“Oh, now feel it coming back again
Like a rolling thunder chasing the wind
Forces pulling from the center of the Earth again
I can feel it…”
~ Live.
December 1996, March & August 1997.
Two weeks before finals, Rupa asks Michael if he feels ready for their exam. After admitting he is, Michael offers to help her study in the library but she turns him down. Later, he buys a copy of “Irrational Man” as a Christmas present but never gets an opportunity to give it to Rupa. Meanwhile, Samina nears her due date and spends most of her time in bed while waiting for the release of her latest film.
With Spring semester midterms over, Rupa approaches Michael in the library and shares how she would like to take more Philosophy courses, rather than Pharmacy. She mentions the possibility of taking one more course and asks is he has the book. Amazingly, it’s the same book he bought before Christmas, still gift-wrapped an in his satchel. Later, Samina gives birth to a baby girl and names her Jiya.
As Michael’s summer internship doing AIDS hospice work winds down at St. Clare’s Hospital, he receives some heartfelt advice from a patient. Afterwards, Michael prowls the halls of a retreat center during a midnight thunderstorm and prays for Rupa, only to see her the next day while driving through Astoria, Queens.
