Tomorrow, the alarm would ring again. And she would do it all over again. Happily.

“Chai is getting cold, Aryan,” Meena called out, not looking up from the four parathas she was flipping on the tawa . “And Kavya, did you put a spare mask in your bag? The pollution has been bad.”

In a single, fluid motion, Meena pulled Kavya into a hug, her heart swelling. Then she held out her other hand to Aryan. “Come here. Failing is also a kind of learning. We’ll talk to that tutor your father suggested.”

The noise was immense. The news anchor shouted about politics. Aryan argued about molarity. Kavya spelled out loud. Sharadha Ji recited a prayer. And through it all, Meena chopped. The cool green smell of coriander mixed with the exhaust fumes from the street below and the sound of a bhajan from the temple across the road.