When Aastha met Veer, she knew they had a connection.
However, the connection would be from two centuries ago, she never could have imagined.
A love story that remained unfulfilled, broken by evil, and destroyed to ashes - whose reference hide...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"I need POWER!!" The old witch screamed.
"You will get it soon, Maa." Her daughter replied as she was setting up a cauldron, made with bricks. Lighting up the fire, she started to offer a bunch of elements gathered from nature.
The old witch dragged herself to where her daughter was seated and glared at her. "WHEN? WHY HASN'T IT BEEN DONE YET?"
"I... couldn't complete the task. But.. It's a small setback. I will get our revenge and your power back soon." The daughter replied with a sigh. Why is it that no matter what she did that mother of hers is never satisfied?
The old witch laughed evilly, "You silly girl! You are a waste. All my hard work in bringing you to this world all those centuries ago is a waste. You cannot do anything. You are a failure."
The daughter glared at her mother. Dark red colour filled every corner of her eyes, and she caught the neck of her mother and pushed her against the walls of the cave. "Mind your language while talking to me. Have you forgotten that without you me you would never have escaped your coffin?"
The old witch laughed again and with her worn-out hands held the back of her daughter's hand. Her hands reached to the awkwardly cut braid. She pulled it and the cave was filled with a loud scream.
Pushing her daughter aside, the old witch snickered, "You are all talk. All these centuries and your heart is still in your hair."
With that, the old witch turned to leave as her daughter fell onto the ground gasping for breath.
"Isn't it funny? That idiot didn't know that to kill you, he had to burn your entire hair, not just cut off your braid..." The old witch mused, shaking her head.
"It's my powers and wishes, that gave you that luck. Use it wisely, you dummy!" The old witch thundered. "You have only one chance now. If you don't give me the power I want, I will make sure you will see your end before I die."
As the old witch went back to her room in the cave, her daughter struggled to breathe. She staggered towards the inner sanctum and found a small doll placed inside the hidden compartment of a huge treasure trunk. The doll was made of multiple elements she had found in nature, and the insides of the doll were filled with tantric ashes.
The doll got its shape by wrapping thin fabric multiple times strategically. Using dried blood, a face and limbs were painted on the doll. Multiple needles were stuck into its body, especially at the pulse points. Taking one heavy breath, she pulled out one of the needles that was stuck to the hand of the doll.
It immediately hurt her, and the doll fell out of her hand. She grasped for breath heavily and held her hand which triggered enormous amounts of pain into her body. After a few moments, she managed to pull the doll back and prick the needle back in its place.
Unlike her mother, she didn't survive on killing human beings. Human blood made her insides cringe. She would rather hunt a deer and fulfil her needs to stay alive rather than kill another human being to keep her breathing. Her mother, however, needed a constant supply of blood and flesh - all humans.
When she had first revived her mother and told her about this trick where they could be immortal through magic and witchcraft rather than be a cannibal, her mother scoffed and taunted.
Shaking her head with a sigh, she got up when her health was back to normal. Thinking back to her mother's words she couldn't help but feel more anger. How did she fail? She had planned everything perfectly! How did she fail in killing Aastha?
First things first, she needed to keep her mother alive. And for that, they needed a sacrifice.
Once she manages to get something to feed her always-hungry mother, she will go ahead with her plan. This time she needed to plan in such a way that she needed to kill two birds in one stone. She underestimated her targets and she wouldn't take that risk again.
Pulling out a green-coloured dupatta from the trunk, she gently caressed its surface. It was worn out, with a few holes here and there. It no longer smelled of the royal life. It was just a reminder of what was once around her.
Two centuries had passed, and the only emotions that she felt were anger and desire. That was enough to drive her forward. "Aastha... my dear sister from another life...enjoy your last few days... Soon... there will be nothing but darkness in your world."
Fisting the fabric in her hand, she tried to recall the times she had seen her twin sister dance. Letting out a hurl of curses, she watched and walked over to the edge of the cave, looking outside as crows and birds that were in the trees began to fly away in urgency. "The last dance is going to be mine. I will rewrite history, my way this time."
She told in a loud voice watching the horizon change its colours as the sun began to set.
