Karthik was a final-year college student. He usually commuted to college on his bike. However, unexpected trouble with his bike meant it had to remain in the repair shop for a whole week. With no other option, he began commuting by the city bus. Little did he know that this routine travel would mark the beginning of the most significant chapter of his life.

It was on a morning while waiting at the bus stop that he saw her for the very first time. Her name was Ramya. She looked to be around twenty-four years old. The traditional vermilion on her forehead and the sacred marriage thread (mangalsutra) around her neck silently revealed that she was a young woman who had been married for just a few years. Every day, she arrived neatly dressed in a saree, adorned with fresh jasmine flowers. Her graceful movements and the subtle scent of her perfume irresistibly drew Karthik toward her without his own realization.