A Different Destiny - A Mahabharat/Karn Fanfic

CHAPTER - 31 : TROUBLE

It was a pleasant night with a gentle breeze blowing around. There were no clouds to obscure the moon and its light. The sounds of the crickets and moths were heard and so were the lullabies of the birds. A tall, handsome man came to the balcony of the building with a glass filled with wine in his hand. He was dressed down comfortable for the night, but still looked regal. Tawny eyes stared at the moon with a bittersweet smile. He has everything that he ever needs, every riches that the world has to offer, learnt the knowledge regarding everything that was ever there to be learned, yet he still did not feel content. He felt empty. Taking a huge gulp from the glass, he left it on the balcony and went inside, deciding to go outside. 

Soon, he reached the river and saw a couple of boatmen there. He tipped one off heftily to take him for a ride on the river, who immediately agreed knowing who he is. While the boatman was rowing down the river, the man sat on the boat, looking around, trying to see and enjoy what the nature has to give. 

It has been a couple of minutes since they have been on the river and the man was looking around his surroundings, just taking everything in to fill the void that he was feeling.

Just then, his gaze landed on a movement  by the shore and saw a figure move. It was a woman. The most beautiful woman his eyes has ever landed on. She had made herself comfortable, sitting on one of the rocks by the shore. The moonlight casted a glow on her face, making it visible. There a pleasant smile on her face while she too stared at her surroundings, looking at the moon and the river. The scenery was indeed beautiful, but so was she. She looked divine and ethereal. Out of no where, her gaze landed on him and he felt like his whole world just stopped. The man just sat there, gazing at her, committing her features to his memory when he suddenly realized, the void that he was feeling is no longer there. 

He wanted to talk to her. He wanted to get to know her. Thus, he ordered the boatman to stop by the shore, where the woman was and he complied. But, just then, he saw another figure walk towards her. Another woman, who called out her name, making her look at the other woman. The two woman seem to be in a conversation and then, the woman stood up and followed the other woman, disappearing amongst the trees that they walked into. The man had his hand in front of him, as if he was trying to stop her, but no words left his mouth. He looked quite restless that even the boatman picked up that something was wrong.

"What's wrong, Prabhu? Is something the matter?" asked the boatman.

"The woman who was sitting by the shore, earlier. She just left...." muttered the man.

"There's an ashram of a few sages nearby. The girl must be from there, my liege. Chances are, you might find her there" said the boatman with a smile on his face.

*****

As everyone were leaving, Isha stayed back in the temple. Karn who was with Kunti suddenly turned back to look at Isha and found her slowly sitting down, facing the shiv ling. Seeing that, he prompted Nakul to take Kunti with him and the younger Pandav nodded his head in response and did as his Jyesht wished. Meanwhile, Isha slowly knelt down, staring at the shiv ling. Relief was clearly visible on her face.

Joining her hands in front of her in prayer, she started saying "Mahadev," making Karn stop in his tracks. 

Seeing that she's praying out loud, Karn decided to give her some privacy and walked away from there, deciding to sit on the stairs and wait for her.

"I cannot express in words, how grateful I am that my sister got to escape the ill-fate that would have ruined her life. I don't why or how I got those nightmares or how I just know that something will happen if I don't come here for her, but I believe that it's just the universe playing whatever game it is playing and I am eternally grateful for it Mahadev. Thank you so very much for that. Aap apne kripa dhrishti ko meri parivar par banaye rakhne ki kaamana karti hoon" she prayed.