In my Heart 💙

Fate

At Radha’s home, she was washing clothes in their backyard. But her mind was still in his embrace. She shuddered at the thought of facing her father again. {How will I justify to him? What if mother comes to know? Why the hell did that happen in the first place?} Her mind was firing uncountable questions at her. Meanwhile, she heard her father arrive, and rushed to him.

Her mother was serving lunch to her father, while he was eating silently. She approached him slowly and sat beside him. He whispered in her ear “We shall have a talk tonight.” All she could do was to nod and silently watch her father finish his lunch and go out.

The whole day, she was busy doing little chores, but her mind was still stuck at one question. {Why did that have to happen?} She was eagerly waiting for her father to return. {Technically, hugging him, was a sin. But my conscience is telling me that I have not done anything wrong. And I would believe my inner self. So I have not committed any sin.}

She waited for her father to finish his dinner. After that, he had a small conversation with her mother, while she finished her dinner. He then moved to the backyard, settling on the stone bench under a tree. When she approached him, he looked at her with a blank expression.

“I did not do anything wrong.” She defended herself.

Her father let out a sigh. “Do you like him?”

She was taken aback by his sudden question. {Do I really like him? What do I feel about him? What is he to me?}

Since he got nothing except for her silence as his answer, her father continued speaking. “It’s all right. There is nothing wrong in developing feelings for him. Everyone loves him. So you are not alone. Krishna is a very nice person. Very attractive, charming, brave, heroic, naughty, kind … and what not. He is a charmer and I like him too. I would be the happiest person if he is by your side. But …”

“But what?”

“I am scared for you.”

“Why father? You yourself told that you like him. Then why are you scared?”

Her father let out a deep sigh. She understood that whatever he is going to disclose now is of great importance. “You, my dear princess, are not our own child.”

“What are you saying father?” Her world turned upside down. Her parents are not her real parents! That thought itself made her shiver.

“Yes dear. We did not have kids for years after marriage. We were depressed and when we were about to lose hopes, I found you; a baby of few months, in a lotus, near the temple, by the banks of the river. You were a blessing to us, given by the goddess Katyayani, the deity worshiped at that temple. From then, we started taking care of you as our own daughter. But as days progressed, we found out that you were not any normal girl. From your childhood you were aloof and alone all the time, in your own world. That worried us, especially your mother.” He stopped speaking.

She found two drops of water on her palm.
“Don’t cry father. I can understand.” She wiped his tears and he smiled.

“We took you to an astrologer, who predicted your future … which said …”

“What did it say?”

Her father took her palms into his hands and buried his face in them. “It is better you don’t hear about it.”

“Has it got anything to do with him?” She asked.

“I don’t know. But … if anyone hurts you in any way; I won’t spare him. Seeing you in pain will shatter my heart. I will die the moment that happens.”

He started sobbing like a small kid. She made his head lie in her lap and started stroking his hair gently.

“Nothing will happen to me father. No one will dare to hurt me. I promise you that I will never let your heart shatter. You will not see pain in my eyes.”

He nodded like a small kid, while she smiled.

“Good night!” He said and in few minutes, she heard light snores. She leaned back, resting her back on the tree behind her and stared at the sky. Letting out a deep sigh, she closed her eyes. She, by now developed a vague idea about her future, which did not look very welcoming to her.

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Let me remind you that this is a fiction. Characters in this story may seem identical to well known characters, but cannot be compared to them. I don't tolerate the story being compared to any other texts or stories or myths or facts or anything.
Please read it purely for pleasure and do not involve yourself too much into the story.
Hope you understand.