अन्तः अस्ति प्रारंभः।
The end is the beginning.
A caterpillar dies, to birth a butterfly. Water evaporates to rain down. Dead carcasses fill the stomachs of vultures.Life gives way to death and death to life. In a vicious circle of different karmas...
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Life moved on. Mihira still hated the Housing Affairs board. Eklavya won his challenge against whatever woman Mihira couldn't be bothered to remember. It was a small challenge for the man, targetting a dummy several feet from there through a veil of continuously streaming water. Accuracy and speed were the parameters, both of which he had aced.
She was more concerned with the fact that she had to analyse the financial statements of the city for the previous two years and pass the analysis to Virendra. That would have been fine, if Mihira had some peace.
Another colleague, the one who was supposed to do the said analysis, was being unbearably smug and it did not look good on him. He obnoxiously announced his —several— breaks and practically skipped out of the office at the bell sound of official end of the office hours.
(Mihira itched to tell him how she had killed so efficiently. How a man looked like him. How those pretty eyes turned red after a slash of a machete. If only.)
Mihira could not tolerate the man for even six hours, much less overtime, so she was thankful as she walked away after putting an exit in his name. She had been working on that analysis for two days and yet there was something missing still.
She barely had ten minutes to herself before Eklavya strutted in, grinning dreamily. "Mihira, sweet girl!" Mihira glared at him, shushing him before going back to comparing the export incomes of the two years—from the extra documents she had to take more permissions to review—, trying and failing to ignore the tribal man as he climbed onto a nearby chair, sitting there as if he owned it.
"Come, it is time to go for the evening prayers," Eklavya said, yawning slightly. "Then, it's probably time to sleep."
Mihira rolled her eyes,"You may sleep anywhere but here, Eklavya. I am, unfortunately, busy."
"Or you would agree to sleep, with me?" Eklavya grinned at his supposedly clever wordplay. Childish man.
However before Mihira could reply, they heard a throat clearing and Mihira craned her neck to look at Crown Prince Rukmi standing there with a raised eyebrow. She stood up, putting her quill aside to make sure that her notes wouldn't get stained with ink. Eklavya instantly stood up to follow her lead as well, turning and then bowing his head.
Rukmi walked in the empty office with a ghost of a smile tugging at his lips,"So, that marriage was not only an alias?"
"He wishes, your Highness."
"She wishes, your Highness."
Both of them replied at the same time, only to shoot eachother a glare a moment later. Mihira pursed her lips, the man would have a fist sized bruise the moment the Crown Prince walked away.
Rukmi laughed quietly. "Worry not, it is not my concern to deal with. However, you better have a good reason to be here, old friend. More believable than last time." He directed the last sentence at Eklavya with a smirk.
