Tarot reading

When Kanika’s family found out she was friends with Anakveer, they didn't just disapprove—they threatened her.

Anakveer wasn’t just another boy at school—he belonged to one of the most influential families in Rajasthan. Old wealth. Political power. Rajput heritage laced with legacy and fear. Her own grandfather had once worked as an accountant under Anakveer’s grandfather. The kind of power his family held wasn’t spoken of in daylight—it lurked silently, like a storm behind marble walls.

They were the kind of people who backed kings… and ruined kingdoms.

And now she was being told—warned—to not “mess up” or “cross boundaries.”

The words of her family still echoed in her mind like a chant she didn’t believe in.

"Stay away from him, Kanika."

"Don’t get too close."

"Do you even know who he is? His family controls more than just land and legacy—they control people."

Their voices had blended into a wall of noise she couldn’t escape, though her heart rejected every syllable. When she first met Anakveer, she didn’t know anything about his lineage. The titles, the wealth, the legacy—none of it mattered to her then. Why should it matter now?

Lost in her thoughts, she turned a corner in the school corridor and collided with someone, jolting her from the spiral in her mind.

“Sorry,” she murmured, not even glancing up as she tried to walk past.

But a hand gently caught her wrist.

“Aaj hamari gundi ne gundagardi chhod di? Waise toh kabhi apni galti pe sorry nahi bolti thi, aur aaj meri galti pe bhi sorry?” His voice carried a teasing lilt, brow raised in amused sarcasm.

She offered only a hollow smile in response, barely meeting his eyes before walking off into the canteen. He followed her, sensing the change in her air, her silence—too heavy, too unfamiliar.

They settled into a quiet corner, and for a while, only the murmur of others filled the space between them. Finally, his voice broke through gently.

“You gonna tell me what’s going on? I can see it in your face—something’s eating you up.”

Kanika bit her lip before speaking, the hesitation thick in her voice.

“Anak… kya mera aap se ‘tu’ ya ‘tum’ karke baat karna aapko bother karta hai?”

His brows furrowed. “Aap?” he echoed, startled by the foreignness of that word on her lips when it came to him.

“I mean… you’re Hukum sa,” she said quietly, almost shamefully. “A Rajput heir. I’m just… a commoner. Maybe I should’ve been more respectful. You always call me ‘aap’ but I never—”

Before she could finish, his voice cut through, low but resolute.

“Kanika… are you seriously having some kind of dramatic mood swing, or what?” He leaned in slightly, lowering his tone. “Have I ever made you feel like there’s a difference between us? Ever once pointed to your background or mine?”

She blinked. He wasn’t angry. He wasn’t even annoyed. Just firm—like he was putting a boundary around something sacred.

“I call you ‘aap’ because that’s how I’ve always spoken since I was a kid. That’s just me. But you? You’re comfortable with ‘tu’ and ‘tum’—that’s you. That’s real. And I don’t want anything fake between us. Especially not titles and forced respect. This,” he gestured between them, “is friendship, Kanika. Not some court etiquette. Don’t ever bring up this ‘Hukum sa’ nonsense again. Believe me, you won’t like me when I’m actually mad.”

There was something about the way he said it. Not a threat, not a warning—but a truth wrapped in protective care. Like he didn’t want her to hurt herself by trying to fit into a mold that didn’t belong to her.

Kanika felt something uncoil inside her. Relief, maybe. Or just a deeper kind of understanding.

Still, her mischievous side peeked through.

“But… Hukum sa “aap” sounds so royal,” she teased, tilting her head playfully.

Anakveer shot her a look. “I’m hungry. Not in the mood to mess around. Did you call your old school friends ‘aap’?”

She shook her head with a sheepish grin.

“Exactly,” he smirked. “Now eat.”

Anakveer’s POV:

She doesn’t understand what that one word did to me.

The way aap rolled off her lips—it echoes uneasiness within me , which I can't voice . It is not the only reason that I felt like she was stepping away, placing a distance between us I never asked for. I want her to talk to me the way she always has, with ease and mischief, not behind a curtain of formality. If she starts treating me like a stranger masked in legacy… then I’ve already lost the version of her I’ve come to need.

Flashback ends –

Kanika blinked, returning to the present, his voice still echoing in her head:

"I don’t want this ‘Hukum sa’ and ‘aap’ nonsense between us. Ever."

And her heart whispered back, he’s not Hukum sa… he’s just my Anak.

The sun hung heavy in the sky, a golden halo blessing the day of Savan Puja. The temple bells echoed through the lanes as married women, clad in shades of red and green, marched toward rituals of devotion. Kanika’s sister, now engaged, had gone with them, leaving the younger one behind to her own devices.

Kanika, too single to attend the puja, had her own plans. First, she would meet Anakveer. Then, together, they’d sneak off to the Savan fair in a nearby village. A perfect rebellion stitched into tradition.

As she approached the grand staircase of his haveli, a familiar voice chirped behind her.

“Kanika di! Aap kaisi ho?” It was Manu—Anakveer’s cousin sister. Gentle, soft-spoken, almost too sweet for this jagged family.

