Page 17 of Twisted Alliance

Ishani continued to lay on the bench looking at the blue sky above, trying to bring her breathing under control and push away the panic.

But it was hard not to think of Shivay Thakvar.

She hadn’t meant for him to be killed. Her brother was only supposed to threaten and warn Shivay Thakvar to leave the Singoor lands and never return. What she or her brother, or anyone for that matter, hadn’t expected was for a city-born outsider to fight back the attackers.

Even when drugged, Shivay Thakvar fought back brutally, nearly killing her brother’s men. They had no choice but to hit him hard from behind.

Knowing why her brother was asking for her and dreading the upcoming confrontation, she got up slowly from the bench.

She ran her hands on the sides of her long ethnic skirt. Adjusting the long, sheer dupatta currently trailing behind her, she pulled it over her head covering the upper part of her face before stepping into the Gujjar mansion.

The sound of her anklets and bangles echoed in the corridor while she hurried inside. Before meeting with her brother, she took a quick detour to check on her mother.

As she entered her mother’s suite, she spotted her mother’s nurse arranging the medications for that day.

“Is Ma awake, Kamala?”

“Yes, she is, madam.”

Thanking the woman, Ishani opened the bedroom door and went inside. Even though it was nearly noon, it was dark inside. The room also smelled of medicines and stale air. Ishani went towards the windows and pulled the curtains aside, letting the sunlight stream in. She also partially opened a window, allowing fresh air in.

“Good morning, Ma,” Ishani greeted in a cheerful tone.

Her heart sank seeing her mother’s pale features grimace with the sunlight. Her mother’s eyes were glazed as she struggled to recognize her only child.

“Ishani?” her mother’s voice asked in a slurred tone.

Her mother couldn’t recognize her lately.

Ishani continued to smile cheerfully. “Yes, Ma. It’s a beautiful day. Why don’t we go outside for a while after lunch? The marigolds have bloomed beautifully.” Marigolds were her mother’s favorite flowers.

Her mother’s eyes widened, and there was a fearful look as she shook her head. “N-no… I d-don’t want to. T-there will be snakes…”

Ishani’s heart sank. Her mother often refused to step out of her room due to irrational fear. There were very few rare occasions when Ishani could coax her mother to step into the garden and enjoy the sunlight and beauty.

“I will be next to you, Ma. Snakes won’t come.”

Her mother shook her head. “N-no. I-I just want to rest. I am tired.”

Ishani didn’t want to insist. The doctors had asked Ishani not to force her mother as it often led to a breakdown episode.

With her heart sinking, Ishani smiled. “Okay, Ma. Get some rest. I will be back later.”

She leaned and kissed her mother’s pale cheek.

Her mother nodded, slipped into the bed, and closed her eyes. With her chest feeling tight, Ishani stepped out of the bedroom.

“I’ll be back in an hour, Kamala. We will finish the rest of the packing of Ma’s things.”

“Okay, Miss Gujjar.”

Thanking the nurse, Ishani went to meet her brother.

She was dreading the meeting because she knew what he was going to tell her.

Although she knew what was coming up was inevitable, she hoped her brother would give her the good news that he had booked the tickets and made arrangements for her mother to get treatment outside Singoor. Ishani had been waiting for the final confirmation for a long time.

It had taken a while to convince her brother to allow her and her mother to leave. Ishani had to tell him even though she never left the Singoor area all her life, she would be able to manage a life outside on her own.

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