvi sang.

“What is he saying now?” Ava asked.

“She is describing her nath — it is small, studded with diamonds. She is asking him to return it if he found it somewhere.”

“That’s not calling him a thief!”

“Oh wait for the climax.”

Ava’s mouth compressed, but she remained quiet, listening to the song patiently. He had come to adore this side of her, the one that turned patient at the right moment.

Vrundavan ni kunj gali maa bole jheena mor… Radhaji ni nathni no Shyamalo che chor!

Samarth chuckled.

“What?”

“The parrots and the peacocks start to sing — Krishna stole her nath.”

Ava snorted.

“Tattletales,” she mused. “But that world must be so cute. A world of friends and animals and birds and nothing but fun.”

“We are living in a world like that right now.”

She blinked. Then shrugged with her sunshine smile — “If you discount the exams and Ms. Shanaya’s rules then I could agree.”

“We still do this despite her rules, no?”

He grabbed her hand and caressed her smooth knuckles.

“I love this, Samarth,” Ava turned to him and sat up, crossing her legs. Samarth mirrored that gesture, sitting cross-legged in front of her.

“I love this too. It’s been two months and I am not boring you.”

She chuckled.

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