‘By the great Lord Brahma,’ whispered Ayurvati in awe. ‘I have never seen anything like this.’
She was standing besides Sati’s bed. The still sleeping Sati was sweating profusely, her
garments and bed soaked. Parvateshwar stood by her side, his face aglow with hope.
‘The agnibaan fever never breaks,’ continued a stunned Ayurvati. ‘This is a miracle.’
Shiva looked up, his face shimmering with the ecstasy of a soul that had salvaged its reason
for existence. ‘May the Holy Lake bless the Somras.’
Parvateshwar noticed Sati’s hand clutched tightly in Shiva’s but he did not comment. The
bliss of this moment had finally crowded out his instinctive drive to stop something unacceptable
under the laws of the land.
‘My Lord,’ said Ayurvati softly. ‘We must bathe her quickly. The sweat must be removed.
However, considering that her wounds cannot get wet, my nurses will have to rub her down.’
Shiva looked up at Ayurvati and nodded, not understanding the implication.
‘Umm, my Lord,’ said Ayurvati. ‘That means you will have to leave the room.’
‘Of course,’ said Shiva.
As he got up to leave, Ayurvati said, ‘My Lord, your hands would need to be washed as
well.’
Shiva looked down, noticing Sati’s sweat. He looked up at Ayurvati and nodded, ‘I will do so
immediately.’
‘This is a miracle, Sati. Nobody has ever recovered from an agnibaan!’ said Ayurvati,
beaming ear to ear. ‘I’ll be honest. I had given up hope. It was the Lord’s faith that has kept you
alive.’
Sati was lying on her bed wearing a smile and freshly washed clothes. A new bed had been
brought in with freshly laundered and sterilised linen. All traces of the toxic sweat triggered by
the Somras had been removed.
‘Oh no,’ said a self-conscious Shiva. ‘I did nothing. It was Sati’s fighting spirit that saved her.’
‘No, Shiva. It was you. Not me,’ said Sati, holding Shiva’s hand without any hint of
tentativeness. ‘You have saved me at so many levels. I don’t know how I can even begin to
repay you.’
‘By never saying again that you have to repay me.’
Sati smiled even more broadly and held Shiva’s hand tighter. Parvateshwar looked on
gloomily at both of them, now unhappy at the open display of their love.
‘All right,’ said Ayurvati, clapping her hands together as if to signal the end of an episode.
‘Much as I would like to sit here and chitchat with all of you, I have work to do.’
‘What work?’ asked Shiva playfully. ‘You are a brilliant doctor. You have an exceptional
team. I know that every single injured person has been saved. There is nothing more for you to
do.’
‘Oh there is, my Lord,’ said Ayurvati with a smile. ‘I have to put on record how the Somras
can cure an agnibaan wound. I will present this at the medical council as soon as I return to