Krishna!

Chapter 3 - The first meet?

The next morning, the four woke up and got ready to go around exploring the city.

They spent the entire morning going to various shops and buying things they liked. They also met their old friend, Sudama and he gifted them two beautiful flower garlands that were filled with fragrant flowers.

By the time they got back to Akrura's house, it was already lunch time. They all had lunch, got some rest, and again set out to explore the other side of the market.

This time, they went to a famous cloth shop in the entire market. The shop was very well known for the quality of its clothes and the variety of colours. As they entered the shop, they were stopped by the shopkeeper.

"Who are you? You seem to be new here. Don't you know the rules of my shop?", he spoke curiously.

"Shreeman Pitrvya, they are new here. They are our guests. Please do give them permission. They have come with us", said Upadevaka, smiling.

"Ah! Upadevaka, you should have told me before. Please do come. But first, remove your slippers outside", smiled Shreeman.

He offered the best of clothes to Krishna and Balaram and they were all overjoyed.

As they were going out, they spotted the third woman they had seen yesterday who had banged into Shree. She had a large hunch on her back. She was middle-aged and she seemed to be walking with a lot of load on her back. She also seemed to be very tired. Krishna immediately walked up to her and said,

"Sundari, you seem to be very tired. Do you want some help?".

She was astounded that someone had called her Sundari of all names. She again had tears in her eyes and exclaimed,

"This is the second time someone is treating me this well. And you have not just been nice with your words, but you have also called me Sundari! I am so ugly. Why did you call me that?".

"One is beautiful in his or her thoughts and the work he or she does. Physical beauty does not last long. I can see that you are hardworking and at the moment you need some rest. What are you carrying?", he asked curiously.

"I have perfumes with me. I am the royal perfume seller of this kingdom. And I personally supply these perfumes to Mathuraadheesh. Would you like to take some? I will give you whatever you want free of cost.", she asked, smiling through her tears.

"Of course, I would surely love to take some. But I would not take anything free of cost.", said Krishna, peeking into all the perfumes she had. He picked the one made of sandalwood for himself, Balaram, Devaka and Upadevaka.

"But I will not accept money from you", she refused bluntly.

"But Sundari, I never mentioned about giving you any money", he smiled gently.

He immediately placed his right foot on her right foot, held her shoulder with one hand, held her chin with his other hand and pulled her up. Her hunch immediately disappeared, and she stood straight. She looked extremely beautiful now.

"Oh Narayana! My hunch has gone forever, thank you so much! I can never repay this debt to you. You have transformed me for good! I feel so blessed that I have met you", she started screaming at the top of her voice.

Shree and her friends Kanika and Sunanda were in the same side of the market, purchasing bangles when they heard this and immediately came running, to find her talking to this tall, dark young man who wore a turban studded with peacock feather.