The First Empress

Unforgettable name

You were given this life because you're strong enough to live it.

Rudhra: Koorungal thaaiye.

Sarojini looked at him carefully.

He stood at a distance, stiff and unmoving.

A faint sadness crossed her face.

Sarojini: Yean vilagi nirkiraai magane?

Rudhra lowered his gaze slightly.

His voice, though steady, carried the weight of the battle he was fighting within.

Rudhra: Arugil vandhaal... udaindhu poveno endru acchamaaga irukkiradhu thaaiye...

Sarojini silently turned her eyes toward Aditha.

Aditha was already watching their son.

Not as a king...

But as a father watching the strength and pain of his child.

Sarojini looked back at Rudhra. Her voice was gentle.

Sarojini: Un tholgalil poruppugal adhimaaga irukkindrana...

Ivai anaitthirkum idaiye... vaazha marandhu vidaadhe magane...

Rudhra quietly nodded. He did not trust his voice enough to speak.

Sarojini slowly extended her hand toward him.

Sarojini: Ennidam vaa...

Nee ennai nerungum ennatthil illai endraalum... enaku en maganai anaitthu kolla vendum...

For a moment Rudhra hesitated.

Then he slowly walked toward her and sat beside her.

The moment he came close, Sarojini pulled him into an embrace.

She held him tightly.

Her frail arms barely reached around him, yet the warmth of the hug carried the love of a lifetime.

At the end of the embrace, her hand moved gently over his head.

Her fingers touched the crown resting there.

She placed her palm over it for a moment...

Blessing both the son... and the king he had become.

Rudhra did not stay long.

Remaining in that chamber meant watching his mother fade away piece by piece.

He had already seen enough.

The frail frame before him was too painful to bear.

She was the one who had always rooted him to the ground.

The one who understood his silences without him speaking a word.

And now... She was leaving him.

Rudhra held his emotions tightly within himself.

Without another word, he quietly rose and walked out of the chamber.

After some time, Sarojini began coughing again. Her body shook with the force of it.

Aditha quickly held her in his arms, trying to steady her and ease her pain.

But when he tried to call for help, she gently stopped him.

Aditha: Yean kanne?

Sarojini looked at him weakly.

Sarojini: Marundhugal mayakkangalai tharum aiyyane...