Uncle Madhava had never felt so helpless before in his entire life. His heart sank in despair. All night, he’d searched the entire town and the surrounding forest. Satya was nowhere to be found. 

Mind-morning, when he returned to the hut empty-handed, Aunt Sulochana was had pacing the yard. She rushed to meet him. 

Pure fear marked her face; her eyes sunken and dark, her hair and clothes in a mess, and the lines on her forehead deeper than usual. “Where is she?” 

Uncle Madhava shook his head. “I searched the town and the forest.”

“You couldn’t find her?”

“No one has seen her since yesterday.”

“What about Acharya?”

“She was studying late yesterday. He offered to bring her home, but she refused and ran off. He’s not seen her since.” The old man sat down under the tree. His shoulders appeared hunched. His eyes were weary and blood red. He’d been crying. “I asked all her friends in town. There’s more bad news. Two more girls are missing from the village since last night. Everyone believes they might’ve been kidnapped, too.”

Aunt Sulochana wailed. “Oh my god! Not my Satya, too?” 

“Possibly. The entire village was searching for them all night.”

“You fool! I told you not to let her go yesterday. My lamp is never wrong. I told you she would be safer at home.”

“I will find her!”

“You must find her! I will not let you eat or sleep until you find her. I curse you, Madhava, I curse you—”

“Sulochana!” a neighbour’s voice interrupted them. “The girls are back!”

“What?”

“On the village road… they’re back and safe!” The woman broke into loud, noisy tears. 

Aunt Sulochana rushed towards her and grabbed her shoulders. “What about Satya? Is she there?”

“I don’t know. I was just about to go see myself.”

A figure flew past them both. Uncle Madhava sprinted down the road at a terrible speed unexpected of his advanced years. He didn’t care about his old aching bones, only praying Satya was also with the found girls. 

Aunt Sulochana and the neighbour ran after him, trailing far behind. 

At the very edge of the village, on the turning that lead into town, six girls sat on a patch of dry grass. Four of them had reunited with their families. Two sat apart from the rest. One had her arms wrapped around the other. Two burly guards stood close behind these last two girls. 

“Satya!” Uncle Madhava cried with joy, throwing his arms out. 

“Uncle Madhava!” Satya unwrapped her arms from the girl beside her, sprang to her feet and rushed into her uncle’s warm embrace. Over his shoulder, she could see Aunt Sulochana running in the distance. 

The sight of her family overwhelmed her at last. The trials of the night before had sapped her energy. She broke into loud wails and hid her head in her uncle’s chest. The old man stroked her unruly hair; his own tears to falling unhindered. 

Reaching their side, Aunt Sulochana threw her arms around them both, wailing as loudly as Satya. 

All around them, the village gathered, rejoicing the return of the girls. The truth about the whole incident had already spread throughout town. Brahmadatta’s execution was scheduled for the afternoon. Everyone spoke about it with astonishment and anger. 

The last remaining girl was the only stranger from outside town. She seemed much younger than the rest of the girls. The guards informed the village elders that the great general of Satayu had promised to find her family. Until then, as per her wishes, he’d sent her to live in the village. The elders welcomed her. Everyone agreed to take care of her until her family came to pick her up. 

As the rest of the villagers returned home, one guard approached Uncle Madhava. “Are you Satya’s uncle?” he asked. “This is from Senapati Veerata.” He held up a large red silk pouch. “It’s a reward for Satya. Please accept it.”

“A reward?” Uncle Madhava looked surprised. 

“We cannot accept this,” Satya cried, snatching the pouch from her uncle’s hand and giving it back to the guard. 

He shook his head, refusing to take the pouch back. Without another word, the man turned and left. 

“Senapati Veerata?” Aunt Sulochana’s worried inquiry pierced Satya’s heart. “Satya, what happened?”

“Wait,” Uncle Madhava cautioned. “Let’s go back home first. We can speak later.”

Aunt Sulochana and Satya followed him back to the hut. A bitter silence had fallen between the three of them. 

Only after she sat down on her own bed, up in the loft, with a cup of hot coffee in her hands, her aunt and uncle sought answers. She took a deep breath and narrated the entire incident from the previous night. 

The alarm growing in Aunt Sulochana’s eyes at every word contrasted with her silence. Uncle Madhava’s face remained impassive as he listened. The red pouch sat on the bed next to her, a constant reminder of her fate. 

“Let’s leave!” Aunt Sulochana was the first to speak when Satya’s narration ended. “We have to leave this place right away. We can’t stay here any longer.” She directed her words at Uncle Madhava. 

He made no reply. 

“Senapati Veerata didn’t even recognise me,” Satya reasoned. “I don’t think we will ever see him again.”

“We have to leave, please!”

“But I don’t want to leave. I still have so much to learn from Acharya.”

“Madhava, please say something!”

The old man placed a hand on the red pouch. “I think your aunt is right, Satya. It’s not safe for us here anymore. We can use this money to settle in another town.”

“But–”

“Think about it, my dear,” his voice dropped lower than a whisper. “You say Senapati Veerata did not recognise you. But he’s still looking for Princess Amodini, even after all this time, isn’t he? It won’t take him long to figure out that our family came here from Amritambu after the war. Everyone in this village knows about us. Many families in town have heard about your skills, too. If we continue to live here, it’s only a matter of time before he comes to arrest us.”

Satya knew he was right. Her heart ached at the thought of abandoning her studies and not going to school anymore. Her mind reasoned that the danger of being discovered was very real now. With great regret, she agreed to leave Satvikshila forever the very next day.