Kanika returned the smile warmly. “I’m good, Manu. You?”

Manu’s shoulders drooped. “Sab mandir gaye hain. Main toh yahaan bore ho rahi hoon. Btw… aap log kahin jaa rahe ho kya?”

“Yes. We’re going to the Savan Mela,” Kanika replied casually.

Manu’s face lit up like a bulb, only to dim again a moment later. Hope had risen and died all in one breath. Kanika noticed.

“Why don’t you co—” she had just begun to offer, but her words were snatched away by the sudden grip around her wrist.

Anakveer descended the stairs like a storm, his face unreadable, his tone sharp.

“How many times have I told you not to talk to *my father’s brother’s daughter*?”

Kanika blinked. “Could you just say *cousin* like a normal person? Do you have to give her genealogical coordinates every time?”

Behind them, Manu’s innocent eyes clouded over, blinking fast to hold back tears.

Kanika pulled Anakveer aside, away from the girl's hearing. “Anak, she’s alone. We’re going anyway—can’t we just take her with us? Don’t be so cruel. She’s your sister, too.”

But Anakveer’s voice turned cold. “She is *not* my sister. I am the only child of my parents.”

**Kanika’s thoughts:** *No wonder you’re so spoiled. You should’ve been a middle child—then we’d see what kind of drama queen you’d be.*. (middle child ka dukh dard peeda)

He continued, “And she has a brother. It’s his job to take care of her, not mine.”

With that, he stalked off. Kanika followed, sighing but throwing Manu a look of apology before vanishing down the corridor.

---

**Later at the Fair…**

Colors exploded all around them—swirling skirts, sweet jalebi aroma, laughter echoing like wind chimes. But Kanika had tucked the earlier exchange in her mind like a pebble in her shoe.

She wanted to talk sense into Anakveer—his coldness toward Manu, the bitterness in his words. But this wasn’t the time. With him, timing was everything. In eleven years of friendship, she had learned when to joke and when to stay silent. Today was not a day for sermons.

So, she played along.

He showed off, naturally. Popped every balloon in the gun shooting stall, nailed all archery targets. Kanika clapped dramatically, bowing to his imaginary greatness.

Then something unusual caught her eye—a tent, dressed in indigo fabric and strings of bells. A wooden sign read: **Tarot Card Reading**.

“Come on!” she grabbed his arm, tugging him like a stubborn bull.

“What now?” he grumbled.

“Look! Tarot reading!”

Anakveer’s face scrunched up. “No thanks. Not interested in your tona- totka drama.”

“It’s not tona - totka !” she snapped. “Tarot is a spiritual tool to align with our higher self. It creates a bridge between our physical and astral plane!”

“…None of that made sense, and somehow it all made me lose brain cells,” he replied dryly. “But if you’re that excited about this witchy nonsense, go ahead. I’ll wait here.”

“*ONE* last time, it’s *not* witchy nonsense. But since you’re being such a brat, I will learn it and use it *on you*. I’ll make your voodoo doll and stick pins in it!”

She spun on her heel and entered the tent.

---

**Inside the Tent…**

The tent was soaked in sage and mystery. Twinkling lights danced across walls draped in velvet. At its center, a woman sat at a celestial-covered round table. Silver rings shimmered on her fingers, maroon nail polish gleamed under the fairy lights.

She gestured to her to take a seat in front of her .

“Do you have a question, my dear,” she asked in a voice like rain, “or shall I let the universe speak through me?”

Kanika smiled nervously. “Let the universe talk.”

The reader nodded, burning sage and guiding Kanika to cut the deck. Three piles: Past. Present. Future. She drew one card from each.

The cards flipped over slowly: **The Devil. The Wheel of Fortune. The Empress.**

The woman’s expression shifted. First a flicker of surprise. Then a cryptic, knowing smile.

“You’ve already summoned a devil into your life,” she said. “But fear not—he is both your protector and destroyer. A betrayal from someone close is near. Your life will shift— not gradually and smoothly but fast and violently. Almost turning your world upside down. And… congratulations. In two years, you’ll be a mother. The Empress smiles upon you—a season of passion and power awaits.”

Kanika blinked. “Wait, wait—what devil? I don’t practice witchcraft! And motherhood in two years? My sister’s wedding is next year, and we have a year gap rule in our family. Plus, finding a guy, then nine months of pregnancy—that’s at least *four* years away!”

The reader chuckled. “The devil is not a demon. It’s a man in the flesh, powerful and dangerous, capable enough to bring devil's pain. As for the child—you may not understand now, but the universe unfolds on its own time.”

“…Wait, do you mean I could get pregnant *before* marriage?”

The woman just laughed. “Let life play out. You’ll understand when the time comes.”

---

Kanika stepped out, dazed, eyes searching for Anakveer who was snacking on roasted peanuts nearby.

**Her thoughts:** *Nope. Not telling him. He’ll mock me till the next solar

eclipse. Will Call me a fool that I got fooled in the name of Witchcraft! Hah.gosh! He’s the only devil I’ve ever summoned in my life.*

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