Winner of Wattpad India Awards 2020 (Judge's Choice) in the New Adult category.
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"The lights are cheeky, you can't live without them, and yet if you get too close, they'll blind you. Darkness? Well it doesn't cheat. It's cool and soothing. It's r...
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"Did I really order three?"
"Yes you did." Nakul glanced at her. "You only needed one for your land. Don't know shit about farming, do you?"
Madhu ignored his taunt, staring at the three shiny new blue-coloured tractors which had arrived from Lucknow on the second day of Navratri, courtesy of the friend of Nakul's Jalandar buddy. They made her less-shiny-though-equally-blue Honda look like a pile of rusty metal. She tried to ignore the crowd of gawking villagers that had gathered in front of her house, whispering loudly enough that she could hear their excitement.
It didn't work, and she soon saw Sunanda coming towards them, stopping next to her. "Do you...plan on buying the whole village?"
Her neck was burning with all the attention on her. Usually, she liked being in the spotlight. But also usually, she was in the spotlight for good reasons; receiving congratulations after closing a difficult deal, bowing to applause on a stage, smiling at praise for being charitable.
Smiling at praise for being charitable.
"No, not on buying but gifting something to...the village? Two things actually."
Sunanda quickly caught on to what she was trying to do, but before she could say anything, Madhulika turned to the group of curious onlookers. "I'd like to make a donation to the Gram Sabha." Nodding towards Sunanda she continued, "Of two tractors, to be borrowed by any farmer who needs it. Sowing begins today na? They arrived just on time then."
A cheer went around. There was visible relief on people's faces, but they all anxiously started discussing who would get to use it first, how to use it and what would be the hourly rate of borrowing it. Some poorer farmers with smaller land holdings remained unaffected by the news, simply leaving the spot to go back to work. They had no use for machines in their tiny fields which only yielded enough for self-consumption.
"Are you sure?" Sunanda asked for only her to hear, also looking at the departing people. People who needed help the most but wouldn't be getting it by her spontaneous act of goodwill. An act mostly for her own peace of mind rather than their convenience.
Not enough.
"Yeah," Madhu told her, dismissing her pestering doubts. She caught Nakul's eye. "Like someone was kind enough to point out, I just need one."
The exchange didn't go unnoticed by Sunanda, but she didn't comment until they were halfway through their walk to the makeshift school behind the temple.
"You two are a thing now?"
"No."
"I remember you complaining about my husband wielding a gun on your boyfriend."
"Yet for some reason the gun part wasn't your main concern."
"Nakul had a gun too," she said, waving her hand in dismissal. "And it's not like Vishal would've actually done anything, you're too important of a person for him to hurt. Can't I just be happy for my friends?"
