by SGD Singh
“Nos vemos mañnana en la noche?” See you tomorrow night?
The hawk met her eyes and blinked.
Slowly, Asha reached her hand out. But just as her fingers almost touched its shining feathers, the hawk abruptly flew away.
† † †
For the next five days, Nidhan drove Asha to the orphanage, which was on the other side of the city, every morning. For four hours a day, she helped with everything from laundry and cooking to playing with the kids.
Every morning Nidhan drove along the city by-pass road, which wound along the side of a large flood-control ravine. At one point it offered a clear view of the city dump and the black plastic-covered shacks scattered all around the decomposing garbage.
Each day, as she sped past the slum, feeling guilty for all of the luxury she'd taken for granted and all the food she'd ever wasted, Asha experienced an increasingly strong feeling, like a yearning. Each time her eyes were inevitably drawn to one particular corner of the dump, where two lonely hovels collapsed into the trash.
As the days passed, Asha felt more and more pulled, her free will evaporating like sweat in the desert. She watched the water buffaloes working the rice fields, thick ropes strung through their noses, necks straining mournfully as they walked in their slow, gentle gait, their skin shining like volcanic rock under the hot sun.
I know just how you guys feel.
Finally, when the pressure left her unable to sleep on the night of the sixth day, Asha made up her mind to go to the dump and check it out for herself. The next morning, after tucking kirpans from Nidhan's weapons rack under her kurta, she met her cousin coming out of the kitchen.
“Can we take a slight detour this morning, Nidhan? There's… uh, something I want to do.”
“Sure.” He raised his eyes from his plate, smiling. “What? More shopping already?”
She told him.
Nidhan goggled at her, dropping his parantha. “You want to see the dump? Is this one of those weird American things? Are you working on some school paper about humans destroying the planet through water contamination?”
“No. Look, I can't explain it… I know it makes no sense. I just… have to go there, okay? Call me crazy, but—”
“I do call you crazy! Are you trying to catch cholera or something? There are better ways to get BapuJi's attention, you know.”
“C'mon, Nidhan! You're not afraid of a few flies, are you?” Asha grabbed an apple out of the kitchen and jogged to the motorcycle. “It's getting late already. Hurry up!”
Nidhan sighed. “All right! But I don't think it'll be what you expect.”
Neither of them could have predicted just how right he was.
Chapter 5
Nidhan's Royal Enfield Bullet 350 bumped along the narrow road, perilously close to the edge of the wide ravine, and Asha gripped the back of the motorcycle. Raw sewage gleamed in the morning sun, stagnating between the trash and anemic trees that grew along the steep sides. A few bulls and goats grazed in the mounting heat, their legs tied, bells jangling as they balanced on narrow paths that wound down the cracked, weed-choked cement.
And on the opposite side of the ravine—a mountain of trash as far as the eye could see.
“Just let me know when we've reached your special area of stinking garbage!” shouted Nidhan over his shoulder.
“It's over there, on the other side, see? There! Where those two, uh, hut things are.” She pointed.
Crossing the bridge and swerving down a narrow dirt path toward a muddy ditch, Nidhan muttered under his breath, shaking his head.
“If Dādi knew I was taking you here… I swear to God, Asha…”
“There! That one there.” Asha started getting off the motorcycle before it even stopped. The feeling of being where she was supposed to be was almost unbearably strong.
“Wait for me!” Nidhan shouted. “You are not about to go in there by yourself—”
“Then hurry up!”
Nidhan followed Asha, saying, “I've seen a lot of disgusting places, but this… it's practically oozing disease, yaar!” He coughed, covering his nose. “And what the hell is that smell?”
Asha could barely keep herself from running. She was already half jogging when she suddenly stopped short. Nidhan nearly bumped into her, stopping himself with a hand on her shoulder.
A boy leaned against a tree, watching them from its cool shadows. Asha thought he was a vision of perfection, and her heart pounded in her chest.
His almond-shaped eyes, like chocolate with golden flecks of honey, stared at her, unflinching, through messy, shoulder-length hair every shade of brown. A light breeze rustled his long black shirt, and Asha felt heat rise to her face as a smile played across his lips.
