Happy Mother’s Day

Wishing all the amazing and wonderful mothers a very Happy Mother’s Day!!
Here are a few tiny tales dedicating to all the Mothers in the world:

1) The boy hurt himself as he fell, only to smile as he saw his mother come running towards him.

2) “Mom”. She smiled as she heard her baby girl say the magical word for the very first time after 3 years of adoption.

3) It had been a busy day at the office. When the others complained, he knew it was nothing compared to the efforts of his Mother.

4) The woman waiting outside the ward smiled as the doctor said both are safe and healthy. Her army widowed daughter was a mother now.

5) She happily ate the only dosa remaining on the plate as her son burped and went to sleep.

“A new story begins in this world with the birth of a child and so does a beautiful journey of the MOTHER”

The Meeting

Hi again after a long hiatus! A virus finally made me sit and start to write. I hope everyone is doing well in these tough times. It’s interesting isn’t it how being separated from each other is the meaning of being united right now. Anyways, Presenting a new story:

Raghuveer closed the door and sat on his chair. His mind was filled with the words he was going to speak in the meeting today. He opened his laptop and started preparing for his presentation. As he went over it slide by slide there was a knock on the door. “Come in,” he answered.
It was Neetu, his secretary. “They are ready for you, Sir,” she said. He nodded. “5 min?” she asked. He nodded again with a smile. “You know me well,” he replied. She closed the door as she left the room. He took his laptop and was on his way towards the door when his mobile rang. He saw that it was Rhea, his daughter Kusum’s school teacher. He cut the call wondering whether it was regarding the Parents-Teachers meeting later today. He had to finish this meeting; this was an important one for his company. He thought he would call back once the meeting was over and put his mobile on silent.
He remembered how Kusum had asked him this morning whether he would be coming to meet her teachers today. Raghuveer had simply replied he had an important office meeting today and he would try to come to school after.
As he closed his cabin door, the mobile rang again. He could feel the vibrations in his pocket but he did not pick it. His focus was on a different level as this was a meeting he had to crack. He headed towards the meeting room. He nodded to the clients who were inside. As his hands reached the door, Neetu was there with her mobile “Sir, its Rhea…” Before she could continue, he said “Neetu, you know how important this meeting is to me, can you please tell her I will call her back, you…” “Sir, she says it’s very urgent and can’t wait” He sighed and took the mobile from her as he signaled 5 min to his team members who were already inside. “Rhea, what did my Kusum do, that this cannot wait?”, “Raghu Kusum’s Bus…” she hesitated. He sensed desperation in her voice. “.. bus has met with an accident”. “Is Kusum ok? Rhea? Hello? Rhea?” Neetu sensing a change in tone from Raghuveer came near him.
“I don’t know Raghu, I am informing all the parents. Please go to Ajanta hospital. Everyone is being moved there”
Raghuveer was silent, he stood still. His face showed no emotions. The mobile slipped from his grip slowly. “Hello, Raghu, hello?” The call was cut as the mobile hit the floor. Seeing the laptop slipping from his hand, Neetu grabbed it from him.
The clients inside the meeting room sensed something was wrong. Department head Megha who was in the meeting room came out along with the project team lead Apurv as Neetu was checking on Raghuveer. He showed no reactions. Raghuveer finally came back to his senses when Apurv shook him. “Kusum has met with an accident. I don’t know how she is, I need to go” He said looking at Megha. Megha was shocked to hear that but she immediately composed herself and said “Don’t worry we will handle everything, she will be ok I am sure, go to her Raghu.”. “I have made a couple of changes on the slides which we discussed last night,” said Raghuveer, “Don’t worry about it, we will handle this” replied Megha.
Raghuveer nodded and started walking towards the elevator. As he waited for the elevator to reach the 9th floor, Neetu came running towards him and said “Sir, your mobile, I have canceled all your meetings for the day. Megha strictly told me to do so, I have called Raman as well, he will be waiting for you downstairs with the car.” Raghuveer thanked her as he took his mobile. He could see the concern on Neetu’s face and an expression of sympathy. As she was about to say something, the elevator door opened and Raghuveer left.
As Raghuveer came outside the office building, his driver Raman was ready with the car. He quickly sat in the car and said to Ajanta hospital. Raman said, “Sir, Neetu Madam has told me about Pinky, I am sure she will be alright.” Raghuveer could only nod.
Pinky was Kusum’s Nickname. From the day she was born, his late wife Archana had bought pink dresses and dolls for her. Kusum would glow in pink as the colour surrounded her. She used to look like a pink fairy. Ever since then, she was called Pinky by her family. Raghuveer remembered how he used to make different faces for the tiny Kusum just to bring a smile on her face.
The car suddenly came to a halt, which brought Raghu back to reality. There was a huge crowd and he could make out the presence of the media. Raman was about to say something before which Raghuveer had stepped out of the car. He could see the glimpse of a yellow coloured vehicle. Raghuveer was sure that this was the location of the accident.
He heard someone saying “It looks like 5 kids so far.” Far away he could hear a reporter speaking amidst the commotion. The emotions which he was able to keep at bay unknowingly had started coming out. Teardrops started coming out of his eyes. Raman was calling him to get in but he was in a different state of mind to hear that. The sound of an ambulance reminded him to go to Ajanta hospital. Unaware of his own actions he had moved ahead and Raman had stopped the car somewhere behind. He composed himself and started walking back signalling Raman to start the car.
As the car progressed from the accident spot to the hospital, all he could remember were the memories of Kusum. Her first walk, her first word, her smiles. Raman touched him and told him “Sir, we have reached.” He had lost track of what was happening. He nodded and stepped out of the car. Ajanta hospital, which he had seen quite a few times as he passed on the highway was looking very mighty today. He walked near the entrance and came to a standstill as he was at the door. His thoughts drifted back to 2 years ago when he was in a similar situation.
