Sandhya loved Shyam. But she was Manglik. While his parents loved her, they feared that their son would lose his life over this marriage. There was however one thing she could do. She had to get married to a goat. Sandhya was aghast. Marry a goat? What next – adopt a kid? She had a long talk with Shyam. He confessed that he had no say in the matter. Finally Sandhya’s parents convinced her to go through with the motions. It really did not mean anything, did it? Small price to pay for the man of her dreams.

Rekha was driving home on Saturday after a hectic day at work when her mom called her. The next day is a solar eclipse and you have to wake up at 5am and have breakfast, she insisted.  She rolled her eyes. She didn’t believe in it but she agreed, to keep the peace. She had been hoping to sleep in on Sunday after her crazy week. When she informed her family, her 17-year-old daughter laughed whipping out her smart phone showing her links to research proving that this was a superstition. Rekha sighed. Caught between two generations.

“One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl, and four for a boy” she sang as she counted the magpies in her grandmother’s yard. But there were more. “Five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret, never to be told!” There were seven! Her heart sank. She looked around frantically, but there were just seven. No more, no less. She wasn’t superstitious, but her heart told her that the magpies could sense her secret! She didn’t want to reveal it, not just yet, but she knew it would start to show soon enough.