Ritu woke up to the beep of the phone. Rain drops fell gently against the window panes; it had rained all evening. The sound of pigeons' muted cooing filtered in as they sheltered under the awning of her window. It was dark outside. She looked at her bedside clock and was surprised. Nine at night. She had slept through the evening and hadn't even picked up Aayush from her parents' place.

She reached for her cell-phone to call her parents and then remembered that it was the ...