Travelling Worlds to Save Us (A Karna-Arjun story)

Leaving behind a world spinning

Pov: Karna from the world of darkness

It was time to leave for the battlefield; the conches had not been sounded only because the best archer of each side was yet to arrive, they knew, but neither Karna, nor Arjun, nor Krishna moved as they watched the other Karna and Arjun clinging to each other like they would never let go.

Karna considered everything from insanity to daydreams to being in heaven or hell before he started considering there may be parallel universes. Where he and Arjun may not quite be...enemies.

It made him strangely wistful.

When after an age, the brothers had relinquished their hold on each other, the older one approached the chariot, made a respectful gesture at Krishna and offered Arjun--who thought of him not as a brother, but as an enemy--a smile.

"We're sorry for the inconvenience we caused," he said gravely. His brother was still sniffling beside him. "We shall be leaving, then. Farewell, Madhav."

He avoided looking at Karna, for which he was glad, because it was unnerving enough to watch a spitting image of himself without them addressing you, too. 

The peaceful world's Arjun looked at Karna beside his chariot, though. Karna thought back to him trying to convince him to put an end to this war. Divide the kingdom, tell everyone he knew Karna was the superior archer--he had tried every ridiculous thing.

It must be circumstances that had made him so naive.

Circumstances, part of which he supposed came mostly in the form of a fiercely loving older brother.

He should have known the real Arjun of this world would never say things like this innocent one had. In this world, none of them were innocent. They had all done a lifetime of questionable things, wrong things, and kept justifying them from their own point of view.

From his point of view, Arjun had been the worse sinner. From Arjun's, it must be he who had done worse crimes.

But for the other Arjun, neither had done anything wrong. For him, the world was a shiny, happy place where brothers loved each other with everything they had and cousins did not fight wars for kingdoms and people did not have to choose between their friend and brothers and did not kill their own nephews and the end of the world was not inevitable.

Arjun smiled a nervous, sad sort of smile at him. Karna could not keep himself from smiling back, and for the briefest of moments, he felt the hollow ache of loss in his chest. 

In another world, this child could have been his brother.

But then, the other world's Karna and Arjun had left in the direction of the Kaurava camp, the former boxing the latter's ears before slinging an arm around him, and Karna pushed away the longing for their world.

The last thing they heard was the older brother saying, part admonition, but mostly affection, "You just try to disobey my instructions once more, Arjun."

Arjun's reply was lost in the distance.

******************

The daze left behind by the pair was broken by Arjun after a very long time.

"King of Anga?" he said quietly. "Did--did you know we were brothers?"

Karna nodded.

"You did?" Arjun sounded indignant, like he had not expected it.

"Kunti Maa told me just before the war," said Karna soberly.

Arjun glared fiercely.

"Don't look at me like that. I simply knew the hard fact that we are brothers," said Karna. "I did not know we--we--that in some parallel universe, we--" He broke off.

That we, in some parallel universe, are capable of loving each other so much. So much.

To Karna, it had seemed that the other world's Karna had loved Arjun more than Karna loved anyone in this world...not Radha Maa...not Vrushali...not Duryodhan. It had also seemed to Karna that Arjun did not love nor respect Yudhishthir or Bheem the amount that version of himself had loved and respected his oldest brother.

The revelation had come at the wrong time. Karna realized he had still been holding his bow aloft. Now, he lowered it.

Every time he took aim at Arjun now, he would be thinking of spitting images of the two of them holding each other and crying.

The images were symbol to all they could have had, and did not have.

*************

"We must proceed to the battlefield now, Parth, Karna. Day 17 is about to commence."

"I don't want to go, Madhav," said Arjun.

"But you must, Parth. You must."

*************

Arjun looked at Karna in a pleading sort of way.

But what could Karna say between the two friends? He was no one to support Arjun in opposing Krishna.

He could, however, voice his own opinion.

"I do not particularly want to go either," he admitted in a mumble.

Arjun's eyes lit up; Karna suddenly saw a shadow of the innocent, naive Arjun in this one.

"Why can't we scrap the war, Madhav?" he said hopefully.

"Because you two are not fighting a personal war," said Krishna gently. "You are fighting for Yudhisthir and for Draupadi. King of Anga--" He looked at Karna. "--you are fighting for Duryodhan, your best friend. Can either of you abandon your family, wife and friends?"

Karna winced.

Arjun lowered his eyes.

"As most are unable to understand, the same people in separate universes are not truly the same people. Do not torture yourself with what you saw. It was a mere illusion as far as you are concerned.

"Even given identical circumstances as you two, the Arjun and Karna would have acted differently."

Karna slung the Vijaya over his shoulder and reached for the reins of the horses. He was supposed to have met his charioteer, Shalya, almost a half-hour ago.

"See you in the battlefield, King of Anga." Krishna reached for the reins, too.

Arjun had not lifted his Gandiva yet; Karna sensed Arjun's eyes fixed on Karna as their chariots crossed.

Karna thought it would have been easier to go into a life-and-death battle without exchanging a glance with his opponent. But he could not help a brief one.

Arjun inclined his head in a resigned, peaceful gesture. One corner of Karna's mouth lifted up in a small grin.

Maybe we aren't meant to be brothers, but we don't hate each other anymore either.

And...

I forgive you, they told each other, lest they were the one who died today at the hands of the other.