Chapter 5

Next Morning came with it’s own scene,

“Not this side.”

Thakur Sahab’s voice cut through Zivah’s observation mid-sentence.

She straightened slightly, brushing the soil off her hands as she turned toward him.

“Why not?” she asked calmly.

He gestured toward the stretch of land she had been examining.

“This part is not suitable.”

Zivah glanced back at it.

The soil was darker here.

Moist.

Richer.

“It actually looks more fertile than the other side,” she said, her tone still respectful but firm.

“The texture is better, and the moisture retention…”

“It is not about what it looks like,” he interrupted.

There was a shift now.

Less patience.

More authority.

Zivah held his gaze.

“Then what is it about?” she asked.

A pause.

Thakur Sahab clasped his hands behind his back, his posture stiffening slightly.

“This land,” he said slowly,

“has not given good results in the past.”

Zivah frowned slightly.

“That could be due to multiple factors-crop selection, irrigation patterns, seasonal timing…”

“It is not that,” he cut in again, sharper this time.

The air shifted.

Anamika glanced at Shivani, sensing the tension rising.

“This side has never prospered,” he continued.

“No matter what was planted here. Crops fail. Work goes to waste. People have learned not to use it.”

Zivah studied him for a moment.

Then looked back at the soil.

Her fingers brushed against it again, thoughtful.

“With respect,” she said slowly, choosing her words carefully,

“land doesn’t decide its outcome based on belief. There’s always a scientific reason.”

His jaw tightened slightly.

“You speak from books,” he said.
“I speak from years of experience.”

“And I respect that,” Zivah replied, meeting his tone without raising her voice.

“But experience should lead us to understanding, not assumptions.”

Silence.

Heavy.

He took a step closer.

“And what you call assumption,” he said quietly,

“we call knowing when something is not meant to be kept.”

There it was.

Superstition.

Wrapped in certainty.

Zivah didn’t back away.

She crouched again, picking up a handful of soil, letting it fall slowly through her fingers.

“This land is rich,” she said.

“You can see it. Feel it. It hasn’t failed because it’s cursed. It has failed because it hasn’t been understood properly.”

He didn’t respond immediately.

But his expression,

tightened.

Controlled.

“You may inspect,” he said finally, his tone colder now.

“But decisions will not be made on theories alone.”

Zivah stood.

“And they won’t be made on fear either,”

she replied.

For a moment,

they just looked at each other.

And something unspoken passed between them.

Not agreement.

Not respect.

But recognition.

Of difference.

Of resistance.

Anamika leaned closer to Shivani, whispering under her breath,

“Okay… this just got intense.”

Shivani nodded slowly.

“…and slightly terrifying.”

Later, as they walked along the edge of the fields, the evening light settling softly around them,

Zivah slowed her steps.

“Anu…”

Anamika glanced at her. “Hmm?”

“I saw her.”

Anamika stopped walking.

“Saw who?”

Zivah turned to face her fully now.

“Eraya.”

Silence fell between them, but it wasn’t empty-it was filled with immediate understanding.

“You’re sure?” Anamika asked, her voice quieter now.

“Yes,” Zivah nodded.

“I didn’t think it was her at first. She was sitting near the lake… and for a moment I thought I was imagining it.”

She paused, her brows pulling together slightly as she remembered.

“But then someone called her name. And she got up and walked back toward the houses.”

Anamika watched her closely.

“So she lives here.”

Zivah nodded.

“Yes.”

A small breath left her.

“That’s why she hasn’t been coming.”

Anamika tilted her head slightly.

“That explains her absence. But Zi…”

She stepped a little closer.

“Why does this feel like more than just curiosity for you?”

Zivah didn’t answer immediately.

She looked ahead, her thoughts forming slowly, carefully.

“I don’t know,” she admitted.

And this time,
she didn’t try to brush it off.

“It’s just… every time I think about her, it doesn’t feel like I’m thinking about a random person,”

she continued, her voice quieter now, more honest.

“It feels like I’ve seen something I wasn’t supposed to see… and now I can’t ignore it.”

Anamika’s expression softened.

“The notes,” she said.

Zivah nodded faintly.

“The way she reacted,” Zivah added.

“The way she just… shut down. Like I had stepped into something private without realizing it.”

A pause.

“And today,” she continued, her voice tightening slightly,

“when I saw her near the lake… she didn’t look like someone who belongs somewhere.”

Anamika frowned slightly.

“What do you mean?”

Zivah struggled to explain it.

“She was just sitting there,” she said slowly.

“Not doing anything. Not even reading. Just… sitting.

And it didn’t look peaceful, Anu.”

Her eyes lifted to meet hers.

“It looked like she didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

That landed.

Deep.

Anamika exhaled slowly.

“You’re getting attached,” she said quietly.

Zivah shook her head almost immediately.

“No, I’m not.”

But her voice wasn’t as certain as before.

“I just… don’t understand her,”

she said instead.

Anamika’s lips curved slightly.

“And you don’t like not understanding things.”

Zivah let out a small breath.

“…yeah.”

Anamika stepped closer, nudging her lightly.

“Then figure it out,” she said softly.

“But carefully, Zi.

Not everything needs to be solved.”

Zivah looked at her.

But her mind was already elsewhere.

Not everything needs to be solved.

Maybe.

But some things…
refuse to leave you alone.

The rest of the day passed in colors.

Markets.

Bangles.

Laughter.

Shivani dragging Anamika from one stall to another.

“This one suits you more.”

“No, this one does.”

“Shivi, I don’t need ten bangles.”

“You do.”

Zivah watched them, smiling faintly.

But her mind,
kept drifting.

The next day,

“Due to paperwork, you should stay,” Thakur Sahab said.

“Your friends can leave.”

Zivah nodded slowly.

“Okay.”

She turned to Anamika and Shivani.

“You both go. I’ll finish this and come by evening.”

“Are you sure?” Anamika asked.

“Yes.”

Shivani hugged her quickly.

“Don’t get lost.”

“I won’t.”

As they walked back toward the house, Thakur Sahab slowed his steps slightly, turning his attention back to Zivah.

“You will come this evening.”

It wasn’t phrased like a question.

Zivah glanced at him.

“The wedding?”

“Yes.”

He adjusted the cuff of his sleeve, his tone measured again.

“It is an important occasion.

Such things should be witnessed.

Especially by those who believe in… changing traditions.”

There was a hint of something in his voice.

Not quite sarcasm.

But close.

Zivah met his gaze calmly.

“I didn’t say I believe in changing everything,” she said.

“Only in understanding before deciding.”

He held her gaze for a moment.

Then nodded slowly.

“You will understand more today.”

The words lingered.

Strange.

Unsettling.

But he turned away before she could respond.

And for some reason,

Zivah felt like that invitation was not as simple as it sounded.

Unaware,
that this night would change everything.
_______

Stay tuned for the plot twist…