The morning humdrum at Kumar’s residence has begun with the rooster’s crow at the dawn’s first light. The servants started their morning chores sleepily. Even the cows didn’t want to wake up and belted out annoying moos as they were being milked. Satyamma, who considers herself as the most important person in the household, seemed sleepy and reluctant to attend to her chores that morn as her usual high-pitched voice was barely audible. She tugged at her warm head scarf, ensuring it was tight and there is no chance of morning chill entering her ears, then tossed a shawl around her as she stepped out of the kitchen door. Winter that year had been unusually cold in the Valley.

However, the man of the household, Prashanth was up and ready by dawn. He seemed to be a man on an agenda, at least for that day. His kids, twelve-year-old Nithya and ten-year-old Nitin were reluctant to get out of their beds.

“Good Morning, kids. Time to go to school. If you are not ready in the next 20 minutes, you are toast today. Satyamma will not spare you,” said Prashanth, pulling Nitin’s covers.

“Daddy, please 5 more minutes. I am still sleepy and it is so cold outside,” begged Nitin.

“How come you are ready, Daddy?” asked Nithya, rubbing her eyes.

“Don’t you remember? I told you last week that we are going to have a new doctor. Well, she is arriving today by morning train. We have to pick her up from the railway station before I drop you two off at school,” said Prashanth, folding Nithya’s blanket.

“Ahh! The new doctor,” said Nithya, gingerly placing her feet on the cold floor. She shivered and wrapped her arms about herself. She quickly slipped her feet into the slippers that were next to her desk and rushed to the bathroom.

“Please hurry up as we have to leave early,” urged Prashanth after Nithya as the bathroom door closed.

“Nitin, c’mon. Wake up, please!” begged Prashanth.

“Nithya is in the bathroom, Daddy. I want to sleep until she gets out,” smiled Nitin, as he pulled the covers over his head.

“Oh, alright! Hope your backpack is ready. I will check on Satyamma,” smiled Prashanth, walking out of kids’ bedroom.

Prashanth too longed for his warm bed on that particular morning. However, his latest project – bringing in a new doctor for their fifty-bed newly built hospital has taken longer time than he anticipated. What with all the doctors the education system is churning out in this country every year, still there was a dearth for qualified, experienced doctors. Shaking his head out of frustration, he walked into the kitchen where he found Satyamma transferring milk from a pail to a bowl.

“Satyamma, I hope you remember that we are expecting the doctor today. Kids and I have to leave a bit early. Can you get breakfast and the kids’ lunch ready by 7.30?” asked Prashanth, helping her put the bowl of milk on the stove top.

“Yes, Babu (as she affectionately calls him), I remember. I will call you once everything is ready. Do you want to check the guest room and see if everything is in place? I hope I didn’t miss anything,” said Satyamma, lighting the gas stove.

“I will check right now. Hope the kids don’t delay,” said Prashanth, heading towards the guest room. He jogged to the guest suite at the opposite end of the house.

Prashanth checked the guest room that was located at the end of a long hallway. When he told Satyamma to clean the room few days prior, he wasn’t sure if he had been specific. However, he trusted her judgment and her motherly touch. He just hoped the doctor would rather prefer to stay here than in the quarters at the hospital. Besides, this part of the house has easy access to the main gate without going through the main house. The room opened into a reasonable sized, partly-covered patio with flower pots adorning the fringes. The window and patio facing North East warmed the room perfectly during cold winters while giving the guests needed privacy from the prying eyes of the servants.

The room was specifically designed as a guest room by his grandfather as he used to host passing dignitaries back in the day. One of the walls was adorned with pictures of famous movie stars, politicians, singers and other big shots of the day with his grandfather and grandmother. Five years ago, when he inherited this bungalow, he was pleasantly surprised to find some old pictures in a trunk that have gathered dust. He was able to restore most of them and immediately mounted them onto frames. Now those wonderful memories adorn the walls of Ashraya Nilayam – his beloved bungalow, the childhood home he grew up.

Prashanth checked each and every corner of the room, behind closet, chest of drawers, in the bathroom, under the mattress and the bed. This is one of the rooms that Nithya favored to retreat whenever she has a quarrel with her brother or an argument with him. Prashanth ensured that nothing was hidden that could have escaped Satyamma’s eyes. Fully satisfied, he closed the door behind him before heading up to the kids’ bedroom. He hoped the kids would be ready earlier than he expected so he could reach the railway station on time.