His wife Archana while driving was hit by a reckless truck driver and was rushed to a nearby hospital. He had waited for hours outside the operation theatre before being told by the doctors that they could not save her. He had fallen on the floor. His world had collapsed. The last thing they had done together was a fight. Arguing over petty things he felt. It still hurt him that their final moments together were an unpleasant one even though they loved each other a lot. He had to face Kusum afterward, who was just a 4-year-old. She was constantly asking for her mommy, completely unaware of what death means.
Kusum had changed a lot, post-Archana’s demise. A few months back Rajni Kusum’s Nanny had come to Raghuveer saying Kusum thinks her mom left her because she was demanding a lot of things. Raghuveer had said even he felt the same as Kusum had stopped asking him for anything when they went out to movies or shopping. She would simply accept what was bought for her.
“Raghu!” said Ram Sharma, Raghuveer was still standing at the entrance. He slowly turned and asked “Your son?” “He didn’t go today as he was sick. I came to see you all, any update on Kusum?”. Raghuveer shook his head saying he had no idea. “Come let’s go in, be strong, I am sure she is alright” Ram held his arm and took him inside the hospital. Raghuveer was thankful to Ram for doing that. He acknowledged his gratefulness with a nod and a weak smile which vanished in no time.
As they went in Ram went to check on others he knew. The emergency room was filled with familiar faces. Madan Mohan, a dear friend of Raghuveer, was seated in one of the waiting areas, he was crying inconsolably. Raghuveer went towards him. Kusum and Abhi, Madan’s son, were in the same class.
Raghuveer knelt down to face Madan as he approached. Madan looked towards him, “She is gone, Sumana is gone” Madan hugged Raghuveer crying inconsolably as he hugged Raghuveer, who hugged him tighter and slowly patted him on the back trying to console. Sumana was 3 years older than Kusum. “How’s Abhi?” asked Raghuveer. “He is critical… bu… but stable”. Raghuveer kept hugging Madan until Madan let go of him. “I am sorry Madan…” Madan stopped him and said “Go look for Kusum” they both nodded and Raghuveer left from there.
His heart was pacing even more now. He remembered the words 5 kids which he heard when he was passing by the accident spot. He ran towards the nearby reception to enquire about his daughter. The Tv on the room was showing a news channel and he could hear the reporter saying “It is being told that the driver was over speeding to reach the school on time and avoid delays….” he could not listen to it anymore as he checked with the receptionist asking for his daughter. The receptionist replied “Many students didn’t have their ID on them, here is the list of people we have recognised so far” handing him a paper. He took the papers with a trembling hand.
The sheets had names of kids who were in ICU, Emergency room, outpatients, and dead. He first checked the list of the dead. Four names which were listed weren’t Kusum’s and another was written as unknown with a bracket m along with it. He thought it was for male and heaved a sigh of relief amidst the chaos. He could hear the cry of people from where he was standing. The list containing the ICU patients had a lot of unknown entries in them. He found the driver Rudra Kumar’s name in it as well. Kusum’s name could not be found in it either. He finished checking all the papers, Kusum’s name was nowhere to be found.
He spoke to the receptionist again and who asked him to check in the outpatient ward else wait for the next update. Raghuveer was not sure what he should do next. He slowly walked towards the nearby sitting area. He recalled the smile Kusum had when they had first taken her to a nearby Beach. She was first hesitant to go near the water but relented as her father accompanied her, like the waves of water touching her bare feet.
His attention veered towards the tv. “… We drivers are under a lot of pressure; our salaries are cut to half if we don’t make it on time and few have already been laid off as well…” He stopped listening to it and looked around the room. He heard cries for their lost child, few waiting just like him and others sounding relieved once they came to know their child is safe. His heart was racing now and was getting restless as he waited.
He saw a nurse coming out with a list from one of the rooms. He walked towards her wondering if he could get any information on Kusum. He asked the nurse whether she knows a child by name Kusum. The nurse gave the list to the receptionist and asked Raghuveer to follow her. As he walked behind her he could not muster the courage to ask her how or where Kusum was. Finally, As the nurse entered a room, he followed her inside, his feet trembled as he walked to her bed.
His eyes welled up with tears as he saw his daughter lying on one of the beds. Her head was covered with bandages, it looked like she had a fracture in her left hand. She looked to be in sleep. He looked at the nurse. She said “She has a small concussion, but nothing to be worried about. A hairline fracture in her arm. She was very lucky to escape with minor injuries. She will wake up at some time.” “Thank you,” said Raghuveer with a nod. She asked him to call her or any of the nurses if anything was needed as she left in a hurry.
He found an empty stool nearby and sat next to Kusum’s bed. He was very tired and exhausted but relieved. He was hoping that she won’t be in any pain when she woke up. He gently held Kusum’s right hand and waited for her to open her eyes. He remembered one of their previous conversations. He had promised her to go to a movie last week but had to cancel due to today’s meeting. Kusum was very annoyed with him for that as she cursed him a bit. She had not spoken to him that whole day.
“Dad…” he heard a faint sound. He smiled at her. Before he could say anything, she fell asleep again. He kissed her hand as he tried to control his tears. He felt guilty for not reading her bedtime stories. He was determined to change all that. He wanted to spend more time with her. Cherish her.
After some time she woke up. As she saw her dad, “Hey Pinky…” he said with a smile on his face. “Dad, You said you had an important meeting today, How did It go?” she asked innocently. Hearing her words made him realise his ignorance. He just smiled and said, “I am in the most important meeting right now…”

The End
This story comes full circle in many ways than just a meeting. Hope you enjoyed the story. Take care, stay safe, and healthy.
Wondering whether this bitter and a bit of sweet story was good for the so-called come back of me to my blog!

Chapter Z: Zero

<— Previous Chapter

Advaita said “My father yearned for Power.” He fell on Shadow’s lap as tears started streaming from his eyes. She held him for some time as he finally got up recomposing himself. Shadow felt that he looked calmer and more focused now. “Me and the Shaka Chief had a very long conversation” said Advaita. “What happened between the two of you?” she asked. Advaita finally decided to reveal what had happened in Shaka after he had knocked on the door of the Chief’s house the day, it was early morning, the very same day when Cully and shadow were planning to go find him.

