Secrets Hidden In Time (Time #1)

41 | The Hued Reflection

Hinduja nodded while smiling at him.

"Let me guess." The bishop suddenly said. "You are an atheist?"

Hinduja shook her head. "No."

"Then? A theist?" He quizzed further.

"That neither." Hinduja again shook her head.

"Then?" He looked on, a little perplexed.

"I am neither because I have only two beliefs." She paused, maintaining a thorough eye contact with him. "Dharma." Her tone turned a little firmer. "And Karma-my actions and the reactions pertaining to them."

"Interesting." Flashing an amused smile, the bishop remarked. "Often times, I see people even fearing the supreme Lord, and here you are, so different than most people I have come across."

"If it's fear that's governing someone to believe in their faith, is it even belief then?" She voiced out. "Because for me, that's not devotion, but fear. As for me-" She halted in her steps as both of them reached the end of the Verandah. "I fear none but Dharma alone."

The bishop smiled. "Rare." He muttered under his breath.

Hinduja assessed the weather. The sky was no longer gloomy. Rather, it appeared clear, with sun rays already beaming across the blank spaces between the pillars and falling on the Verandah.

Her subconscious then shifted to observe the surroundings. "One more thing, Your Excellency."

"Go ahead," he responded.

"That day, in the church, you saw me-" She trailed.

The bishop felt his lips tugging up, clearly understanding what she was trying to say. "Don't worry, I haven't told anyone else that Mr. Mahadevan Dogra is married or the fact that it's you he is married to." He paused. "If you don't want anyone to know about the marriage yet, I assure you no one will know, at least from my side."

Hinduja nodded, passing a smile of gratitude. "Thank you."

Roughly, ten to twelve minutes later, the bishop and the profiler walked ahead to his office as Rukmini followed behind, supposedly finishing the call with her family physician.

"I hope your father is okay now, officer?" Anoop Philip asked.

"Yes, your excellency."

"That's good." He gently smiled.

Along the way, something caught Hinduja's eye in an instant. It was that same office room-Father Emmanuel Alberto's chamber-where she and Rukmini got locked last time. Her pace decreased as she eventually stopped in front of it. The doors were open.

Witnessing the young officer ceasing her movements in front of an office room, the bishop stopped too. "What happened?" He asked.

"This is Father Alberto's office, if I am not wrong." Her gaze directly fell on the brass flowerpot, again sporting a dark silhouette on itself this time. "I really liked the design of the brass flowerpot there." She pointed at it. "Wanted to buy an exact same piece for my home."

"Oh," the bishop burst out into loud chortles. "Okay."

Meanwhile, the lady in question continued to stare at the silhouette on the brass flowerpot. It was almost similar in structure and height to the silhouette she had seen on the same flowerpot on the 11th of May. Her eyes then traced the path of the shadow falling on the pot, eventually reaching their final destination, the opaque object being Bishop Anoop Philip. But, along with that, there was something else that caught her sharp eye-something that she had seen that day as well-a hued reflection.