I did pranam and slowly approached her. She looked divine in the torchlight, which lined the walls of the terrace. I stood silently waiting for her to acknowledge me, as she stared at the beautiful starlit night which considering the winter season was quite clear of the fog. I was amazed to see the plethora of stars at night as compared to 2015, where it was impossible to get a similar view due to light and air pollution. I was awed by this magnificent display of the night sky.

My concentration was broken when I heard Mahadevi sa speak.

"I knew you would come... To reveal the truth about your sudden appearance. Although I had not anticipated it so soon." She said softly.

I stood with my mouth agape unable to construed how she could discern that I had lied, while no one else suspected me.

She smiled softly at me and said "I am a mother and can glean from the eyes of my children when they are lying"

"But why didn't you say so before," I said.

"It was a test of your loyalty towards me, when I took you in as a family member and my faith in my ability to read a person. So you see ... in a way both of us were giving a test. I am happy, that you proved me right. Now we just have to wait and see, how right."

I smiled shyly at her and felt this extreme urge to hug her for the show of faith but didn't for two reasons. Firstly, no matter how well she treated me she was royalty, and one doesn't go around hugging them even if I had done it before reflexively. Secondly, I still felt unsure about her reaction to what I was going to say.

Was she going to get angry and reject it as a lie and a breach of trust, or was she going to try to accept my words and maybe give me a little bit of understanding? The former was a more possible reaction because I myself was doubtful about the possibility of the situation I was in, even after the scrumptious meal. The only good thing that happened to me till now, not to sound too greedy.

"I would have liked to have spoken the truth in the first place, but I didn't think you will believe me. I myself am not so convinced by what had happened in the first place. I still think I am in a dream"

She looked at me thoughtfully and then giving a small smile said "Try me"

"Before I begin, I would just like to tell you that I mean no harm to you, to your kingdom, or to anybody else. Please keep into account that even I am baffled by the situation as much as you are. Lastly, if this is not a dream, I beg of you not to abandon me, as I have nowhere to go. I am willing to do anything you want ".

My voice had turned shaky and my eyes glimmered with tears of hopelessness at my situation. I took a deep breath to calm my palpating heart.

She nodded slightly to show that she had heard me but otherwise kept her face devoid of any emotions and then with a wave of her hand gestured me to begin.

"The first thing I would like to tell you is that I am not from your time, "I said staring at her to gauge her reaction to this outlandish statement I had made. She went all still but still didn't interrupt me with looks or words.

"I am from hundreds of years in the future, from the year 2015"

Complete silence greeted me, she just looked at me warily, as if deciding on the fine distinction between the amount of truth and lies in my words. Receiving no comments on my big revelation I took it as an indication to proceed further. I started my story by laying out the facts about the when and where of my birth, a little about my parents, my upbringing, and how my parents died. I went on to tell her about my life in the orphanage and how I came about to be here accidentally in this time, in this particular place.

There was a deafening silence after my narration. I couldn't read what was going through her mind. I assumed she was trying to mentally process the whole information, whether to believe it or perhaps call me out on what she might have considered as lies.

"So ... you say you have come from the future." I nodded.

"In other words, you have a little knowledge about our past present, and future".

Again I nodded, but then a thought struck me, 'what if she asked me something quite difficult and I was unable to answer. I would be proved as an impostor, so I quickly said "I know most things, but only those that had been taught to us in school."

I couldn't explain to her that some of the history I had googled up, due to my love for history and an ambition to become an archaeologist.

"Predict something," she said.

I tried to remember my lessons on Amer history because that seemed to be the current favorite topic. I said, "The princess Heer Kunwari will marry the emperor, not in Amber qila but in a different place midway on 6th Feb".

She nodded her head but said, "That is known to most of the people, what else can you tell?"

I was in a fix, racking my brains. Then suddenly I remembered a thing I had read in an article which I was sure was my trump card.

"Do you know that the princess will keep two demands in front of the emperor, as a prerequisite for her to agree for this marriage with him"?

The look on her face was enough to tell me that I had hit a point here. She didn't know of this information since the princess had not yet put forward her request to her father.

She then asked me cautiously" Do you know what would be the two demands?".

I nodded with triumph reflecting on my face.

"The first demand would be that she would not be asked to change her customs and traditions, "I said slowly marking her reactions.

It was pure disbelief. Slowly she asked, "And the second?".

"She is allowed to set up a small temple in her room in the palace. A place for her Kanha (Lord Krishna) where she can pray to him."

That just did it for her.

"It's impossible. Has she gone mad? She plans to destroy the kingdom with her demands" cried out Mahadevi sa in a choked tone.

At that moment I just knew that I had won and perhaps had reached the safe zone. Mahadevi sa had indeed believed me as her outrage was all the proof I needed. She paced on the terrace for a little while, then stopped right in front of me staring directly in my eye. I wondered if she was again in a dilemma whether to believe me or not.

"What will be the reply of the emperor? Will he agree or disagree. What of our kingdom?" her eyes pierced through me as if she wanted to enter my mind to see the truth herself.

I smiled slightly in reassurance and said "He will agree and your kingdom will have close ties with their clan. This kingdom will flourish more in the decades to come."

I almost sounded like a seer. Her eyes sparkled at the prospects of a bright future ahead.

"But you must not reveal what I have just told ... to anyone. It might change the path of history. " I warned her.

She nodded her head and went back to looking at the stars. I considered it a sign of dismissal. I turned to go but stopped as she started to speak again.

"Lekha, what you have told me should be kept as a secret even from the girls who seem to have become good friends of yours. We will talk again and decide on what to do with you after the wedding. Don't break my trust ever... Always remember, it takes a lot to build trust, but seconds to break it. Once the trust is broken, it creates knots in a relation.... Take it as advice from a mother. Take rest, your place has been set in Vasundhara's room so that you don't feel lonely on your first night here. Anytime you need anything or want to talk, you can come to me. What I said in the morning stands true, I consider you as part of the family already. Whether you consider it a dream or reality, I will just wish for your happiness always."

After giving me a small smile, she turned back towards her stars as if all the solutions were written there. I did pranam and left.

I had to ask the few maids I met on the way for directions to reach Vasundhara's room. This fort felt like a maze to me.

I reached the room to find Vasundhara already lying on the bed getting ready to sleep. She jumped up excitedly "Isn't it great, you are allowed to sleep with me. We can talk the whole night through."

Her excitement was contagious, as it made me forget all my troubles and go along with her plans. But her next question was again a reality check.

"What did maasa want from you. Why all this secrecy? ".

I didn't know what to say to that.

"She just wanted to know how I was settling down and whether both of you were troubling me a lot, "I smiled.

I got the desired effect as she got diverted and started talking about how she was going to take care of me and show me around. She warned me that since the marriage was in two days, more relatives were going to make an appearance and it was best for me to stick to her side and not wander around.

People slept early in those times, I had read and I got my facts proved right by the soft snoring sound I heard from my roommate. On the other hand, I couldn't fall asleep for a long time thinking about the day's events. My last waking thought was about what would the new day bring for me, was I going to return back or stay here permanently.











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