His Grandmother, Chief’s wife opened the door and they went inside. Grandfather didn’t want to talk to Advaita initially. When Advaita asked him why he had called his father a cheat, he came to know that Advaita didn’t know his father. Advaita told him Rob and Princess Agnes’s journey from Heaven to Bantu and all he knew was that Rob was Karma, his father. He opened the copper sheet and showed it to his grandfather. His Grandfather laughed and said “you have missed the most important part and she is not your mother. I will tell you the Karma we knew initially”. Valguka the Chief of Shaka finally started the story.

“We Shaka people lived in the Zulu kingdom. My brother was the chief then. We were both young at that time. One day due to a devastating earthquake we lost almost everything. We wanted to move north towards the border of Heaven seeking a place to live again. But my brother wanted to go to the City of Zulu. When nobody was ready, he along with his friend abandoned us and left for Zulu the very night. The next day they made me the chief and we moved here with great difficulties and started our life from zero.

I met my brother sometime later when I visited the City of Zulu a couple of times, I invited him to our new home, to come stay with us but he never came. Years passed and we became old. One day a man from Zulu came to talk to me, he informed me that my brother was sick and was on his deathbed. So your grandmother and I went to see him against the wishes of the tribe. By the time we reached he was already dead. We came to know he had a daughter Kiya. She was a young lady and all alone as her mother had passed away during her birth. Since we never had a child we took her as our own. We asked her to come with us and she readily agreed.

We were not sure how to tell this to our tribe as everyone had hated my brother. So we decided to say we met her on the way back and helped her as she was an orphan. But when we were about to reach Shaka we met a guy. He introduced himself as Karma. He looked tired and exhausted. Your Grandmother suggested we take him too. Thus they came to Shaka as two orphans. I took Kiya as my daughter, that very day I named her Akira in front of the Shaka people. Later Karma and Akira fell in love and they were married. You were born and all was good in their life. But one fine day your mother fell sick. She told your grandmother Karma’s story and made her promise not to tell this to anyone before her death.”

“What is this story” asked Advaita to his grandmother. His Grandmother continued from where his grandfather left,

“I kept Karma’s secret for a very long time. You had grown up into a young boy. If you remember Advaita the day before your father was attacked, I was sick. I got scared nobody would know Karma’s truth and your grandfather had decided to make Karma his successor but he had not yet shared his views with anyone. So that night I told him what Akira had told me”

Advaita was curious and nervous to know. He had not heard about Princess Agnes anywhere in the story so far, He wondered what happened to her. Grandmother finally stated what was told her the second time.

Akira and Karma had a baby boy. Karma was very happy on becoming a father. Slowly Karma had started loving his wife and child. He confessed one night to Akira that he had not loved her initially but married her to become the chief of the tribe. But he was a changed man now and he deeply loved her and their son.

Akira was shocked to hear that. He told her about his life before Shaka and that his actual name was Rob. He told her his story in the city. He explained her how lords humiliated and robbed them in every way possible. He wanted to assume power to change that. He said he was zero back then and somehow he had to reach a position where he was someone. He wanted everyone to pay for their harassment. So he had used Princess Agnes to do so. Karma told how he made Agnes fall in love with him and how they had run away. In Bantu they had exchanged the rings they had. Karma showed Akira, Princess Agnes’s ring which he had hidden all this long.

Akira realised that Karma had made her fall in love with him the same way too. But she kept quiet. Karma continued his story after Bantu.

As Rob and Agnes moved south from Bantu, Rob expressed his wish to go back to the city. Agnes said she did not want that life and all she wanted was to be with him. Rob who had hidden his real intentions so far, could not do this any longer. He was angry. He shouted at her, he said “How do you think we can live here. You are already hurt”. Agnes thought he was shouting because of love. She came near him and said “I am sure our love will find a way.” He pushed her away and said” Stop living in a fairy world. I do not love you. I used you so that I could get some status and power.” She fell on the ground feeling shocked and heartbroken. “We have nothing, zero now. I was a zero then, and after all my hard work I am back to zero” he said in anger and frustration turning away from her. She was still lying on the ground.

From nowhere a beast had jumped on Princess Agnes. Rob was shocked but instead of helping her, he saved himself. He climbed a tree and watched as Princess Agnes shouted with pain and breathed her last. Rob had not felt any remorse that moment. He was so blind with hatred towards the rich that he had lost the human inside him.

From there Rob had moved ahead with caution and came across the Shaka Chief and had introduced himself as Karma.

When Akira heard the story she was in shock. Her husband who she thought was such a good person was actually a power hungry emotionless demon. She remained silent. Karma said “I have realised how wrong I was in the past few days. You and our son brought back the lost soul in me. I have been repenting for my mistakes. I am in love with you both; I want us to be happy and nothing else anymore”. Akira nodded, but she was in shock. She came to know the two sides of her husband.

Akira could not cope with the truth she heard from her husband. She suddenly started to feel ill and could not eat anything properly anymore. Her health deteriorated badly, she decided to tell her mother everything about her husband. Akira realised that her father won’t let Karma live if he came to know the truth and her love for Karma made her ask for a promise from her mother.

“Now you know why I made people attack your father” said the chief.  “I never told the story to anyone here; all I said was that he was planning to take over as chief forcefully. And they attacked your father as I expected them to. But your father had a few supporters as well. It was like a war here when you ran away” he said.

Advaita was in shock. He had never known his father was that kind of a person. There was complete silence in the house. Sourav from the tribe knocked the door but was sent back by the chief.  “Don’t you think my father had changed after mother’s death?” asked Advaita. “He had, my child, but he had to pay for his past life” said his grandfather. Advaita nodded. “He loved my mother. I had seen him cry a lot of times remembering her” Advaita said.

Advaita who had worshipped his father and his teachings all his life was sad and distraught now. His grandmother noticed it. She came and hugged him. “You will always be my grandson” she said. They both cried.

