Brinda

Outsider

King Adigun leaned his head into his knuckles while the events of the day continued to fizzle through his thoughts. Since the incident, nothing had come off the old women who had stormed out of the palace. It had not fazed him either and all he wanted was Durga's safety. More so, he had done it all for Suraj and every other man who truly loved his wife and wouldn't want her to go through the same level of madness they were intending to inflict upon Durga.

"It is as it should be", he mumbled to himself while his heart still felt torn into bits.

Sifting uncomfortably on his throne of the umpteenth time, he heard the large doors creak open and watched his marvelous wife walk into the room.

Ambika Devi donned a frown and a disturbed expression as she spoke, "I learnt you had Durga taken to the servants' quarters and locked in there".

Acknowledging her claim, he cocked his head, "Yes I did. There was no chance I would let them touch a hair on that woman".

Ambika Devi stepped closer and found a seat at the feet of the throne. "It is tradition around here in Brinda and I fear things might not go as smoothly as they ought to henceforth".

"Don't tell me you support this barbaric claim... you do not accept that a woman has to die because her husband dies, do you?" he asked. "Why isn't the same extended to men? How come your father remained alive after your mother passed?"

The rule seemed to favor men and banish women to such cruel death all in the name of honor and dignity. It made his skin crawl just to think about it and he wished his wife would see reason in his words as well.

"I have never truly understood it either but there is no denying how much complications this will bring", she confessed. "I can tell you hurt and I can tell this situation isn't ideal for anyone, but I beseech you to recognize the culture in Brinda and work according to it".

King Adigun upped himself from his seat and walked over to the window overlooking the east side of the Kingdom where the market and major rural areas were situated. The somewhat plush sight of what he could call progress and development brought back memories of the hard work Suraj had put into the entire system.

More so, it shone brilliantly and attested to deeds, principles and policies put in place by Durga from the moment he elected her into her role. Seeing such beautiful and talented woman get burned to crisp simply because she lost her husband wasn't something he could stomach and he was certain it wasn't something he would be able to handle either.

"What happens if the same happens to me?" King Adigun turned around to ask his wife. "Do you become the source of your pain even after my demise? Do I weigh you down with more hurt while they burn you alive?"

Ambika Devi fell silent.

"I cannot stand to see another soul get taken away by people of Brinda", he explained. "How much more must they hurt her just so they can be happy? Who takes charge of all her deeds while she is gone? Who monitors and continues with the progress she has made into creating the best out of an absolutely pitiful situation out there?"

Seeing Durga get killed was like taking ten backward steps after they had made little progress already.

"Whatever you choose to do, I will stand by you", his wife said. "While I have no idea how bad things might be because of this, I also buy into your ideology and I know you mean well for Brinda".

King Adigun felt pleased for his understanding wife and turned back to look out the window. Everything they had managed to achieve thus far reminded him Suraj and his sacrifice wasn't about to go unnoticed.