Krishnapriya Devashree

82. The Tempest

Devashree fled into the storm, wild and raging, mirroring the tumult within her heart.

Tears streamed down her face, mingling with the raindrops that drenched her hair and clothes. The wind whipped around her, tearing at her clothes, but she paid no heed, consumed by the overwhelming fear of losing the one she held dearest.

They have not even been together for long in this life and now this... Is everything lost already?

She ran deep into the forest, ran till the shadows swallowed her whole, the trees closing in around her, ran till her lungs burned. The dread filled her, heavy and suffocating, making her heart race and her breaths come in short, panicked gasps.

Her hands were clammy and sweaty, her fingers trembling uncontrollably.

Memories of lifetimes flashed before her eyes. She saw herself as Lakshmi, rising from the ocean's depths, watching Narayan from the afar, yearning for a touch, a word, a sign, anything to bridge the chasm between them.

She remembered as Sita, the fire of the agni pariksha, the scorching heat that she walked through, proving her purity to the world but never to Ram. He would have never asked her to do that if he knew that it was of no use....For they were torn yet again.

The memories of those trials and tribulations in the forest, the endless waiting and enduring, were etched deeply into her soul. The pain of those days, the loneliness, the longing, her soul screaming for Shri Ram and the sheer strength it took to hope that yes...there would be a day...a beautiful day when she would be reunited with him once more...It all came rushing back with a force that took her breath away and cut through her like a knife

Will she have to live like that again, live only with his memories yet again in this lifetime, living with the hope that one day everything would be okay, no...not living.....just existing...

Wasn't she suffering already with one curse as Radha, counting each second, feeling the longing, feeling how long a second stretches without him, her heart continuously and eternally aching for her Shyam? The nights spent by the Yamuna, looking at the moon and wondering if he was thinking of her too, it was endless...the wait for a glimpse, a moment together. It haunted her each second.

Completely losing him would kill her... No...I can't lose him...I can't...

Her breaths came in ragged gasps as she fought against the rising panic. She could feel her pulse pounding in her temples, her body trembling with a combination of fear and exhaustion.Her legs felt like lead, her energy waning, but she couldn't stop, she needed an escape, an escape from the dreadful curse.

Barely able to see through her tears, she tripped over the gnarled roots of the trees, her body crashing to the ground. Her hands instinctively covered her abdomen protectively, while her other hand scraped against the jagged stones, cutting her palm. One of her juttis slipped off her foot, abandoned in the mud.

I can't stop... I must keep going...get away from it...all of it...

Blood mixed with mud as she struggled to her feet, her body trembling but she continued on, her bare feet now grazing the rough ground. A sharp pain shot through her as thorns pierced her feet.

Oh....oh the pain, it was so welcome, so good that for a moment she forgot the crushing agony in her heart.

Suddenly, the ground gave way beneath her. Devashree screamed, her voice lost in the storm as her hands flailed desperately for something to hold onto. She managed to catch a rock, her body jerking painfully as she dangled above a dark ominous pit.

Oh no..my little Tanu...This can't be how it ends... I have to protect my baby...

Panic surged within her, but she clung to the rock with all her strength. The rock was slick with mud and rainwater, and her fingers were slipping slowly on the muddy surface.