Advaita finally told them his journey after the run. “So, are lords still harassing the poor in the city?” asked his grandfather when he finished his story. Advaita nodded.His Grandfather thought for a very long time. “Apart from us three nobody knows who your mother actually is. Give me your sheet” said the chief. He wrote something on it and put his seal. When Advaita saw this “This is wrong, Grandfather” he said. “You yourself said how lords are still behaving; there should be some people who can change that. I am sure Cully your friend can help you as well with It.” replied Grandfather. “But I may need to face the court to prove this, King himself had said that” said Advaita. His grandfather asked his wife to get that ring “Your mother kept Princess Agnes’ ring and she had given it to your grandmother before her death” he said to Advaita.

They both discussed on how the court session could go, finally as they were about to go out “Remember you need to start from zero again. Never lose your path as your father did. I have belief in you that you will be a better man.” the Chief of Shaka said.

When Advaita finished the story he turned towards Shadow. He could see even she was a little disturbed. He went near her, held her hand. He took Princess Agnes’ ring and said “I know my father was not a good man. He lost his way while he tried to bring a change in poor’s life here. But I promise you as I start from zero, I will be a good man, a good husband and a good father in the future to come. I will always be truthful and take your guidance in every step of our life as I fight for a better society, if you are willing to marry me. Will you marry me Shadow White?” She had tears in her eyes as she said Yes.

She knew how much he loved her. He placed the ring on her finger. They went out of the room for the new beginning that was going to come.

THE END

Chapter Y: Yearn

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Advaita was standing in front of the mirror. He was wearing a pair of new clothes given by Shadow. He asked to himself “What do you yearn for?” the first thing that came to his mind was mother’s love. Then he thought about his father.

Advaita was back in their hut, he found his father crying, holding his mother’s clothes. Advaita asked him “Why are you crying father?”, “When you yearn for someone who can never be with you that makes you sad, son” his father had replied.

Advaita saw himself in the mirror again. He took his father’s Dagger and placed it in his bag. He wore the ring given by his grandmother, the Shaka Chief’s wife in his right little finger. He took the copper sheet which was drawn by Tip and kept in his bag. Cully came in, asking whether he was ready for the court. Advaita placed the bag on his shoulder as he said he was good to go. Shadow wished Advaita good luck as they left for the Palace.

They had come back to Heaven a couple of days ago. General Thomas had informed King Aiden that Advaita had got the required proof to prove who his parents were. The day had finally come when he would be presenting the court with those proofs. He was yearning to prove himself in front of the very court where he had been nervous before.

He was in front of the court now. King Aiden directly came to the matter at hand and asked Advaita to present his proof to the court. Advaita took out the painting and asked the King whether he knew who the two people who were present in the painting. King Aiden said “It’s my sister Agnes and my once best friend Rob.” Advaita thanked King Aiden for his confirmation. Then he turned the copper sheet and read what was written by the Shaka Chief and the Bantu Chief.

Advaita had asked the Bantu chief to write on the sheet, what he knew about Rob and Princess Agnes once he was back from Shaka with Cully and Shadow. When he had finished reading there were a lot of murmurs. Many of the court officials agreed to the proof. But few were still dissatisfied. They were not happy with it.

One of the ministers said “As far as we know anyone can write this, what is the proof that it was written by the Chiefs?” Advaita replied “They have put their tribal seals along with the writing.” The sheet was investigated by a few ministers and they confirmed its authenticity. Another minister said “We hear you are close with all the tribes around. How do we know that they are not lying for you?”

Advaita smiled as he heard that. His Grandfather, the Shaka chief had expected it. He took out the dagger from the bag and lifted it with his left hand, showing it to the court. “This dagger belonged to my father. General Thomas, do you know this dagger?” asked Advaita “Yes that was the dagger I had given to Rob, a long time ago” replied General Thomas. King Aiden asked for the dagger, looked at it and confirmed the General’s statement.

King Aiden was sure now that Advaita was indeed his nephew. But he wanted all in his court to agree on that too and so remained silent. “So you are Rob’s son that does not make you the son of our beloved Princess Agnes” said one of the ministers and couple of others supported that. Only three ministers were against Advaita now.

Advaita lifted his right hand with a smile. Everything had gone as his grandfather had stated. All looked puzzled. “Your Highness, this ring in my hand belonged to my mother. I am sure you know it.” Advaita moved towards the throne to show it to the king. As King Aiden checked the ring his eyes lit up, “It’s my sister’s” he said as he choked back the tears swelling his eyes. Advaita turned to face the ministers.

The whole court was silent now. No one said a word. After a while King Aiden spoke “I believe he is my nephew, does anyone have any questions?” The court remained silent. Finally a minister said he believed the king. The rest of the ministers followed suit. “Welcome to the family, Advaita” said the King. General Thomas and King Aiden had a discussion within themselves. General Thomas asked Advaita to follow him off the court as the court moved to next issue in hand.

General Thomas said Advaita to return back to the house for now and King Aiden would talk to him in the coming days on what needed to be done. Advaita nodded as he had already planned to stay in the city.

Advaita was back in the General’s house. He was in his thoughts when Shadow touched him on shoulder. Advaita smiled but she could see sadness in his face. She took him to her room and made him sit on her bed. She sat next to him and rested her head on his shoulders. She did not say anything but waited for him to talk.

“What do you yearn for?” He asked her. “For love and respect” she replied. He went silent again. She realised it was something to do with his father. “Did the chief of Shaka say anything about your father?” she finally asked. He turned to look at her, she saw him. “You know what my father yearned for the most?” he said.

She was shocked and surprised when Advaita said teary eyed “My father yearned for Power”.

Chapter X: ‘X’

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Advaita woke up early. He went straight to the Shaka Chief’s house. He stood in front of the door. He had to face them, he had to know what was unknown to him. As he stood there his thoughts moved back to the days when he had just started learning archery.

Advaita had chosen archery over everything else at a very young age. His father had made him a wooden bow and given him some arrows. His father put an ‘X’ mark on the nearby tree and made him stand a few meters away from it. “You see that cross mark I have created son” he said, Advaita nodded “You need to hit the middle of it, if you want be a great archer” his father said. Advaita learnt the basics from his father and tried to shoot his first arrow. As the arrow left the bow Advaita was excited. The arrow did hit a tree but not the tree where ‘X’ was marked. Advaita was disappointed with himself.

