DO UNTO OTHERS, as you would have them do unto you.
Unless her name was Nadia and she was a total bitch.
In that case, you rub your hands in glee and ponder how to use her secret against her.
Hell, maybe I’d just call a press conference?
I’d found a ride. Dr. Saggar was cute, and he drove a BMW. He dropped me off in front of Tahir’s complex and sped away with the blank, slightly cross-eyed look that seemed to be a symptom of the Goddess Gaze.
I was about to unlock my car door and get in when I stopped and stared up at Tahir’s apartment building.
The old Maya would have gotten in her car and left.
The new Maya had a choice.
Maybe Tahir and I were really over, but maybe we weren’t?
I bit my lip. I wanted people in my life. I wanted friends. I wanted Tahir. I had to try.
I had to take a chance.
Entering the lobby was one of the scariest things I’d ever done. Not vomit-inducing scary, but daunting nonetheless.
Kali binds herself to the terrifying, and she is unafraid.
I took a deep breath and pressed the buzzer.
His voice came through, curt and displeased. “Yes.”
“Tahir…it’s Maya.”
Silence.
“There’s something I have to tell you.” I stopped. No more words. “Actually,” I amended, “there’s something I want to show you. Please, can you come outside?”
Instead of waiting for him to answer, I released the button. If Tahir didn’t come down I’d keep ringing the buzzer until he called the police.
After a few minutes he was there, dressed in a T-shirt and sweats. “Well? What’s the excuse now?”
“I want to show you who I really am.”
He folded his arms. “Let me guess. You’re actually a man.”
“What?” I was horrified. “You’ve seen me naked!”
He shrugged. “Medical technology has improved by leaps and bounds.”
“This isn’t a transgender thing, Tahir. Just watch, please?”
I walked to the middle of the street—prayed no oncoming traffic would spoil the moment—and called the Goddess Within.
Streaks of lightning flashed in the sky as the familiar coil of warmth unfolded in my body. The wind came out of nowhere and churned around us. Ram had said the word for goddess in Hindi was ‘devi’: the Shining One. So I tried something new and visualized a white aura of light surrounding my body. It worked!
Apparently, the meditation really was freeing my mind.
Finally, I chanced a look at Tahir. He was watching me, his expression unreadable.
At least he hadn’t peed himself.
Radiant light shone off my hands as I raised them. “I am the incarnation of Kali—the Dark Mother. My dharma is to save the world. So…ah…what do you think about that?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so bloody sexy in my life,” he said.
I threw myself into his arms so hard I practically knocked him over.
After a few moments, Tahir said in a choked voice, “Maya, I can’t breathe.”
I loosened my grip from around his neck, thought what the hell, and blurted it out. “I love you.”
He smiled smugly. “I thought so.”
“Asshole.”
He laughed. “I love you, too.”
He leaned down to kiss me but I pulled back. “Wait. You don’t seem very shocked about any of this Kali stuff.”
“Growing up in India, I saw quite a bit of odd supernatural shit. Swamis levitating off the ground and so forth.”
“Levitate? You’re joking, right?” I wonder if Ram knew how to do any of that.
“Sweetheart, you just called up the forces of nature.”
“You have a point.”
He leaned down to kiss me again when I thought of something else. “What about looking for a good Indian wife and mother?”
“You’re a good human being, and that’s what matters most. That’s what I wanted to tell you at the restaurant earlier.” Before I could open my mouth again, he pulled me to him and brushed my lips with his. “Let’s go inside.”
Our arms around each other we walked up the drive. He swiped his key card and opened the lobby door. “Is that wind going to die down soon?”
Oops.
I turned back. “Stop!”
Thankfully it did. I would’ve been so totally embarrassed if it hadn’t.
“Brilliant,” Tahir said with admiration.
I grinned. “Tell me about it.”