Occasional voices rose above the din of the market crowd. Shopkeepers shouted their prices at passers-by. People haggled for their lives, or at least better deals. A group of middle-aged women made their way to the temple at the end of the street. They wore colorful saris with
flowers in their hair. Baskets filled with garlands hung from their arms. A servant to a rich family inspected produce. The man wore a pristine white dhoti with a crisp black kurta, an orange turban wrapped around his head. The crowd split and made way for a troop of soldiers in their chainmail shirts and helmets. Their spears glinted in the bright sun as they marched in step
down the street. All this and not one person looked at the cave.
Santhi wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. It was cooler in the alley than in the sun, but that didn’t prevent it from being unbearable. She looked up at the cave once again. Two soldiers guarded the entrance of the cave, one on either side of the narrow dark hole. They seemed bored with their duty. One of them looked down at his feet while the other stared
into nothingness. It would be so easy to get past them.
She felt a heavy footfall behind her and turned to see Harivel striding down the alley. He was a huge man, the biggest she had ever seen. He barely fit into the gap between the two buildings. His head was shaven and a thick beard covered his face. “Been staring at it again?” he asked as he reached her. "No one even looks at it," She said. She turned away, observing the people again. "One day a year, it's the center of the town, and then, people act like it doesn't even exist."
“Why don’t you get a real job. It’ll keep your mind off the cave for some time,” he said. A job? How dare he! “A job is for sheep,” she said. “I do my work in the night when everyone is asleep. It’s easier that way. Besides, people have too many things to worry about. I help them out by taking their things away.”
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“I said a real job, Santhi. I can see if you can get some work at the shop. You can’t continue living on thievery. You’ll get caught!” Harivel said.
“I may,” she said. “But these people haven’t had to deal with a proper thief in years. Some back alley urchin stealing fruit is one thing, Silanagar trained is something else altogether. They don’t know what to do. The guards don’t even know how to investigate.”
“It's been a year since you got here,” Harivel said. “They’ll wise up eventually, and you won’t even know before you get caught.”
“Well, none of this really matters anyway," Santhi said. She had felt the same fears as Harivel. The guards had become a bit more alert, a bit smarter in how they patrolled. "I’ll be able to lie low for quite some time after what I’m planning." She saw one eyebrow lift on Harivel’s face. A hand instinctively went up to his beard, stroking it. “You’ve been staring at that cave every day for some time now,” he said, his voice low, making sure to enunciate every word. “I don’t like what you are thinking, Santhi. The cave is too dangerous.”
“How long has the town been sending people in there?” Santhi asked. “Longer than I can remember,” Harivel said. “Longer than the oldest person I know can remember.”
“Exactly, and each one of those people have carried ten Varahas with them,” Santhi said.
“But none of them have come back!” Harivel said. “Once you go in there, you don’t get out, Santhi!”
“It's always the oldest person in the town that you send in. The poor man I saw go in could barely walk. You sent him into a cave!” Santhi said. “Imagine, ten gold coins every year for longer than anyone can remember. There must be a mountain of gold in there! I only need one night, I’ll grab a bagful and be out before sunrise.”
Harivel shook his head. He had started giving up arguing with her. One year had been enough to teach him that. “You will do as you please,” he said, shaking his head. “Anyway, let's go get some food, my stomach’s been growling for an hour now.”