अन्तः अस्ति प्रारंभः।
The end is the beginning.
A caterpillar dies, to birth a butterfly. Water evaporates to rain down. Dead carcasses fill the stomachs of vultures.Life gives way to death and death to life. In a vicious circle of different karmas...
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Mihira almost skipped going to the balcony, two days after Ramnavmi, when she had her periods. They were a couple of days early and she had woken up in a particularly sour mood because of the situation.
Eklavya had tried almost desperately to make her mood better, but nothing seemed to make her quite the optimist that she never fucking was.
"I am just saying, wild thing, you should have a house of your own now that you are finally becoming stable. It's already been over eight months of you being in Kundinapuri. How long will you live with Maitri?"
"If you wish to retain your tongue in your mouth," she gritted out, looking at her friend in contempt,"you will stop speaking now."
Eklavya held up his hands in a mock surrender. It irked Mihira even more. "Alright, fine. I'm just saying, as your elder, you should listen to me."
Mihira stopped walking and Eklavya stopped instantly too, eyebrows furrowed. "Are you feeling like throwing up again? Should I get some water?"
His concern was touching, but not enough to combat the sheer annoyance in Mihira. She learnt towards him, noting that he leant back, still unsure if she was about to heave. A spark of amusement went through her.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Talk to me about this topic after three days. Do not broach this subject again. I am very aware of my living situations and I do not need to be reminded of it again. The only reason that I am not striking you currently is that we shall be meeting your father for lunch now and I do not think he will appreciate seeing a bruise on your face."
Eklavya sighed but nodded. He moved back and pointedly kept silent as he gestured for her to walk. Mihira resisted the urge to scoff. Even men in Dwapar did not like apologising verbally, even if they felt guilty.
Mihira breathed out evenly. A part of her realised that she had been rude and she wanted to apologise instantly but she also knew that Eklavya had been pestering her about the same topic for hours on end and she was sick and tired of it and she had severe cramps and her mood was prone to be worse and Mihira wanted to cry.
God, she wanted a break.
Eklavya wrapped an arm around her shoulders silently and Mihira leaned into his side as they walked to lunch, no longer getting the odd looks they once used to get. No one even knew who Eklavya was or what his authority was, apart from the fact that he worked directly under the Crown Prince and everyone knew Mihira as a general common woman who liked to keep to herself if Eklavya or Saini weren't around her.
She sometimes wondered at their stupidity or her deception.
It felt like she was planning war while everyone else was busy making maps and it was so different from everything else that she felt horribly alone and stuck and just completely hollow.
Mihira wasn't even exactly aware about her movements until she was sitting across Eklavya's father and both men were looking at her with concerned looks.
