Yaduvansham

Five • In The Middle Of The Night

If any female friend Nishatha truly admired, it was Nidra. He loved spending hours of his precious life in her arms, though maintained a particular time of being with her. Few hours of peace in her presence was just like walking on the streets of heaven.

If he ever wanted a refreshed mind, then he would walk straight into her company. She provided him peace, something he needed when he had such cousins, who couldn’t even define it.

Nidra, here was Sleep, undisturbed sleep that was quite impossible in the palace of Dwaraka.

But still, of all those disturbed hours, he dared to dream. Sometimes good and pleasing ones like him climbing Mount Kailasha to seek the blessings of Lord Mahadeva and Devi Parvati, and so called great cousins finally having some sense in their empty skulls and so on.

Sometimes there were nightmares, his family getting killed in a battle, Dwaraka submerging the sea, him spending a whole day with his cousins without any back up plan of escaping and others similar to that.

The problem was that they were never completed. He was either startled in the middle of the night was a commotion in the corridor or woken up by his mother or any of his aunts by drawing the curtains. All his dreams were half written and he didn’t even bother to complete them, instead he wrote new ones. Each night had the same story.

WHAM!

Nishatha shot out of his bed like an arrow and grabbing his sword, he darted towards the door. What a horrifying sound it was! Even Kumbhakarna would’ve woken from his endless sleep if he had heard it. Though from within he knew that he was over-reacting, but he had expected something more terrifying. Pouring a bucket full of water on his awakened self, was…

“Charu?”

Charumati straightened the piece of armour that had fallen down. How? The entire world how clumsy she was (only at times).

“Good evening Jyeshtha.”

“’Good evening’ when it’s just an hour or two for dawn?”

“Sorry!”

“What brings you here, in this corridor, at this hour?”

The corridor was entirely empty. Only two chambers existed in that part of the corridor. One was his and the other, laying parallel to it was Pradyumna’s. It was vacant since more than one and a half decade. But still Rukmini insisted on keeping it fully furnished and clean, in hopes that he would return. Nobody was even allowed in it.

Continuing that segment of the corridor followed the chambers of the other children. Nishatha’s was first from the stairs. To the right of the staircase were few empty rooms which were maintained for their wives (whenever they would arrive).

“Strolling. Couldn’t get some sleep.” Nishatha smiled sarcastically at that answer.

“Strolling because you couldn’t sleep? Decked from head to toe in ornaments?”

“Why not?”

“Princess Charumati, you must be aware that my brother and cousins are those books, whom I don’t really need to open to read. One simple glance is enough.” Nishatha crossed his arms across his chest and leaned on the door, “So, where have you been?”
Charumati bit her lip and put up a small smile.

“Heard Badi Maa talking to Maa,” she immediately continued when Nishatha put on a ‘did you seriously?’ look, “I didn’t mean to, it was accidental. And it was about you.”

“Me?”

“May I?” Without waiting for an answer, she walked into Nishatha’s room. The most cleanest and tidiest one amongst them all.