KRISHAVYAYAM

52. Blissful Catharsis

She took a gander at the revelation, the girl who was Shakti manifested.

Smiling at the sight, she swung the kid in her slender bronze arms, emitting a giggle that blessed her world from time unending. Aishani planted a peck on Vinayaka's forehead, his doe eyes glimmering as he fisted her lilac robes in his palms and then spread his arms in the direction of his aunt.

"Ouch, betrayal!" A sly whisper crawled in, her eyes shooting to find the source with a smug look on his dark and sharp features. Ashwatthama brushed the dust off the wood painted in hues of sun tan and took a seat beside. Aishani rolled her eyes, pouting and then grabbed her son in her expansion a little tighter against herself.

Kamalnayani passed a kind look to Satyajita whose visage held slight remorse and an avalanche of joy at being forgiven. The warrior grinned back cheekily and jogged off to the other corner of the temple, assisting Dau and Subhadra with the handmaid instructing task.

"Aye, I love her more than you, grumpy man!" Ganesha's disguised avatar whisked his head to the Rudramasha who arched an unimpressed brow at him, scooting beside the lady with whom he had been weaving dreams for months by now. The little one of Shiva and Parvati was then swept into the arms of Krishnahridayaa who showered him with kisses.

"Seems as though my sister's child is being a headache," Kanha piped in, pulling the cheeks of the kid he had excused as the boy of one of his Sakhis at Vrindavana.

"More like somebody else is envious of not getting appropriate attention from their beloved." Drauni disguised his smirk in a cough, earning a smack on his biceps from his best friend and pouted when a smug look crossed Aishani's features.

Kamalnayani failed to notice the little competition between Panchali's kids and that of Ganesha who looked victorious in her clasp, "Anyway, when are you two planning?"

"Planning what?" The two love birds of Ahichchhatra questioned in unison.

"Oh, get hitched already!" Revati brusquely sauntered in, dismissing the handmaidens around the merry group of notorious camaraderie.

"Ahichchhatra would require a little attention from my end. Pita doesn't know and most crucially if Aishani isn't ready, I can't force her into a relationship which is a sensitive thread. We both need time to see if we can get along." Drauni threw a fond look at the lady who beamed back, gently pressing his satiny warrior palm in assurance before escaping ; denying forelsket with a Brahmina King in a pseudo usance.

"I know, just don't let your love get shrouded in politics I pray," Kamalnayani's voiced had morphed into a hushed whisper as she bit her lip, "And be in touch no matter what. There might be rough patches, you'd want to give up but don't ever do that. Even if one of you does, the other shall not. Dalisay love doesn't die down, and it's not found but built like a latibule. You both are one another's, aren't you?" Her husband nodded along as they shared a brief smile, their joy verily that of the universe's, leaving no space for any melancholy.

"And, see that you keep a vigil eye on the politics as well." She heard Kanha say whose features spoke a thousand meanings, "Closeness with the PanduPutras means a fuel in the inferno named the green-eyed monsters of Aaryavarta."

Kamalnayani wondered if it was meant for her as well. The former's lips formed a dilemmatic smile and she tried deciphering what he wanted to say, though not pronouncing it at all.

But there was one thing she was pretty sure of, the foundation of their love. No matter what the future would behold, to her what mattered was that he'd always be beside her as her strength. "You will be beside me, right?" She whispered, knowing there was something to come.