My hawk, her brain stated matter-of-factly.
I am now officially losing my freakin' mind!
Asha pulled her gaze from his with an effort and shook her head.
“What?” said Nidhan. “Smelled enough already?”
Asha began walking again. Nidhan stayed close behind, trying very hard not to breathe.
“I am seriously gonna pass out if that smell gets any stronger, you—”
Three teenagers came out of the shack, laughing as they walked toward them.
“Pay up, Himat,” said the short boy with spiky hair. “You bet she'd take three weeks.”
“No way, yaar!” said an extremely handsome boy wearing dark sunglasses and twirling a butterfly knife. “Afzal said there'd be three of them. As you can see, there are only two.” He looked Nidhan up and down.
“Damn, man, what are you, six foot eight? Are you really sixteen? What do—”
“You are so full of shit, yaar,” the first boy interrupted. “Keep your money. I am satisfied with the knowledge that I was right and you were wrong.”
“You were not right, Ibha. You bet somewhere between two weeks—”
“And she's here after only eight days! That's got to be some kind of record—”
“Hello, Asha,” said the third boy, holding out his hand and smiling. He was taller than the other two and Asha noticed he had very crooked teeth. “Karan Rai.”
Asha moved forward feeling like she was finally home, but Nidhan held her back with a hand around her arm.
“Who the hell are you guys? Asha, I really don't think—”
The oldest man Asha had ever seen emerged from the muddy black plastic that covered the hut. He seemed to float toward them.
“Himat. Ibha. Karan. You can get back to work now.”
The three of them bowed at the old man and disappeared into the hut.
He turned to Asha and Nidhan, folding his hands. “Asha and Nidhan Sandhu. Welcome. We were expecting three of you.”
“She hasn't arrived yet, sir,” said Asha, knowing he meant Lexi.
“We'll see you in two days, then.” He nodded at Nidhan and floated back into the hut.
Nidhan and Asha stared after him.
“Well, that was… interesting,” said Nidhan as he followed Asha back toward his bike.
Asha looked at the tree again as she passed, but the boy with the adorably messy hair was gone. She shook her head, smiling at herself for feeling disappointed. Desperate much?
Asha watched the dump recede in a sunny haze as they continued to the orphanage.
“Asha?” Nidhan finally said over his shoulder as they entered the orphanage gate. “This is your first time to India, right?”
“Yeah,” she said, jumping off the bike. All she wanted to do was go back. That's where she was supposed to be, and everything else was suddenly a waste of time. “Um, I think I'll just get them started and head back home today, Nidhan, if that's alright. Just give me ten minutes, okay?” She smiled, giving him a thumbs-up before hurrying into the building.
Nidhan stared after her. Asha's smile, for the first time since he'd met her, had actually reached her strange eyes, lighting up her whole face.
Chapter 6
They arrived hom
e half an hour later to find two SUVs and a Mercedes Benz parked in the driveway. Louis Vuitton luggage lay in a pile next to one of the vehicles. Asha ran to the Mercedes just as Lexi opened the back door and climbed out, stretching long limbs, her blonde hair blowing in the breeze as she looked around.
“It's not that hot!” she said, catching Asha in a tight hug. “Wait,” she said, holding Asha's shoulders at arm's length and narrowing her eyes. “Something happened. What is it?”
“I'll tell you later. First, I want you to meet my brother, Nidhan. Nidhan!” she called, “Come and meet Lexi.”
“Last I heard, you don't have a brother, Asha.”
“I do now!” She grinned. “It's a cultural thing. Cousins are brothers, and brothers are cousins. Or sisters, anyway, here he is!”
As Nidhan walked towards them, Asha heard Lexi catch her breath.
Asha said, “Lexi Hewitt, Nidhan Sandhu.” There was an awkward moment of silence as Lexi and Nidhan looked at each other. “Both at a loss for words? That is a first.” Lexi elbowed her sharply in the ribs and cleared her throat. Asha was surprised to see her actually blush.
