Vijay stepped off the dusty bus and squinted against the setting sun. It had been five long years since he had seen the village that cradled his childhood memories. The sweet scent of jasmine and cow dung filled his nostrils, a stark contrast to the city's cacophony of honking horns and diesel fumes. As he made his way down the familiar dirt path, the sounds of laughter and chatter grew louder. He recognized the voices of his siblings playing in the yard, but there was something... different about the warmth of the house. It wasn't just the glow of the setting sun, it was a new presence, a new flavor to the air that was both comforting and... strangely tantalizing.

As Vijay approaches the house, the aroma of freshly baked bread and cooking curry wafts out of the open kitchen window, mingling with the sweet smell of milk simmering on the stove. His stomach rumbles in anticipation, a hunger that went deeper than mere physical need. His father had remarried in his absence, and Vijay had been told that his new stepmother, Ragini, had a way with food that could melt even the hardest of hearts.