It's Snow Time Now…
Everything around is blanketed in snow—pure, white snow as far as the eye can see.
On the trees, on the rooftops, everywhere you look, it's just white snow.
All around, there's nothing but snow.
Choking Town
"Fresh vegetables, fresh vegetables!"
"Green vegetables, fresh greens!" A woman in her thirties walks from house to house, calling out as she goes.
She's bundled up in warm, black clothes to fight the cold.
Balanced on her head is a large basket brimming with fresh green vegetables.
She makes her way through the snow-covered streets, stopping in front of each house to call out to her customers.
"The veggie lady is here!"
"Everyone, come out!"
"Come buy your vegetables!"
"Oh, Shankar's mother, why haven't you come out yet?"
"Don't you want any vegetables? You're always late!"
As soon as the vegetable seller starts shouting, women from the nearby houses quickly come out and gather around her.
And those who haven't come yet—the others start calling out to them too.
"Hey veggie lady, what vegetables do you have today?" asks a middle-aged woman, peering into the basket.
Her face is round and plump, with a few wrinkles showing her age.
She's dressed in a yellow saree, with a bindi on her forehead.
Like her, all the other women are also wearing sarees, bindis, and sindoor (vermilion).
There are seven women in total. When they all gather around the veggie lady, the group becomes eight.
Among the seven, five are middle-aged, while two appear to be in their early twenties—newly married, it seems.
"Today I have okra and potatoes," says the veggie lady, opening her basket for them to see.
"These are what's available in the city market these days—and they're perfect for winter."
"You brought the same vegetables again?"
"Don't you have anything else?"
"Yes, why don't you ever bring something different?"
"Look, this is all you'll get during winter. If you want it, buy it. If not, don't waste my time," the veggie lady says, pulling out her weighing scale.
"How can you talk to us like that?"
"Yes, you shouldn't speak to us that way!"
The middle-aged women, annoyed by her tone, begin to argue with the veggie seller.
"Fine, I'll bring something different next time. But today, please take your vegetables quickly—I need to get home early," the veggie lady says, lifting her weighing scale. "Now, tell me who wants what."
"I'll take half a kilo of potatoes and 250 grams of okra," says the woman in the yellow saree. The others also place their orders and hand over bronze coins in exchange.
(A/N: Currency system → Bronze → Silver → Gold.
10,000 Bronze Coin = 100 Silver = 1 Gold Coin)
Once everyone has their vegetables, the women return to their homes.
The veggie seller closes her basket and heads home as well—her house is in a corner of the town.
All the women's homes are made of mud and wood. Right now, every one of them is covered in snow.
Now we see the young women in their twenties heading home.
"Madam, why do you even need to buy vegetables from this veggie lady? If you tell me, I can…" says a woman dressed in a tight black robe, looking like an assassin.
"There's no need to worry," Laxmi replies. "Yes… you'll be leaving this place tomorrow and returning to the palace."
"You will take my place in ruling this kingdom."
Hearing her mistress's words, Riya's eyes fill with tears.
But even seeing this, Laxmi's heart does not soften. She tells her again to leave tomorrow.
"Now move aside—I need to go cook for my husband. He'll be home soon," she says, and walks into her mud-and-wood house.
"Your Majesty, why are you doing this?"