Page 47 of No Boss
Read the same line three times.
She has protected her devotees for centuries.
A low exhale left him. He closed the file, then opened it again, forcing his attention back.
This time, he kept reading.
???
Meera reached the sanctum before anything touched her face.
The inner space stood empty. The next line of devotees had not arrived. Lamps burned low, their glow brushing against the black stone of the goddess.
She sank to her knees on the cool marble, lowered her forehead to the floor, and stayed there, breathing.
When she lifted her head, her eyes went straight to Kul Devi.
“Tyrant.”
Flat. Precise.
“He is a complete and total tyrant, and I want you to know I am handling this extremely well.”
Her hand came up to her mouth, pressing against it.
The tears came anyway. Not many. Just enough to sting.
She wiped them away quick, almost rough.
“He threatened you, Maa. Said he would close this place. The devotees, the families, all of it. If I did not fall in line.” Her voice trembled. “And the worst part… I think he would do it. I think he would do it and feel nothing.”
Her gaze stayed on the goddess, then dropped to her hands in her lap.
“And then,” she went on, softer now, edged with irritation, “there is the other problem.”
Kul Devi, as always, remained unmoved.
“He was standing very close,” Meera muttered. “And he is very tall. Which is not relevant information, but apparently my brain disagrees.” She pressed her fingers against her eyes. “And when he looked at me, Maa. When he actually looked, not through me like I was just another problem to solve, but at me…”
She broke off.
A low groan slipped out. Her palms fell against her thighs.
“What is wrong with me.” The disbelief in her voice outweighed the question. “He threatens all of this, and I sit here thinking about…” Her hand cut through the air in a restless motion. “Things that do not matter.”
Her eyes snapped back to the goddess, sharp, urgent.
“Cleanse this. Whatever this is. Take it back. I do not want it. It serves no purpose, it has no place, and I have a Haveli to protect. I cannot be distracted by…” Another restless motion. “His face. His voice. The way the room felt when he stood too close.”
She leaned back on her heels.
“I mean it, Maa. Full cleanse. Right now.”
The lamps burned on, steady and indifferent. The goddess offered no reply, entirely untouched by Meera’s crisis.
Meera watched her for a few breaths.
Then her head dropped into her hands, and a short laugh escaped. Breathless, edged, the kind that comes when nothing else fits.
