Page 46 of The Circle of Exile
“What do you want to eat?” He reached for the hotel phone.
Iram stared at him, her eyebrows drawn together.
“What happened?”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“I have quietened everything.”
“Why?”
“To take you out of here and follow safely with my son.”
He regretted his choice of words even before they were out of his mouth. Some childish, wounded animal inside him was rattling a cage. He silenced it, seeing how she shut down. The functional part of her hid behind the veil that fell.
“Is Yathaarth asleep?” Atharva asked, trying to bring that functional part back.
“He cried.”
“Cried?”
“I tried to change his nappy. He cried. So Begumjaan did it. Then she put him in a cot and rocked it until he fell asleep.”
“He doesn't cry often…” Atharva bit his tongue at her stricken face. So much for bringing her functional side back. “I mean, he is in a new place.”
Atharva observed her face carefully. The old Iram, or at least, the pregnant Iram he had last known would have burst into tears at that remark. Or thrown something at him. This one stared at him, blinking, as if she was in deep thought.
“Can you pass me that water?” He requested, hoping to shake her out. She picked up the bottle and handed it to him. Still the same.
“They butchered the dum aloo in the morning. Want to order some local dish…?”
Atharva’s head moved with her as she walked to the sofa and lowered herself there, breathing slowly. Heavily.
“Iram?”
“Yes?”
“Are you ok?”
“Yes.”
Her dark brown eyes came to him and she smiled. It was the fakest of her fake smiles.
“Yes, order something local.”
Atharva did not reach for the phone. Instead, he got up, kneeled in front of his bag, and zipped open the hidden pocket under his toiletry kit. From its depths, he pulled out a velvet pouch and rose to his feet.
“Come here,” he called, pulling the string and fishing his fingers inside. He expected her to keep sitting but when he glanced up from the pouch, she was on her feet and walking towards him. Still the rag doll expression. His eyes fell shut for a second as he breathed in. One partner wounded in a team of two could be taken care of by the healthy one. What did you do when both were wounded?
The scent of her presence made him tear his eyes open and he looked down into her veiled eyes. Atharva reached for her hand and slipped her ring back on her finger, keeping his eyes on hers, seeing if it lifted the veil. Brown still water began to ripple.
“Do not take this off again,” he commanded, throwing the stone in. And the water erupted.
“I did not take it off…”
“I know. It was taken off for your C-section prep.”
Her hand warmed up suddenly. The veil in her eyes fell down.
