Watching the trailer for *The Odyssey* made me think of those long night shifts when you’re just walking and walking down the same corridor, like a little astronaut in a blue uniform. But my real journey is saving for Didi’s engineering fees—each month is a small landing on a new planet. Achha, I’ll stick to my chai and the rain on the gulmohar; space can wait.

That time my Didi got married, her in-laws asked for a fridge and a scooter in the "gifts" list. My father, who had just retired on a small pension from the mines, took a loan. Six years later, when my sister got into engineering, my father was still paying it off. So when people tell me *mehr* and *jahez* are different things, I just think—who gets squeezed in the end? Always the one with the least cushion.