He tried a few more times and failed every single time. He was very disappointed. He said he did not want to learn this anymore. His father came to him and said “Son, everything in life won’t come to you easily. You need to practice. That mark is your target. To aim the arrow and make it reach that target should be your goal. You need to work hard Advaita”. Advaita had replied he would do his best and now he was one of the best.

Now he had aimed to reach back to his grandfather and he was here now. He knocked the door. His grandmother opened the door. “Advaita!” she said. She had recognized him right away. She asked him to come inside as she closed the door behind him.

A Couple of Shaka people had seen the stranger from previous night go to chief’s house. It was almost midday and nobody had come out. They had heard some argument happening inside but could not make out what was happening. Finally Sourav a member of Shaka and successor to the Chief knocked the Chief’s door. Chief sent him back saying all was ok.

Afterwards, sometime later Chief and Advaita came out. Both looked quite sad. All the people were curious to know what had happened. Chief said to everyone that he would address them later in the night and for now all should get back to their work. Advaita asked Chief “Grandfather are you sure, you don’t want to join me?” Chief replied “This is home my child, I want to spend rest of my life here and not somewhere else.” Advaita respected his decision. He folded the copper sheet which he had taken along.

Few recognized Advaita. Chief again controlled the situation as Advaita collected rest of his stuff and bid his final goodbyes to his grandparents. Chief’s wife, his Grandmother gave him some food for his journey. They wanted him to stay for one more night but Advaita suggested he would rather leave because of the tension that was created once due to his father.

Advaita was in deep thoughts as he entered forest. He was not sure how he wanted to take his story forward. It was in his hands. Though he and his grandparents agreed on many things. He was not sure whether he should go by it. Finally he decided what his next target was. Then he decided to concentrate on his way back to Bantu tribe as he wanted to reach there before it was too late in the night.

As he moved ahead, he could hear some suspicious movements. He moved with caution, a bow and arrow in hand, ready to shoot. Advaita was very good at being invisible in forest. He saw a couple of city soldiers which surprised him. Then he saw Shadow and Cully. They were walking the horses along with them as it was very difficult to ride in this thick forest.

He was about to reveal himself when a beast jumped from nowhere to kill a horse. The other horses dispersed because of the attack. Advaita noticed the scar on the back of the beast, it was Fear. Cully covered his sister as he drove the sword. The two soldiers had fallen to the ground. Even they were getting ready to defend their General’s Children. The beast roared and grabbed the throat of horse with its jaws. The horse breathed its last.

Advaita came out of his hiding. He shouted “Fear…” The Beast which had just choked the horse with its Jaws, looked towards Advaita. Others turned towards Advaita as well. Another female beast came beside Fear. Fear controlled it. Advaita slowly moved towards Fear. “Do you remember me Kid” He said as he came near it.

It was a tense moment for everyone. Advaita moved his hands around its back as he used to. Fear acknowledged it as it closed its eyes. All put their swords back in their sheath. “Looks like you have got yourself a girl” Advaita said smiling. Everyone laughed. The female beast looked uncomfortably around them. It took the horse that was dead with its jaws and dragged it to the bushes.

“You know this Beast?” asked Cully. “We survived together for years in this forest, his name is Fear.” Advaita replied. “So this is Fear!” said Shadow who knew about Advaita’s life in forest and continued “I have never seen a beast with white and black stripes.”  “Even I was surprised when I had first seen him, they are usually in Yellow with black stripes” replied Advaita.

Advaita asked them why they were here. Shadow said they had come looking for him. Cully said “I heard what happened in court, have you found any proof?” he asked. Advaita took the copper sheet he had and gave it to Cully.

“I Valguka, the chief of Shaka acknowledge that the painting of the people in this are indeed Parents of Advaita. They had come to me by the name Karma and Akira together long time ago. I pledge that whatever is written here is the truth. “

X (Seal of Shaka Chief)

Cully read it out loud. He had a huge smile on his face when he finished it. Shadow noticed that Advaita was not very comfortable when he heard it. Advaita said “we should head back to Bantu now before the night falls.”

He and Fear walked together like old times. Shadow had her doubts but she kept it to herself. She saw a calm Advaita who was walking along with a beast. Cully was very happy with the news.

They almost reached the outskirts of Bantu. Fear stopped its walk. Advaita understood it had to go back. He gave it a last hug as tears rolled down his eyes. It ran back with a huge roar.  “Hope we will meet again, my friend” said Advaita as they moved towards Bantu.

Chapter W: Wait

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Advaita had woken up early and was ready to leave Bantu. Chief had already left the house and he was about to go in search of the chief. Chief’s wife asked him to wait for some time as she would provide him some food to carry. Advaita said he would talk to chief and come back.

Advaita saw that the chief was in discussion with a couple of people. He joined them and asked “Chief, is everything ok?” Chief said “Oh Advaita it’s you. This is Biko and Keni. They have found a couple of location where the Spotted Hyenas which are killing our sheep and cattle can be found. We are planning to kill them today.” Advaita nodded. “Will you join and help us. Your marksmanship is the best we have ever seen. It would be of great help if you could join us” Chief asked.

Advaita wanted to leave but Bantu people had always helped him. He agreed to help. “We will leave as the sun comes up a little. They will be less active then” Chief said.

Advaita remembered the days when his father used to take him for hunting. They had waited for a long time. “Son, the more you wait greater is the prize” his father had said. Here the wait was for Truth. He felt he could wait for a day when he had waited for so many years. Biko touched his shoulders and said it’s time to go. Advaita took his bow and had around 15 arrows.  There were 8 guys going for the kill including him. They said they were happy that Advaita had joined them.

As they went inside the forest, Biko and Keni split into a team of 4 and decided to head for different locations. Advaita joined Biko’s team. Some even challenged that they would get more kills. As the four moved they went to a higher ground and Biko showed them the path where he and Keni felt those hyenas would rest. They moved ahead cautiously. As they came near the spot they started to hear the noises of Hyenas. Advaita said he would climb a tree to get a clear view to shoot. They agreed on that.

As Advaita climbed he saw that it was a very small open area. There were about 10 hyenas. He went down and said he could see 10 of them. They said they will attack first and asked Advaita to shoot accordingly from top. Advaita asked for a few minutes to find a spot to shoot.

