only temporary

Parvati came home with a pounding headache, the spot just behind her eyes throbbing loudly as she turned the key in the lock. The house was empty-or, rather, it was supposed to be-with Lakshmi at work and Savita had probably not yet gotten back from her classes. There was no one else around, just her and the empty, aging house that groaned as she dropped her keys in the bowl.