Ramayana Retold - Shivam's Romantic Version

DESTINED TO MEET - PART2

                       CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS CHAPTER

IN THE FAR AWAY FORESTS OF DANDKARYA

It had been almost Half an hour since Ram and Lakshman had made a halt beside a river stream , they had been on their horses for more than three hours , finally reaching the core of the dandakaranya forests.

The horses had been tied up to a nearby tree for resting . The horses had pried on the surrounding vegetation and grass , but it was far from filling up their bellies

Lakshman was down at the river stream , busy splashing his face with water again and again ,he sat upright on a medium sized rock which lay a few meters into the river , while his legs were partially immersed in water upto knuckle length

Ram Looked keenly towards his brother , whose hair was slightly dis-shelved , and small beads of liquid traced down his chiselled chin , he could not make out if it just water he splashed or it was mixture of his sweat with the river water.

As he held on to his thoughts while feeding and caressing his stallion's back , he was interrupted by a shout from Lakshman.

" Ram Bhayia, I am bored to death , how much more to wait for that Aquaintance , " , Lakshman said in Annoyance.

" Should I dance for you then if you are so bored ???" Ram Joked

" I don't mind if you do , but that can be delayed , you should first try ur luck with an intimate couple dance with princess sita when we return back to ayodhya " , Lakshman counter attacked

" Shut up , how can you be so shameless Lakshman , and why do you look so jaded? , You are alright Laksh , anything I should know ???? " , Ram asked with concern

" I am fine Bahyia , no worries ......, you take a Nap , I will be on guard." , Lakshman remarked as he touched his forehead which was burning at a temperature comparable to molten lava. The intial stage of Backlashes had started a few minutes ago , And lakshman was trying hard to suppress the visible symptoms on his face.

Lakshman always spoke the truth , the only time he lied was when he didn't want to make his eldest brother worry , and if Ram knew that the first stage of backlashes of Bala and Atibala had really started this hour , Ram would have started to panick a little.

Ram came forward a few steps , leaving the horses behind , he was just a few meters away from his brother

" No Lakshman , we cannot rest , its imperative that those divyastras which gurudev mentioned , be in our grasp asap , although you trust the eldest Prince Of Lanka , I do not , and the physical and mental trauma that awaits you for the next few months , we really need to quicken our objective" , Ram said with care as he tried to cup Lakshman's face with his right hand .

" You worry too much Bhayia , just relax , I was wondering when we will meet our old Aquintance , I wonder who he is " , Lakshman moved a couple of steps back as he avoided Ram's hand touching his cheeks , as his mere touch would have put an end to his charade of being perfectly fine.