After sometime the three charged towards the area with their swords. Hyenas who were resting were surprised by the sudden attack. Three Hyenas were immediately killed. Advaita shot 2 more which were trying to escape. One of the Hyena attacked Biko but he tackled and killed it with one slash. Remaining four had started running. Advaita could get only two more as the rest disappeared into the forest. Advaita came down as the others chased the remaining two. They got one and one hyena escaped.

They came back to the tribe with their hunt. Keni and team were yet to come. Chief thanked Advaita for his assist. Advaita said he had to leave for Shaka as it was already midday. Chief’s wife gave him some food for travel and he left towards the south to get to Shaka.

As he moved in the forest, he remembered the days when he was on the run. He wondered whether he could see Fear again. He came to the area near the cave where he had encountered the Beast, mother of Fear. The sun was setting in as he moved ahead. It was dark as he reached the outskirts of Shaka.

Advaita could not wait any longer as he decided to go on. Only a few were outside their houses as many were already sleeping. Nobody recognized him, he felt relieved. Maybe the darkness was hiding his identity he wondered.

Advaita requested to meet the chief to one of them. They enquired what the matter was. Advaita insisted that he would only talk to the Chief. They said the Chief was sleeping and he would have to wait until morning. They gave him a place to rest.

One more night Advaita said to himself as he slowly fell asleep.  

Chapter V: Venture

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Advaita felt that the moonlight would give him enough light to escape from the city. With a bag on one shoulder and a bow on another he reached the outskirts of the city. It was time to venture out into the forest. He decided not to take the path which was meant for the carriages but follow a path parallel to it.

As he went further the forest got thicker and the darkness followed. He decided to climb a tree and rest on a branch for some time. As he waited he ventured into his thoughts.

Advaita was struggling to keep up with his father’s pace. The sword was dripping with blood. He noticed that his father’s left arm was hurt as well. Rajan, his father’s friend came towards them as they reached their house. “Keep guard Rajan,” said Karma, Advaita’s father. As they both went inside Advaita could hear Rajan calling for help from some more people.

The sword from Karma’s hand fell as he locked the door from inside. The house was a mere hut with a single room. Advaita could hear the fight going on outside. He was scared. His father came near him and made Advaita look into his eyes “Listen son, from now on you will be venturing into a new life. I want you to run towards the north and not stop for anyone, especially our people.” Karma said.  

Advaita was struggling to listen. All he could listen was the sounds made by the swords clashing outside and the screams of people. He realized people were dying. Karma took out the hay from the top situated on the opposite end of the door. Advaita saw that his father put his dagger along with some arrows in the bag.  “Advaita concentrate on what i am saying. Take the bow and arrows. Climb the wall and get out, protect yourself, you need to run from here, go north” Karma wanted to say more but time was running out. The sound of fight outside had come to a sudden halt. There was a knock on the door. “Rajan, is that you?” he asked as he turned and walked towards the door.

There was a silence for a few seconds. Suddenly the door was burst open as Karma fell down. He moved for his sword. “Runnn..” he shouted to Advaita. As he climbed the wall Advaita saw that Rajan’s face was covered with blood just outside the door lying on the ground, dead. Couple of people were attacking his father. He dived outside and ran towards the forest. He heard his father’s cry as he ran ahead.  

Advaita woke up from his sleep as he heard a roar from deep inside the forest. He was wide awake now. He wondered whether his father had purposely sent him north with a dagger so that by chance if Thomas or Tip found him they would know he was Rob’s son.

He wanted to trace the steps of Rob and Agnes from where they left. Advaita remembered Bantu tribe people telling him, his face looked familiar, so he decided to go to Bantu first. He walked in the forest cautiously the whole day. Sun was about to set as he reached the Bantu tribe.

Some of the Bantu people were surprised to see Advaita. But it was not new to them as he always used to come in at odd times. They greeted him. He rested for a while and then he went to meet the chief. Advaita greeted the chief of Bantu as he entered the chief’s house. Chief was happy to see him. Advaita found the chief weaker than he had seen him before.

“You know what your specialty is Advaita. You become one of the tribe members when you stay with the tribe and become a vagabond as you venture into the forest until you reach another tribe.” Advaita took that as a compliment from the chief. “What brought you here my friend, I see your eyes and I feel you have questions for this old man” said the chief with a smile.

Advaita without wasting anytime took out the copper sheets and gave it to the chief. “Do you recognize any of them?” Advaita asked. Chief stared at it for a long time. He called his wife and asked her to look at the painting as well. She nodded. Chief said he had seen them as he went on, “Many years ago these two visited us. They were very tired and the lady was hurt. We had made them sit in this very room. It looked like it was their first journey in the forest.” “What happened afterwards?” Advaita asked impatiently.

“They rested here for the day and before we woke up they had left. But my wife had seen them leaving” he said as the Chief’s wife added “Yes. They had left very early. I do not know what had happened but I felt they were arguing over something as they went south into the forest. That was the last we had seen of them.” Advaita thanked them for the information. The only tribe in south after this was Shaka.

Advaita wanted to leave immediately. But they suggested him to stay for the night. Advaita reluctantly agreed. As advaita laid down he wondered whether he would ever win an argument with anyone. He thought of Fear, then Shadow, the two he cared and loved the most.

Now he had to venture into an area he had avoided for so long. He had to go back to Shaka.

Chapter U: Unique

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The rest of the night passed away as usual with Advaita deeply immersed in his own thoughts. He again struggled to sleep that night. Glimpses of his father running away with Princess Agnes came in his dreams. His Grandparents getting burnt woke him up. “Every person is unique and so is their story” his father had said. His was getting more unique by the day he thought. He tried to sleep again.

Advaita was walking in forest. Fear the beast was walking next to him. Suddenly a clan of hyenas attacked them. As they fought for survival his eyes opened. It was Cully, he was trying to wake Advaita. As Advaita sat up, Cully asked “What happened?” “Nothing, remembered my days in forest” replied Advaita. “King Aiden has summoned you in the court today. You must get ready and leave if you need to reach there in time” Cully said.

