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...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Mihira's hands shook with fine tremors as she fiddled with her anklets, waiting for Rukmanetra to finish his dinner.
A letter had arrived for Mihira, the very day that Eklavya had left. It was from Dwarka.
Tell him, it read, the burden of truth cannot be carried alone. Past and present must collide for a future to form.
Mihira knew immediately what it meant, even without any signature at the bottom or any extravagant carving on the wax blotch that sealed that letter.
She had contemplated outright refusing the idea, of course. No one knew and Mihira was absolutely, irrevocably sure that Rukmanetra, a man of honour and logic, would either assume that she had finally gone mad or that she was being deceitful.
After the months of their friendship and over a year in Vidharbh, Mihira would like to assume that he would lean more towards madness rather than lies. She hoped, at least.
So, after avoiding him for three days, agonising over the idea in the Gauri temple for five days and crying twice in the span of those five days, Mihira had finally made her decision. She would do what her mother commanded. If anything went wrong, well, she had her contingencies.
(She had already bought and packed a trunk full of her meager belongings, along with her savings and salary. She had written up the schedule that Virat followed, along with his diet and commands. She had written a letter, aimed at Saini, Hiranyaksh and Eklavya, whenever he may return.
All in preparation that he would call her mad or deceitful. Because, Mihira knew, living without Rukmanetra's complete support and trust would seem like a monumental task, especially in Vidharbh. She'd rather leave than wallow in self driven agony.)
Rukmanetra stood up, while Mihira stayed rooted to her spot. He'd been in her house plenty of times. He knew where to put dishes for washing.
When he returned, it was with a glass of water for her. "We have finished eating, Mihira. You can now tell me what has been bothering you."
Mihira took a deep breath and looked away. Her stomach tightened for a few heartbeats and she breathed through her mouth.
"Promise me to be reasonable." She demanded, fire burning through her throat as words tumbled out, probably reeking of ash.
Dumbfounded, Rukmanetra nodded. "You should know that I'm unable to be rational when something concerns you, Mihira. But I shall never be unreasonable to you."
Ignoring the ache in her chest that reignited at his words, Mihira spoke, still looking at the stain in the wall that Virat had made when he accidentally knocked over a bowl of ubtan meant for Mihira.
"I was born to people who loved each other more than me. T them, I mattered because I represented the fact that they were alive long enough to convert their love into a successful marriage." Mihira takes a deep breath, wetting her lips,"I was born not in Chedi, not as Mihira, the daughter of a vaidhya. I was born Mihira Ramnath Subhedar. Thousands of years from now, to the tail end of Kaliyug, I was born on a date in a calendar that does not exist yet."