“Uh… hi,” Nidhan said, studying his shoes.
“Hi,” Lexi said. “Um… those vans. It's stuff Asha said the orphanage could use. If you can tell the drivers how to get there?”
“Yeah, sure,” Nidhan said, louder than necessary. “Wait, Hewitt?” He looked around at the cars and the fancy luggage. “Hewitt as in The Philip Hewitt? The billionaire. You're his daughter?” He looked at Asha. “How do you two even know each other?”
“It's a long story,” Lexi told him.
After giving the drivers directions, Nidhan and Asha helped Lexi carry her things into the house.
“About nine years ago,” Lexi told Nidhan, “Asha's grandfather came to live at my father's Miami resort to run the Indian restaurant there, Roti. Well, one night I'm wandering along the beach, and I stop 'cause I hear the most gut-wrenchingly sad music, like, ever. I mean, ever. Well, it turned out to be Asha here, playing one of her depressing songs she loves on that instrument thingy, you know the one, right? Anyway, I—”
“Lexi decided she liked my homeschool curriculum more than hers—”
Nidhan stopped and Asha almost walked into the suitcase he held. “Wait a second. Homeschool? What is a homeschool?”
Lexi rolled her eyes. “Homeschool is a special, exclusive school where over protective, paranoid parents send their kids.”
Asha laughed. “No, homeschool is where awesome people know that their extremely gifted children can focus on what they want them to learn without all the bullsh—”
“Hold on. Let me get this straight,” Nidhan said. “You guys never had to go to school? And you could just focus on training and… and what you wanted to learn?”
“Homeschool is school!” Asha insisted. “We have over-qualified tutors covering many subjects—”
But he was already climbing the stairs again. “Awesome! You guys are so lucky!”
Asha turned to Lexi for support. “See? Every time—”
“Anyway,” Lexi said. “Speaking of training, I hear you guys have been having fun without me.”
“Asha here, put us all to shame with her mad skills. The guys are coming back for a re-match tomorrow.”
Asha and Lexi looked at each other and burst into laughter.
“What?” said Nidhan.
“My mad skills?” Asha said. “Lexi here wrote the book on mad skills! She's an animal! There's a reason she's my grandfather's favorite student.”
Nidhan stared at Lexi with renewed awe.
“Animal?” Lexi glared. “Thanks for that. First of all, one word. Jet-lag. Or is jet-lag two words? You two can go away now and let me sleep.” Asha and Nidhan turned to go back down the stairs and she called after them. “Wake me up when my motorcycle gets here!”
Nidhan stopped and looked horrified. “Wait. She's going to drive here? Did she notice the traffic?”
“The moment she noticed the traffic was probably the moment she got on the phone with her dad's people and ordered her own motorcycle,” Asha told him.
“We can't all ride with Shaq over there,” called Lexi, as she closed the door.
“Shaq?” Nidhan looked confused.
“Don't worry, it's a compliment.” Asha raised her voice, “Shaq is like an American god!”
† † †
That night Asha and Lexi sat on the roof eating dinner by flickering candlelight, since the electricity had gone off again. The songs of crickets competed with evening prayers from numerous temples, filling the humid night air. Asha told Lexi about the two huts in the dump, and what they had seen.
“This must be it.” Lexi leaned forward and smiled with excitement. “You know, what BapuJi meant when he said to trust your instincts or wisdom or whatever. Just two more days… seems like forever. You're not having more weird feelings, are you?”
“Not at the moment. What about you? Nidhan—” she sang.
“Do not start, okay?” Lexi blushed, throwing a piece of cucumber at Asha's head.
Asha caught it before it hit her eye. “I don't think I've ever seen you actually blush before. And now twice in one day.”
“I blame false advertising,” said Lexi. “You said handsome. You said tall. You didn't say anything about seven feet of exquisite manly perfection. I was caught completely off guard.”
“Oh, really?” Asha laughed, wrinkling her nose. “Yeah, perfection is a bit strong.” Being able to tease Lexi and, for once, get a reaction was so much fun Asha couldn't stop giggling.