Advaita got ready and left the General’s house. Soldier Grant was again assigned to him. They reached the palace. Advaita was wondering what this could be about. Finally he was in front of the King besides all the ministers of court. Advaita was nervous but he didn’t show it. He felt he was in a yet another unique situation. King Aiden praised Advaita in front of the court. He even said he had not seen a finer archer than him before. Advaita thanked him for his kind words.

When the question of who he was, was raised, one of the ministers said that he had heard that Advaita was the son of Rob and Princess Agnes. King Aiden shocked, stood from the throne. General Thomas who was also present in court said that it might be true. The whole court was murmuring now.

Advaita was now the centre of discussion. Few accepted what General Thomas had briefly explained, fewer demanded proof. The court was divided in discussion. Finally King Aiden asked everyone to be silent. King Aiden was thinking. Finally he spoke “This matter is more regarding my family than the kingdom. I will need to have a talk with Advaita on this and then we will get back on this here.” Everyone acknowledged. Advaita felt relieved. But he now knew that he would need to talk to King on this.

Advaita was asked to wait outside as the session followed. He was called to King’s Chamber later. Advaita greeted the king. After the initial formal talk, King Aiden said “I am busy today. We will have a discussion soon on this matter” “You need to talk to General Thomas on this, your highness” Advaita replied. King Nodded. “I cannot announce to the world that you are my nephew without any proof. Next time when this discussion comes up you better have some proof. Or else even if you are my nephew I won’t accept.” said the King. Advaita thanked the King and left the palace.

“So are you are a Royal?” asked Soldier Grant as they left the Palace. Advaita laughed at that question. ”You will know soon” Advaita said. He said he wanted to visit Tip. Advaita explained Tip what happened in court. Tip thought it would be good to talk to General Thomas on this matter. Tip gave him the copper sheet on which he had painted Rob and Agnes. Advaita saw it and thanked Tip for it.

With the sheets in his hands he reached General’s House. He went to his room. He took his arrows, couple of clothes which were given to him and packed it in the bag which was given to him by Shadow. He kept the bow and the dagger near to the bag. He went down and asked a servant where Shadow was. He left for the city library when he came to know she was there. He felt bad for the people begging on the way. When he went inside the library, he found Shadow reading something. He went and sat beside her. She saw a concern on his face. He explained her the whole situation. He felt it was unique as he didn’t want to be a royal and people were discussing over it whether he was a royal or not. She said “let’s walk back home”.

As they walked she said “If you are a royal, you are one. You just can’t run from it. But I know that the more concerning matter for you is why Shaka chief termed your father a cheat?”  He smiled as he was amazed. “When are you planning to leave?” she asked. He looked at her. She smiled at him. “Maybe tomorrow morning” he said. She nodded. They reached the house. As she went to her room she said “No matter what decision you make or path you take, I will always support you”. Advaita smiled.

Advaita felt bad that he had lied to her. He had decided to leave in the night. He had to get some normalcy in this unique story of his.

Chapter T: Tale

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The wedding ceremony was the talk of the town for the next few days. The Jester’s act after the wedding made people laugh for a long time. Overall the day was one of the best days the Kingdom ever had. The King and People of Benin had left after a few days and everything was getting back to normal in Heaven.

Advaita learnt that wedding in Heaven or in any other Kingdom for that matter happened during the middle of the day when Sun shone at its brightest. It was a belief that Sun would be spreading its light all over the world, most at that moment and light in the newlywed’s life would stay on forever. He had found that belief interesting.

Now that the days had passed. He wanted to talk to General Thomas about the truth of Rob. When he raised this matter with General Thomas, General said they would sit in the evening for the same. Advaita now was eagerly waiting for sun to set.

General Thomas, Tip Roy and Advaita were again seated in General’s study and General continued the tale from where he had left

“Rob was in love. Since he was very close to Prince Aiden he could met Princess Agnes. Rob started to impress her with his visions and thoughts. Slowly even Princess Agnes fell in love with him. Even Prince Aiden didn’t know about them. Rob and Agnes had started spending time in secret. They took our help to do so. When they were sure they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together, they decided to tell Aiden about it.

Prince Aiden was initially not very happy but Princess Agnes talked to him. The views of Rob had always impressed him and he finally agreed to talk to King William on the same. On the Parallel Rob wanted to bring change in the kingdom. He wanted to remove the atrocity shown against the poor by rich lords. Poor girls were getting raped and killed. None of the poor supported him as they thought this would make things even worse.  

Meanwhile the love story of him and Princess Agnes reached the King’s ears before Prince Aiden could talk to him.King William ordered the soldiers to get him Rob. They had a discussion where King threatened him. Rob was not ready to listen to any of it. But he stayed silent as he knew he could get killed if he rebelled. The King gave him a final warning and let him go. Prince Aiden tried talking to the King but it went in vain.

One day Princess Agnes wanted to meet Rob. When she tried to sneak out from the Palace to meet him, few soldiers saw her and informed the king. King disguised himself and followed her; he caught her before she could reach Rob’s place. He threatened her that he would burn Rob’s house in front of her if she saw him again. That very night Princess Agnes went to Prince Aiden and told him what had happened. She had said she would die if she doesn’t get Rob. The next day King Summoned Rob’s father Lian and warned him on this as well.

Lian came to this very house to talk to my father. He explained my father the whole scenario and said that he would be leaving the city with the family and try to live somewhere peacefully. My father said he would try talking to King on this matter. I heard their conversation and immediately went to inform Rob about his father’s idea of leaving the town. Prince Aiden was with him at that time. He suggested that Rob and Agnes should escape from the city or else they could never unite.

Prince Aiden himself devised a plan for their getaway. The very next night he got Agnes with him. As I took Rob to the outskirts of the city. We gave them gold coins, food and asked them to be careful in the forest. That was the last we had seen them. Rob’s Parents were killed the very next day and their house was put on fire by an angry King William.” General Thomas ended the tale.

