Agni

An Empire so bright

At dawn, we left for the capital.
Hiranya nagar,the city of gold. I walked at first till my feet were sore and small cuts lingered deep. As the scorching sun came up, I remember feeling parched. The world blurred but the time didn't stop.

It never stops, does it? Time.
It moves on and on. If you do not follow it, it leaves you in the depths of the undone. It leaves fragile creatures like humans tired ,yet we attempt to run with it.

The villagers stopped. We quenched our thirst in a near by river and soon resumed our journey. It was my turn to sit in the cart. My aching body found peace as I fell in slumber. I dreamed about the city . How magnificent it would be. I had heard tales about it. The gold. The architecture. The people. It all seemed par excellence.

Hailing from the agricultural block, I never thought I would ever get a glimpse of the marvelous city. Never once. My life was quite prospective. I would have continued farming, lived my life unceremoniously and later become one with the earth. That was it.
I had never even dared to think otherwise. People usually followed the occupation of the block they were born in. Very few have done otherwise and have been disgraced.

As I dawdled , we had reached. We passed through several intricately carved security gates. As soon as we entered, the light almost blinded my eyes. Extraordinary. Something a human mind cannot acknowledge. A mind as simple and unknowing ad mind could not comprehend.

The city truly glowed. Crowd accumulated the road. Vendors shouting. Locals bargaining.

Stones that shine, dolls that sing, books with thousands of pages, furniture that could locomote, horses twice the size and all you could name ,was being traded.

As we moved towards the citadel, the houses started to stack up on each other. Finer details and marvelous creativity was visible to the naked eye.

We reached the palace walls. The soldiers twice my height checked for any threats and soon we passed through the golden gates. Oh, How beautiful it was .
Adorned with colours and gemstones. And people so dignified. We were told by a kind lady dressed in palace uniform to wait in a mandapa.

I could never forget this. Never leave this. But I had to . After pleading for aid, I will return to my house. And i will never look back. My mind conflicted with the heart.

For many hours we waited. No nourishment to fulfill our hunger. My nails bled as I chewed on them. My face soiled and clothes ragged. People from the agricultural block never paid any heed to dressing up. Materialism was never a priority. We came from the soil we shall return to it. That was what they said.

Finally the gates opened and sunlight beamed in the room. Two huge men entered. "Move", they shouted as I squirmed my feet and tried to hide in my own body. They were searching for someone. Fear grew as sweat trickled down my neck. Was it one of us?
Punishments were not taken lightly by soldiers of capital. Suddenly I felt a rough hand grab my shoulder. I flinched at the sudden jolt. I was dragged from the room to the corridors as I felt my arms going numb. The doorways. They stretched as far as eye could see. Soon I felt blackness surround me

I dreamt. No. What could I have possibly done? They must have mistaken me for someone else. I pleaded and cried in darkness unable to find light. I was left out all my life but in this moment, I was truly alone. No salvation.

I woke up. Everything was blurred . My head ached. Where am I? What is happening?

A deep voice said, "Rise."