jumped down the neck of your kurta when you began to lose balance,” he spluttered.
Tara took the little mouse in both hands and kissed its wet, furry head. Hot tears slid down her cheek.
“Thank Lord Ganesh you’re still alive. I thought I had lost you.”
“We have to move. That thing could come back,” said Mushika.
Tara stood up as quickly as her numb body would allow her and hurried further away from the water. Dripping every step of the way, she walked down the tunnel leading away from the lake. The water splashed and thrashed behind her. A gurgling erupted from the middle of the lake. Without a backward glance, Tara headed for the faint, red glow that emanated from the far end of tunnel. She squelched along it as fast as her cold and shaky legs would go. On her shoulder, Mushika squeaked encouragement, interspersed with sneezes.
“Good girl, Tara, aaaa-chhhoooo, keep going, don’t stop now, aaaa-chhhoooo.”
One of the sneezes was so violent that he toppled backward off her shoulder. Tara groped around on the floor till she found the sodden ball of fur. She picked him up tenderly.
“I think I’ll keep you inside my pocket,” she said. “It’s wet, but at least I won’t lose you.”
Halfway down the tunnel they encountered a warm current of heat. Tara felt as if she was slowly sliding into a warm bath. Each step brought her closer to the warmth and she picked up speed as circulation returned to her frozen limbs. Steam was rising from her clothes. Mushika had stopped sneezing and she could hear a sigh of contentment as the warmth reached him, too. The heat increased as she got closer and so did the red glow that was starting to blind her.
From water into fire, thought Tara. The heat was intense now, and Tara was sweating profusely. Her clothes stuck to her skin. Perspiration beaded her brow and dripped into her eyes. She narrowed them to a slit against the glare.
At last, she reached the mouth of an enormous underground cave. A huge pit of molten lava bubbled and hissed in front of her. It covered most of the floor of the cave leaving a narrow rim around the edge, leading to the far side.
“How are we going to cross this?” asked Tara aloud.
Despair and fear tinged her voice. The ledge was so narrow that one false step would cause her to plunge into that lava lake and be charred to a crisp in an instant. She sat listening to the angry spitting and crackling of the lava, tired beyond words. The scorching heat dried her tears before they reached her cheeks.
“This is just too much,” she sobbed. “I’m so scared. How many more tests do I have to go through?” she called up at the black ceiling as if Lord Ganesh was sitting above her head, listening to her.
“Tara, what do you want most badly at the moment?” asked Mushika.
“To get out of here,” she said.
“With or without the Water of Life?”
“Very funny, Mushika! Do you think I like wandering in the dark, playing with monsters and then running the risk of being cooked, for fun?” she snapped. “You know I am doing this for Ananth. He gave his life to save me and now I must save him.”
“If you turned back, would you be able to forgive yourself?”
“No.”
“Did you not survive the lake?”
Tara looked at Mushika’s boot-button eyes and nodded.
“Even though you are very afraid, have faith in yourself. Focus on your goal and block out everything else that stands in the way. Especially panic, fear, and self-doubt. If your mind wants something badly enough, it will make your body do it. Remember that, Tara.”
“What if I fall into the lava? What if I die?”
“Did you never play hopscotch or do tightrope-walking when you were a child?”
Tara gave a wry smile. “Lots of times, but I did not have a lake of molten lava under me.”
“Okay, so focus on the path, ignore the lake, and keep your eye on the other side. You need the water. The only way to get there is around the lip of the cave. Let’s go. Move, move, move!” commanded Mushika.
Before she could lose her nerve, Mushika had bullied Tara into stepping onto the narrow path. The lava bubbled and hissed mere inches away from her. Tara turned sideways so that her back was pressed against the wall and inched toward the far side, one agonizing step at a time. The lava gurgled and chortled as if mocking her feeble attempts at trying to avoid its hot embrace. Fierce heat scorched the soles of her feet. Sweat poured down her face and turned to steam so that she felt as if she would evaporate before she reached the other side.
“There you are, girl. Keep going,” Mushika murmured in her ear.
She inched forward slowly. In the middle of the cave, Tara stopped. The lip had been so worn by the heat that it had crumbled, and there was a wide gap that she was going to have to step over. She stood there in utter defeat, fear and exhaustion making her teary. A cool breeze floated in from the tunnel beyond. A few short steps and she’d be out of this furnace. She closed her eyes and Suraj’s image floated into her head. You’re brave Didi — you can do it, he said. Ananth’s face floated into her head. His silent form on Lord Yama’s bull, waiting to be carried away to a place where he would sleep for an eternity ...
No! She was going to save him.
She clenched her fists, turned to face the gap, and stepped over the chasm. Then she inched sideways as fast as her shaky legs would allow her. Within a few moments, she had reached the far end of the cave, which branched off into another tunnel. She sank to the ground and crawled further into the tunnel, letting the cool air bathe her tortured skin.
Tara lay on the ground, breathing deeply. The relief of having crossed that hurdle was so great that for a moment her limbs seemed to have turned to jelly. She thanked every god she could think of.
“OOOF ... Get off, you’re heavy,” said a small, breathless voice.
Tara sat up immediately, realizing that she had been lying with her full weight on the little mouse.
“I’m so sorry, Mushika. We made it. WE MADE IT!”
Tara sprang up, clapping and dancing. She felt she could take on the world at this moment.
“I can see that,” said the mouse sternly, recovering his breath and his humour. “It’s not far to the fountain now. Let’s not waste any more time and energy dancing. We have only two hours left.”
Tara skipped down the dark tunnel, her heart light and joyous. A cool breeze caressed her face as she neared the end of the passage. A beautiful, silvery light shimmered in the distance and Tara was fascinated. On her shoulder, Mushika jiggled, and she could sense his impatience. As Tara neared the end of the tunnel, a sweet, soothing sound reached her ears. The silvery light brightened. Tara reached the cave and gasped in delight. Its high roof twinkled and sparkled and its walls shimmered. In the middle of the cave, a fountain of silvery water shot to the roof and cascaded as glistening stars to a pool at the base. Tara drank in the peace and beauty of the place greedily. The fragrance of roses perfumed