“I saw the dagger in your hand the morning of wedding day when you were asleep. I had given that dagger to Rob the day they left. When I asked Shadow how you had that, she told me it was your father’s. I am sure that you are their son now” he said. Advaita was silent now. “We do not live in a perfect world where fairy tales come true but in a world where life is a struggle for survival and we need to find happiness within it” he now understood why his father had said that.

Seeing Advaita silent Thomas and Tip realised he needed a break. “You take some time son, we will talk further on this later” Tip said. General Thomas left the room. Tip sat there for sometime. When he was about to leave, Advaita said “I need a favour Tip”. Tip said he would do anything. “Can you paint portraits of Rob and Agnes?” Tip agreed and told he would give it to him by tomorrow. Advaita thanked him.

Advaita sat alone in the room deep in his own thoughts. He had called the chief of Shaka tribe his grandfather. His mother called him father as far as he knew. But people in Shaka had called his parents outsiders. Now grandfather had told his father and he were a cheat. Advaita was totally confused.

He decided he had to get to the end of this tale as soon as possible.

 

Chapter S: Showdown

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Advaita was ready to shoot his first arrow. He could sense that all of the kingdom’s eyes were upon him. He shot the first then the second and on he went. Every shot was hitting the bullseye. When the final shot hit the bullseye there was a huge roar from the crowd. King Aiden finally smiled. Advaita’s opponent Commander Alex of Benin seemed impressed too.

Advaita suggested they have a round 2, with two targets placed one above the other and they needing to hit both of them simultaneously. Commander Alex agreed to that. Finally two such sets were arranged. They both took two arrows each ready to shoot their respective targets. The whole arena was silent. When the signal was given both shot the arrows. All four arrows hit the bullseye. The crowd went crazy over their accuracy. Advaita and Commander Alex decided to go two more times. Both the times they hit bullseye.

The Kings were very impressed with Advaita. The crowd was excited to see what would be the next round. Commander Alex suggested adding a third target on top of the two. Advaita agreed to it. He had never done this before but he was very excited.

Now they had to shoot at three targets simultaneously which were one above the other. Even commander Alex had not done this before successfully. “Are you ready for the showdown?” He asked Advaita. “I never thought I would be a part of one in the first place” Advaita replied with wonder. They both laughed. The crowd had gone silent again. “Son, you may feel in this life that you too need some showdown with beasts to feel its real thrill, but in life all you need is to be happy and at peace” Advaita was in a different kind of showdown and he was happy too as he remembered his father.

Advaita looked at Shadow as he got ready with the three arrows as he placed them on his bow. She smiled at him. Both Advaita and Commander Alex had set their arrows ready to shoot. 6 arrows flew towards the target. 4 had hit the bullseye. Advaita had missed the bullseye with a very small margin on the bottom target. Commander Alex missed the top target. The whole crowd went silent as it was decided that whichever arrow was nearer to the bullseye would be declared as winner. Commander Alex came and hugged Advaita “You are already a winner to me, son” He said. Advaita who never got too emotional about these things had tears in his eyes. He thanked Commander Alex.

Advaita’s arrow was nearer to the bullseye than that of Commander Alex’s arrow and was thus declared the winner. The whole crowd went berserk and cheered for Advaita. They had never seen such close archery competition before. King Edward congratulated Advaita for his talent. He turned to King Aiden and said “We have a tie from the games. Shall we conclude this tournament with a final game of longsword duel?” They both decided the best from both kingdoms would fight. King Edward called for his General Lucius as King Aiden called for General Thomas. They were asked to get their respective longsword with armor and step into the arena for the final showdown.

Both the Generals had immense respect for each other. They both greeted each other and took their stance. General Thomas had his longsword pointing to the ground whereas General Lucius was pointing it straight at General Thomas. As the signal was given Lucius attacked with the very first thrust which was very well deflected by Thomas. Thomas made Lucius come to him for every attack. Suddenly Thomas countered which caught Lucius by surprise but he dived over and escaped as the sword brushed past him. Thomas thought the game was all over when he went for a submissive move, but Lucius got away by kicking Thomas. Both fell to the ground; as both got up they were in an aggressive mode. Each thrust was parried by the other. There were counter attacks for each attack. People watched in awe of this duel. Both were matching each other’s strikes. The duel went on for a long time. Though both were tired, the pace of the duel had come down and their never say die attitude endeared them to their captivated audience.

The Kings, soldiers, lords and people were on their toes expecting the unexpected. They had already seen some amazing techniques which were never witnessed before. Both the Generals had been innovative in deflecting each other’s attack trying to outwit each other.  King Edward saw that it was almost midday and looked at King Aiden.

General Thomas waited for General Lucius to attack, as Lucius waited for a bit to get a breath both Kings signaled for the duel to be stopped. The whole crowd stood, cheered and clapped for both the Generals. They declared that it was a tie. The Generals bowed to the Kings, acknowledged the crowd for their support.

“It’s almost midday, we should get the wedding going.” said a happy King Edward. They all made their way to the Palace Church. Princess Margaret had not attended the tournament. She had stayed inside. A soldier was sent to inform her regarding the ceremony. Prince Rufus left the arena to get ready.

King Edward who until now had only hated the Kingdom of Heaven, started respecting them. The passion and support of the people made him feel happy. He saw Princess Sarah and how happily she was talking to her father King Aiden. He had tears in his eyes. King Aiden noticed it and asked Edward if he was ok. As they reached the church, Edward asked him if he could talk with him in private for a moment. Aiden asked everyone to get everything ready and took Edward to one of the chambers in the church.

“I had my daughters killed. I had so much hatred towards this kingdom.” Edward said tears rolling from his eyes now.  He bowed his face in shame. Aiden just stood there. “When I saw you with your daughter right now, it came back haunt.. Haunting” Edward was struggling to speak. Aiden was shocked to see this face of Edward. He went and hugged Edward and said “Whatever happened in past can’t be changed. But you will soon have a daughter”. Edward looked at Aiden and nodded.

Feeling relieved in no time Edward was back to his regular self. “Shall we attend our daughter’s wedding then?” said a delighted King Aiden. They both left the chambers smiling. It was indeed the conclusion of the showdown between the two Kingdoms.