Loving You Through Lifetimes

Consequences of War

War. What is war? An endless pit of misery. Why did these fools wage war? What did they ever gain out of it? 

They praise conquerors to the ends of the earths. I want to crush conquerors till they become nothing but dust beneath my feet. 

Before war turned my beautiful city, Alakapuri to a ruin, my life was full of hope and joy. 

A Month Ago: 

                                      BORDER VILLAGE OF ALAKAPURI, CAPITAL OF YAKSHAS 

It was the beginning of Autumn, the skies were clear and the leaves turned copper. 

Father agreed to let Suketu marry me. I could not have been happier. Suketu and I were childhood sweethearts. Our parents had been good friends and neighbours for many years now. 

I remember the first time I met Suketu was when I was eight and he was eleven. We played under the rays of sun reflected on the jewelled trees of Alakapuri. Over the years, we grew closer in soul and body. 

Lost in thoughts, I walked towards the river and heard a splash. I looked up and saw Suketu swimming. 

He saw me and waved, "Come join me, Manovega!"

I grinned excitedly and stripped, dropping my clothes on the grassy ground. I dashed towards the waterbody and jumped into it with a loud splash. 

We chased each other around in circles, dodging each other while giggling. I scooped water and splashed it on his face. He bearhugged me from behind and dunked me. I burst into laughter and pummelled his chest. Our water sport at an end, we walked, hand in hand, to the green riverbank and made passionate love. 

As we gazed into the evening sky painted pink by the setting sun, Suketu turned towards me, "I feel nervous, Manovega!" he said, supporting himself on an elbow. 

"Why?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I mean, it's one thing to be lovers but it's another to become a husband and wife, you know?" he sighed, lying back down, his head resting on his arms "I worry about the responsibilities that will come with it especially children..." he trailed off. 

I scooted closer to him and wrapped my arms around him, "I know you are not good with children but that's okay, you will learn" 

"How do you know?" he asked, "You are amazing with kids!" 

"Sure but when I was little, I was taking baby steps too, you know with my siblings were babies" I reminded him. 

"There are moments when I envy the fact that you are not an only child like me, Manovega" he admitted. 

"I believe everything happens for a reason" I mumbled, "Fate might have some bigger plans for a reason" I groaned, "Look, you are amazing at consoling a person and I am just terrible at it. We can be strong together by supporting each other, can't we?"

"Yes" he nodded, kissing my forehead, "I think we should head back now" 

"They must be looking for us right now" I giggled, "It's our wedding today." 

"Why are you so impatient" he teased, "Couldn't wait till the wedding was over?"

"You are one to talk!" I scoffed, "You are the one who seduced me today"  

He softly tugged my nose and got up, helping me to my feet. We began walking back home, after hastily getting dressed. As we neared my home, I began to feel something was amiss. 

Before I could say something, the horrid smell of burning flesh reached my nose. I exchanged an alarmed glance with Suketu and we slowly snuck behind the bushes. 

I nearly screamed before Suketu closed my mouth with his palm. Rakshasas!  Around a hundred of them were slaughtering the Yakshas. 

Houses were being set aflame and people being burnt alive. I heard a familiar voice scream and saw that it was Suketu's mother. A Rakshasa soldier ripped her robe, exposing half her chest even as she begged for mercy. 

Suketu got to his feet and rushed into the midst of the ongoing battle. He seized the nearest fallen spear and skewered that molester making him squeal like a wild pig. 

I dashed out of the bushes and picked up two scimitars from the bloodied ground, "Suketu!" I  shouted and he ran to me, we stood back to back. 

"Ready?" he asked.

"Ready." I replied.

We fought like possessed people, I don't think I can count how many throats I slit. Suketu took up long range attacks with his spear and I landed short range attacks with the scimitars. 

Watching enemies fall one by one, my confidence began to rise. Seeing our courage, other Yakshas regained hope and fought side by side with us. After a tense fight, I was pleased to see that the Rakshasa invaders lay dead at our feet. 

We all let out deafening cheers and thumped each other's backs. Suddenly, the earth began to tremble. We could hear the familiar trumpeting of a herd of elephants. 

Some Yakshas nervously said, "Everyone, calm down. We literally live inside a forest. A herd of elephants is nothing to worry about" 

I nodded, trying to put on a brave face, even as my heart sank. Soon, tens of thousands of Rakshasas emerged, out of the woods, on elephants. 

They charged at us and their elephants trampled on several Yakshas. The infantry of the Rakshasas entered the battle and overwhelmed us with sheer numbers. 

The battle lasted for a long time but the end result was unchallenged Rakshasa victory. 

"Alright, Yakshas!" shouted the Rakshasa General, "Our King Ravana has won! Your King Kubera has been defeated. King Ravana has taken Kubera as a prisoner of war. Hence, all Yaksha lands will now belong to Rakshasas. Every Yaksha citizen is now a slave to the Rakshasas. From this day forth, the Yaksha capital Alakapuri will be known as Lankapuri, capital of Rakhsasas" 

Cries of anguish resounded all around me. We were horrified that Kubera was defeated. He and his soldiers stood like a wall between Ravana's forces and us. Now, that wall has collapsed and we were at the mercy of the Rakshasas. 

The Yakshas were a nature-loving tribe who have been businessmen for many eras. Whereas the Rakshasa were a militant tribe who spent ages mastering martial skills.