Page 21 of No Boss
And then, she let the truth do what the truth does when it reaches people who care.
Three days later, when the collector arrived with Desai, two hundred devotees sat outside the gates.
Silent.
Old women with prayer beads. Farmers with their hands folded. Young mothers with children who, for once, sat still without being told to.
Girls from nearby villages held handmade signs.
“Sacred Space Is Not Private Property. Let Kul Devi Remain for All.”
Cameras arrived. Reporters followed. An elderly woman spoke into a microphone, voice trembling as she spoke of her mother, her daughter, decades of prayer.
Meera stood at the gate and watched.
The collector stepped out. His gaze swept the crowd. His polished confidence broke like old plaster.
Meera felt a pull inside her chest, tight and burning.
‘Maa,’she thought, eyes lifting to the carved entrance,‘they came.’
She walked forward. “Good morning.”
The collector didn’t look at her. His eyes stayed on the crowd. “What is this?”
“The community,” Meera answered. “They heard.”
He didn’t ask questions. Didn’t continue the tour. He left.
By afternoon, the offer stood withdrawn.
The cameras left next. Slowly. Reluctantly.
Meera remained in the courtyard as the devotees began to leave. Some touched the stone as they passed. Some met her gaze and smiled.
“Two,” she murmured that evening.
The temple was lit with lamps. The last prayers had faded.
Meera sat cross-legged on the cool marble floor and looked up at the goddess’s face. “That’s two, Maa… I am slightly afraid,” she admitted. “But we’ll manage.”
The nearest flame bent for a breath, then rose upright again.
Meera watched it, her gaze softening. She took it as an answer.
???
In Dubai, the second failure landed differently.
Abhinav listened without interruption.
A public demonstration. Peaceful, yet large. Media presence. Concerns from the community about access to the temple.
Then the detail that stilled his fingers on the desk.
“My local contact says the estate manager’s daughter visited several devotee families before the viewing, sir.”
The call ended.
