Folly of Wise Men

Chapter - 6 A Rake called Mihai

Samira talked no more, and I didn't dare to upset her. She carried on through the trip in sullen silence, while I spent my time conversing with the driver, I took a seat at the front and listened to him talking about the villages and cities he had frequented while working as a driver for a merchant.

He spoke of the snowy mountains in the north and how the people who lived there seemed to have stolen the fairness of mountain snow. He talked about the dusky beauties in the south and cautioned me about offending the fox-eyed warriors in the east. Furthermore, he talked about the anatomy of women and the best brothels in major cities. I did not enjoy his perverted musings about women and was more interested in learning about warriors and mythical beasts.

"I have seen kinnaras before."

"If I remember correctly, they do not perform for humans but solely for the god king. Ever since his departure from the three realms, they have never ventured near civilization. So, I wonder, how did you come to meet them?"

"I am not lying, lad. I've seen them in the northern mountains. A fine lass had taken me there after I persuaded her with an irresistible offer." He glanced at me with anticipation, urging me to inquire about the nature of the offer.

"Let me guess, you offered to remove unmentionables off her, am I right?"

"If only that could work. No, you guessed wrong. I had offered her money and she took me to a secret spot, where I saw their spectacle in secret. Despite the bone-chilling cold, those half-horses gracefully danced and melodiously sang. Their beauty was beyond anything you could ever imagine, with their golden skins and captivating blue eyes that leave anyone at a loss for words."

I once heard a poem about them, and its words have remained etched in my mind.

In lands of green, they're rarely seen,

Half men with bottoms of fur,

Half men with torsos of gold,

Half men with orbs of blue.

Their song has no ears to be heard,

Their dance has no eyes to be seen,

Dwelling in the land of white, Kinnara is their name,

half men, half horses, with talent forever unmatched.

After only half an hour, I deeply regretted my decision to engage in a conversation with this man. He droned on about his escapades, mostly his debauchery, which made me wish that he would never father a son to spoil and ruin. I begged the gods for the destination to arrive swiftly and waited for it like a desert blossom yearning for the heavens to quench its thirst with blissful tears.

****

After what felt like ten thousand sunsets, a smile appeared on my face as the town came into view. Elation unfurled at the prospect of preserving my sanity and protecting my precious ears. Watching the town had made me realize that the name "Gulabpur" was given in a literal manner. The majority of the houses were all bathed in the color of roses, while a few had shades of red and reddish browns.

The hovels outside the town, reserved for my kin, were sore to the eye, and it made me ashamed to hold such a repugnant view about our people. So, I reminded myself of my true identity, and that the trip was nothing more than a passing dream.

You are a sullied; the world would not accept you like her. Even she doesn't want to be with you because of your...

I refused to let those thoughts hammer me into a sulky, insecure boy. Instead, I embraced the view in front of me. Pink, flat-roofed structures stood alongside the limestone roads, forming a picturesque scene of blush on pale, in waves of burnt gold. Adjoining the roads and buildings were bushes of flowers that were not supposed to grow in such an environment. However, Nagarapati of Gulabpur desired his town to be a paradise to behold and spared no expense to keep it that way.