Realm of the Goddess Read Online Free PDF

always let me use her fancy tea set. When my mom protested that I might break something, my grandmother would always tell her that the teacups weren’t as important as seeing her granddaughter enjoy herself. I loved my sweet grandmother and I made sure to be extra careful with the cups. I never did break a single one, and when we left Kolkata, she insisted we take it with us. My mom didn’t use it very often, but when she did it always brought back sweet memories of my grandmother, in her white sari and the little gray bun at the nape of her neck. She would tell me stories of gods and goddesses, and when I first started having nightmares, she told me that maybe I was a little goddess myself and that the dreams were just memories of my past lives.
    When we walked back into the living room, my dad was telling them the story about how he’d met my mom, as a graduate research assistant in Kolkata. Nothing looked amiss. Shiv’s parents seemed to be having a great time. Shiv looked up as I walked in with the tray and got up to help me. I started to think that maybe I had imagined the whole thing. I was sleep-deprived, after all.
    The rest of the evening went by fast, and then it was time for Shiv and his family to leave. I helped my parents clean up and then we all went to bed exhausted.
    The next few days passed with the usual monotony of school, homework and chores. Finals were fast approaching and the teachers were piling on the work. I had to stay after school from the beginning of the week. The first day Mr. Burke sat there, and I felt as if he was watching me the whole time. It creeped me out a little, but there was really nothing I could do. Then it was Wednesday and my parents had an appointment to talk to Mr. Burke. I was beginning to regret that decision and hoped it wouldn’t make things even weirder for me. My parents had asked me to meet them by Mr. Burke’s office, so I waited for them after school. When they arrived we all went into his office. I could see that they were as impressed by the décor as I had been. After the usual pleasantries were over, my mom got right to the point.
    “Mr. Burke, Callie tells us she is not doing too well in your class.”
    “That’s right. Mrs. Hansen, her grade has dropped a lot. I have offered to let her do some work for extra credit.”
    My dad spoke up this time. “Mr. Burke, we’re just a bit surprised because she was sitting at 95 percent just a couple of weeks ago. How could her grade have dropped so much in such a short time?”
    Mr. Burke took off his glasses and leaned forward. “Mr. Hansen,” he said, his face a stony mask. “Have you asked your daughter why she might be doing so badly? I find her unfocused in class, and her last two essays have not been up to my standard.” He was pointing a finger at my dad, jabbing it in his direction, punctuating his sentences.
    I had never seen Mr. Burke like this. There was something distinctly hostile and menacing about his expression and tone. I glanced at my parents and realized that they were staring at Mr. Burke’s hand, which was still in midair. I looked too and saw a tattoo on the inside of his right wrist. I couldn’t be sure but it looked like the head of a bull or something with horns. My parents were still staring, their faces ashen, as if they had seen a ghost. I expected them both to be quite upset with the things that Mr. Burke was saying about me. I definitely hadn’t expected this. I had never known my parents to be so intimidated. They got up hurriedly and ushered me out of the office, up the stairs and out into the parking lot. I tried to stop them but they were adamant, not saying a word until we got home. As soon as we got inside I turned on them.
    “Mom, Dad, what was that? Why did we run out of there like that? Mr. Burke is going to think you guys are so weird.” I was really upset and I wanted an explanation.
    “Callie, listen,” my dad said. “We don’t want you to stay after school