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...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Late night, Mihira stared up at the sky, tracing patterns with her eyes and looking at the constellations that would be long gone by the time Kaliyug rolled around.
Rukmini sat beside her, an aura of such grace that made Mihira unable to speak anything that was going on in her mind in her presence. Mihira was sat on a step lower than her, being able to see more of the sky that way.
A hand glided over her hair softly. As if to not break whatever trance Mihira was in with nature, she whispered,"Mihira. What agonizes you, my dear?"
"I wished for death, you know." Mihira said, unable to lie to herself and to Rukmini. "I begged for death in front of you and Prabhu but you said I had a different destiny. What have I done in this world but wander? What good have I done? Here I am, imagining what it must feel like to kill, everyday. Here I am, turning my mind into a killer. Here I am, finding it extremely easy to slip into those thoughts."
The hand started drawing easing circles on her scalp,"You have saved my kingdom one lakh of gold coins, for one." She replied mirthfully before she got serious. "You have saved a life."
Mihira looked up at her in confusion, only to see her all knowing eyes staring at her, completely at ease with herself. Rukmini did not offer up any answer and Mihira huffed as she realised what she was trying to do.
You will not be granted anything unless you ask for it. It was clear as day.
So, to satisfy her curiosity, she asked,"Whose life have I saved, Didi?"
"Your town priest's, for one. He would have been killed, had he not done that yagna to save your life." The reality of the possibility sunk in deeper than Mihira thought it ought to. Rukmini continued,"Death will come for us all anyways, my dear. How about we make sure that our life is blessed as well?"
Mihira didn't know what to reply. Rukmini caressed her scarred shoulder softly. "Mihira," she said, and Mihira loved her name for the first time, perhaps. "My dear child. Your intelligence and your fate are what lead you into darkness so easily. Do not presume to be the darkness. You are looking into an abyss for an answer, it is easy to lose yourself."
"The abyss only echoes, does it not, Didi?" Mihira asked leaning her shoulder towards Rukmini, almost melting under her golden hued hands.
The Mother of the world hummed, as if considering Mihira's words.
Rukmini sighed, her hand a fleeting touch on Mihira's taut forehead. She muttered,"Life is not always kind to us, my child. However, it is always honest. Have you ever believed any lie that people forced on you? Have you ever believed that you were pious, saintly? That I would despise you for being a warrior interested in survival?"
Mihira did not have an answer.
And there, sitting on the steps of a Ram temple in the city square, no guards and no civilians to see the truth but Mihira, life turned its head. For the first time in twenty five years, Mihira imagined her life and it appeared clear.
