He might be able to find a job in India if he wanted to move, but he didn’t speak the language, and he and Nik wouldn’t be accepted here. Nik would realize he wanted to come home to stay any moment now, and Trent would be out of luck. How could anyone prefer Chicago to this? He glanced at Nik, who watched the passing sites with a reverence Trent had never seen on his face before.īutterflies took up residence in his stomach again. It was so different from Chicago’s cold winters and concrete jungle. Nik’s descriptions hadn’t done justice to the true beauty of the area, though. What they were seeing now didn’t have any of that same sense of ritual, but it had all of the same sense of tradition, life going on as it had for an age. He hadn’t understood the words, but he’d been struck by the power of it nonetheless. This was everyday life, not the pageantry of Chirappu with its processions-elephants, for Christ’s sake!-and bright costumes and elaborate rituals. Women in brightly colored saris stood in the shallows with the long skirts tucked up around their knees washing clothes or dishes, he couldn’t tell which. Boats floated on still waters of the canals with fishing lines hanging from bow and stern.

Rice patties stretched out in the open spaces between houses, the lifeblood of the economy. Palm trees, coconut trees, banana trees, and dozens more he couldn’t identify filled the gardens of the houses they passed. T RENT STARED in wonder at the lush greenery of the Kerala countryside once they left Alappuzha for the backwaters of Kerala. What was it about being home that kept tripping him up? The rate he was going, he wouldn’t have a boyfriend by the time they got back to Chicago.

If he’d done that, maybe Trent wouldn’t be standing off by himself looking lost. He should have taken the time to explain everything to Trent last night instead of worrying about Trent’s reaction to his family. He might not share Trent’s beliefs, but he understood the rituals. Nikhilesh had the advantage of having gone to church with Reena. He wouldn’t know what to do and that would just make him feel more out of place. Nikhilesh almost went to him to draw him into the ceremony, but Trent wasn’t Hindu and he didn’t speak Malayalam. Nikhilesh moved automatically through the steps of the puja as he glanced over his shoulder at Trent.

Home for Chirappu by Ariel Tachna