Page 67 of Twisted Alliance

They stood up and waited for her.

All four Thakvar siblings were born and raised in America, but their mother ensured the culture and tradition of their origin country were instilled in them.

Shivay lowered his head while his mother placed a small dot of crimson powder on his forehead. When he bent to touch her feet to seek her blessings, he felt a sharp slice of pain from the stitched wounds on his back. Ignoring the pain, Shivay continued to touch his mother’s feet.

“God bless you with happiness and a wife soon.”

Shivay smiled at the words of his mother’s blessing which had become a constant over the last few years.

He got up, and then Rishab and Nakul followed suit to seek her blessings. Their mother repeated the same words to them.

“Ma, you are giving us Shivay’s blessings,” Nakul teased.

Shivay’s mother laughed as she sat on one of the lawn chairs. “I’ve been praying for Shivay’s marriage for so long that I know Lord Krishna will grant me my wish soon. Now, I need to get started on you two.”

“Ma, please bless only Shivay for getting married soon.” Rishab smirked. “Nakul and I are too young to be tied down.”

Chitra Thakvar shook her head with a laugh. “Not that young! You two devils are barely two and three years younger than Shivay. At your age, your father and I already had three children.”

Rishab and Nakul groaned dramatically, listening to those words.

Shivay’s mother laughed. “I think my sweet girl, Chitti, is the only one who will meet those expectations.”

Shivay’s sister was studying at a university and had a boyfriend who was also a childhood friend. Nandini was lovingly called Chitti by their mother.

“How about this deal, Ma?” Rishab asked. “Nandini can have three children by the time she’s our age. And we three can be the doting uncles.”

“Sorry, boys,” Shivay’s mother said with a smile. “You cannot escape Lord Krishna’s blessings. In fact, during your father’s ceremony yesterday, I even sought Lord Shiva’s blessings to grant us all peace and happiness. And my happiness is to see my three sons getting married soon.”

Once again, Nakul and Rishab groaned dramatically.

Shivay smiled.

Laughing, Shivay’s mother placed the silver tray on the center table. She was about to serve them the sweets she had made as God’s offering when she suddenly froze.

Shivay saw that her eyes fell on the dark brown bead placed on the center table.

“W-what… h-how…”

Her voice was lost as she reached for it. The next moment, Shivay saw the blood drain from his mother’s face. She was holding the bead, and there was a shocked look in her eyes as she kept staring at it.

Shivay and his brothers immediately moved closer to her.

“What’s wrong, Ma?” Shivay asked.

“H-how did this rudraksha get here?” her voice was weak as she trembled outwardly. “This is not from our prayer room.”

She kept staring at the uneven-surfaced bead. “Where did this come from?” she asked. “Tell me!”

Rishab tried to calm her down. “Shivay found it in Africa, Ma. He was just showing it to us since it resembled the one in our prayer room. It’s nothing to worry about.”

“No.” She shook her head. “This is not from Africa! It cannot be! This particular rudraksha is found only in one part of the world!”

Shivay and his brothers exchanged a quick look at hearing that information. But right then, their mother was their top priority. Shivay didn’t know why the sight of the bead upset and terrified her so much.

He had never seen her so shocked, frightened, and upset before. She had always been the pillar of strength to them. It was her strength that kept their family together even after they lost their father in a boating accident.

Shivay went to the table to get her water. When he picked up a bottle, he heard her gasp.

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