Shiv Shakti - The Mountains Bound Us! (Haimavati)

Welcome Home

Nandi travelled through the mountains with Shiva and Parvati on his back. Parvati had laid her head on his shoulder and was admiring her surroundings.

"You know, I really missed this place. The snow. The mountains."

"Kailash missed you too, Uma. This place was barren without you. It was waiting for you, Kailashswamini. But tell me, do you feel cold?"

Parvati chuckled softly at his words, "Did you forget? I am the daughter of the mountains. I've been born and brought up in Himalaya. The cold doesn't bother me. I'm accustomed to it."

"That's true" he agreed.

In a while, they finally reached the top of the mountain where they saw everyone already waiting for them. The ganas had gone full out with the decorations and had decked up the snow covered mountains with scented flowers. Nandi came to a halt and Shiva got down. Then again he lifted Parvati to bring her down.

As he did, she whispered softly in his ears, "You did not change at all, did you?"

Shiva smiled and shook his head. The couple walked towards the Gods who were waiting to greet them.

"Welcome back to Kailash, sister. Shiva has been waiting for you for a very long time. And now look at his joy!" Vishnu said and everyone laughed. Lakshmi and Saraswati went forward with the plate of arti. They circled the plate with the lamp in front of Parvati three times and put a tilak on her forehead and showered some flowers and she was fed some sweets and water. They repeated the same thing with Shiva as well. Then, Lakshmi signalled the ganas and they brought a pot of rice and a plate of red dye and kept it in front of Parvati.

"Now Parvati, push the pot and then dip your feet in the Alta and move forward" Lakshmi explained.

Parvati nodded and lifted up her skirt a bit and pushed the pot with the thumb of her right feet and the rice fell over. Then she stepped into the plate of Alta and moved her feet forward on the white sheet of cloth that was laid in front of her. As she went forward, red footprints were left behind. Shiva too walked beside her and reached Shiva's seat. He helped her up the stairs and then made her sit first and went and sat on her right.

"Welcome home once again, Kailashswamini" he said and the crowd of the Gods, the ganas and the devotees erupted in cheers.

"Har Har Mahadev! Jay Maa Parvati!" was heard.

Shiva and Parvati blessed everyone. Indra came forward and joined his hands.

"Mahadev, Mata Parvati, we are fortunate to see both of you together once again. Thank you for listening to our plea. Now all the problems of the world will be solved."

They both nodded. Soon all the guests left for their aboards and the ganas went away to finish the rest of the preperations, leaving Shiva and Parvati alone.

Suddenly Shiva stood up and extended his hands for Parvati to stand.

"What are you doing, Mahadev?" She asked, confused.

"I have a present for you. Come with me" he said and then took her with him. They went in front of their cave and stopped. Shiva covered her eyes and held one of her hands to help her forward. Parvati softly chuckled at his childishness.

"What do you want me to see? I can't wait!" Parvati said, getting impatient.

"Just a bit more" he assured her. Then they stopped and Shiva removed his hand from her eyes and she gasped at the sight. She couldn't recognise their cave because instead of the simple rocks, it was now a private chamber. It had a bed in the corner and in front of it was a dresser with a mirror. In the middle, there was a small pond and in it, her favorite lotuses were floating. Flower branches were hanging from the sides that filled the place with a sweet scent. The entrance had curtains to protect their privacy. Daylight was coming in through the icy walls and enlit the room. At night, lamps had to be placed for light. It was simple and contrasted well with the apparent icy surrounding of the cave. Parvati stared, surprised.

"What have you done?" She asked. Shiva smiled.

"It's nothing, Uma. I just did the best I can do to give you any type of comfort. I know it must be hard leaving your palace and coming but you've always done that for me. You are a Princess and yet, you've come to live with me in a secluded place like this. This was the most I could do for you. There is also a small bath area and a Puja room but most of these are done by the ganas though, they wanted to surprise their mother. "

Parvati just kept staring at Shiva, unblinking.

"What happened, Uma?"

"I cannot believe it. My ascetic Shiva has already stepped into becoming a householder. Shiva has become Shankar. All my efforts to bring you back into this world has succeeded. I'm so grateful to have you as my life partner" She said as a tear rolled down her cheeks. Shiva wiped it off.

"All for you my love. You being here has enriched Shiva's life. You are my heart. I'm so glad to have you back and I promise you that I will try to fulfil all your desires. Now come here."

He took Parvati's hand and made her sit on the bed.

"You must be tired from the journey. Take some rest. The ganas have kept some fruits here for you. I will be back in a while."

Parvati nodded. He placed a soft kiss on her lips and then went out as Parvati looked around, bewildered at how much he had done for her.

A/N : The story is reaching it's end! So if you have any feedback, do comment!