A little girl, maybe seven, stares at her from a bus stop. The girl has the same wide-set eyes. The same deep brown. She’s frowning at her own reflection in a phone screen.
She picks up a pot of kajal. Not the smudged, smoky-eye trend. The real thing. Grandma’s recipe: soot, ghee, and a curse against the evil eye.
She speaks to her reflection.
RAHI (24, sharp kohl-lined eyes, a bindi that catches the light like a ruby bullet) stands at the edge of a rooftop. Below, a sea of curated faces scrolls past—filters smoothing every nose, bleaching every edge.