A Different Path

Awakened

A light breeze flowed in from the open window to his right, gently caressing his face and displacing a few loose strands of his hair. Outside he heard the birds chirping, signaling the arrival of the day with their mellifluous singing, arousing the humans from their slumber. The weather was cold and windy, a light drizzle having kissed the earth during the night.

Duryodhana's eyes fluttered open, and he hissed sharply at the migraine that flooded his head causing dark spots to obscure his vision. His hands reached for the bottle of sura, but he found nothing there. He sat up, wiping the sweat off his forehead, feeling drowsy and irritable. His hands were clammy, his heart rate increased, and he blinked his eyes a few times trying to make sense of his surroundings. He was surprised to see Dushasan there, sleeping peacefully on a chair. He also realised with a start that he was not in his bedroom.

Slowly and as quietly as possible, so as to not wake up his brother, he made his way to his bedroom. The room was a mess. No surprises there. He knew that under the blissful sway of the herbs he took, there had been instances when he, being driven by both paranoia and euphoria, had gone completely off the rails. He didn't remember any of it but the wreckage surrounding him in the morning coupled with his brother's anxious entreaties always made him feel miserable.

He made his way to the bathroom and poured the entire bucket of water on him. Feeling the cold liquid traverse down his body, he stood there in silence trying to remember what had happened. His head began to thump intensely, and he rushed to the nearest armchair as the world around him began to spin insanely. Fragments of memories cascaded his tired mind.

He had been angry...at someone..........Dushasan yes.......he had let the servants in......they had fought and he had hit him......and then he had downed the sura and thrashed the place in anger.........and then...

He cried out in pain, grabbing fistfuls of hair in his hands and bit his lip hard, trying to remember.

He had fallen to the floor......someone...Dushasan maybe.......no, his brother was standing at the other side of the room.......someone had overpowered him.........medicine......yes that person had given him medicine...

His eyes flew open in shock and disbelief, his heart thudding painfully in his chest as he remembered the man who had come for him.

Karna.

Was that really him? There had been instances, especially when he had taken hallucinogens, where visions of a non-existent past and future had haunted him mercilessly. But something deep in his heart and his soul knew that what he had seen had been real, that his friend, the man he had loved more than his brothers, who he trusted more than he trusted himself, had been here. He just knew it.

"Brother!" Dushasan came in, panicked, probably wondering where Duryodhana had disappeared off to. "Are you alright? Why didn't you wake me up?"

Duryodhana glanced at him and swallowed, speaking in a low voice."Dushasan. Was he here?"

"What?"

"Karna." Duryodhana's voice shook with emotion " Was.........was he here?"