“And who says I'm BapuJi's favorite student, anyway?”
“Oh please!” Asha threw up her arms. “Everyone at school knows it!”
Lexi raised her bottled water to Asha who reached across the small table with her own, hitting it with a loud crunch.
When Asha played her harp later that night, she was alone. For the first time since she arrived, there was no hawk watching her and she felt the raptor's absence more than she thought was healthy.
Just face it. You're completely demented. Asha, the crazy bird-girl!
After one more Colombian lullaby, Asha went to bed.
† † †
By the end of the next day, it was obvious to Asha that there wasn't a single member of Nidhan's Gatka team who hadn't fallen madly in love with Lexi.
She had beaten each of them one-on-one within seconds, and then she beat them in five against one. Twice.
After they insisted, Asha and Lexi sparred with each other while Nidhan and his friends stood in awed silence. They erupted in roaring applause when Lexi inevitably beat Asha. After coaching them through some sets to practice over the next four days, and promising to come watch the tournament on Sunday, they moved to the roadside dhaba. Lexi tried out her new bike while Asha closed her eyes and tried not to throw up, deeply regretting riding with her. They spent hours eating, arguing loudly and laughing even louder about the pros and cons of various martial arts disciplines, weapons, and training until well after midnight. This time Asha could understand everything, since, wanting Lexi's opinion, everyone made sure they spoke only in English.
It was after one o'clock by the time Asha followed Lexi upstairs to their room.
Throwing herself onto her bed with a sigh, Lexi said, “I don't know when I've had more fun.” She watched a gecko crawl across the ceiling. “This is where we should have been going to school, yaar!” She laughed. “The kids here are awesome.”
“Lexi, it's not ‘the kids here.’ It's Nidhan's martial arts friends. You would probably hate school here just as much as you hated that snobby boarding school your dad sent you when you were seven.”
“You're probably right. Still!” she said, yawning. In seconds, Lexi was asleep.
Asha shook her head. “Good night, Lexi.”
Taking her harp outside, she looked around hopefully for her hawk. Asha had started thinking of the bird as “hers,�
� but couldn't remember consciously doing it.
“¿Dónde estás?” she mumbled.
Surprised at how strong her disappointment was, Asha sat down, feeling very much alone, and began to play what Lexi would call her most depressing pieces.
Half an hour later, when she looked up, the hawk sat in front of her.
They looked at each other for a long, breathless moment, and Asha almost wept with joy. “There you are! ¿Dónde estabas anoche, mi hermosa aguila?” Where were you last night, my beautiful eagle?
The hawk just ruffled its velvety feathers and looked up at the sky.
A warm breeze filled the night air with the cooling scent of eucalyptus, and Asha played for another half hour, filled with wonder at the closeness of the majestic predator. Finally, she whispered sweet nothings in Spanish and went to sleep.
The hawk, like each night before, stayed until dawn.
Chapter 7
“Hurry up, Asha!” Lexi shouted, revving the engine of her red and black, customized Honda Hero Splendor. “Today is the day! Nidhan? Why is that creepy mannequin glaring at us up there?”
“That's Kushi,” he said, keeping his voice low. “She's experiencing a dilemma. Quite a conundrum, you might say. You see, normally she would lick the sh—uh, shoe of anyone she thinks has money. But, she also has a fierce hatred of anyone whom she perceives as being more beautiful than she is. She has issues. Wave and smile!”
“You wave and smile,” Lexi said. “I've known enough people like her to last me ten million lifetimes, thanks.”
“I think I'll ride with Nidhan, Lexi,” Asha said. Balancing a guava in the crook of her arm, she threw Lexi a bottle of water and finished the braid in her thick, black hair. “Once was enough. Nice duppatta and sunglasses, though.”
“You don't think I look like a terrorist?” Lexi said, tying the scarf around her head and across her nose, covering her face. “Last time, the bugs…”
“More like The Invisible Woman. In a good way.”
Nidhan said, “At least you don't look like Billionaire Barbie anymore. That was dangerous in so many ways, you have no idea.”
