QUOTE : I hoped you would choose me,” he said.<br />I blushed, suddenly aware of my unbraceleted arms and simple sari. “I have no dowry.”<br />He laughed, a hesitant, half-nervous sound that did not match his stern features. “I don’t care.”<br />“Then what do you want from me?”<br />“I want to lie beside you and know the weight of your dreams,” he said, brushing his lips against my knuckles. “I want to share whole worlds with you and write your name in the stars.” He moved closer and a chorus of songbirds twittered silver melodies. “I want to measure eternity with your laughter.” Now, he stood inches from me; his rough hands encircled my waist. “Be my queen and I promise you a life where you will never be bored. I promise you more power than a hundred kings. And I promise you that we will always be equals.”<br />I grinned. “Not my soul then, Dharma Raja?”<br />“Would you entrust me with something so precious?”<br />I was silent for a moment before reaching for my foot and slipping off the worn slipper. “Here, my love, the dowry of a sole.”<br />I began to laugh, giddily, drunkenly, before he swallowed my laughter in a kiss.