✧ *✧･ 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐤𝐚 • ✧ *✧

38. She-she-she's alive.

" Mata! Uttara! Why are you crying? Who is that! " Asked Arjun's son, as he walked in to see his wife and mother crying.

The brothers had returned at the same time, to see, the young warrior in question alive.

" Putr! You-you are -are alive? Then who's that? " Arjun asked, hugging his son, as the brothers celebrated his survival.

" Maharaj. Where is our sister? " Yudhishthir asked suddenly.

" That's what I've been trying to say. Where is my wife? Who is this warrior? " Adam said now frantically.

Krishn came behind Adam, a hand on his shoulder. " Mitr. That is your wife. " He said.

Adam's whole world collapsed with that one phrase. He fell to the ground, as the day finally started to end, Karunika'a body took back its original form.

Short hair, caked with mud became the long dark ones he loved, the ones he ran his arms through. Sharp almond eyes formed his wife's beautiful lotus ones. Her body, which was just covered with an armour was now one with a beautiful green saree which was stained with blood. Her blood.

" KARUNIKA!" He screamed, calling his wife, shaking her, as he saw her being treated. She must live. She couldn't die. He would not be able to fight. He could not.

As the rest of the family rapidly approachwd her, all he could see was her, all else blurred out. This felt worse than the sabha, worse than any injury, any pain he had suffered.

It is said, that husbands and wives feel each other's pains, maybe not physical but emotional. But for him, just as each shrapnel of arrows, the wood and the long sticks of the spears and arrows were removed from her body, he felt his own blood being lost. As each struggling breath she took, he felt his own lungs collapse on themselves.

His son and daughter sat by him, trying to get him to listen, stand up, help the vaidy as he took her into the camp. Nakuk and Sahdev ran inside. But all he could see was his wife. Almost dead, probably dead if he hadn't realised it. This was when he recalled.

"𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘢. 𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥? "

" 𝘑𝘪 𝘔𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘪. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. "

" 𝘜𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘪. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦. "

𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳, 𝘗𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘢. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘢𝘴𝘪, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘒𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘬𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥.

" 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘫. " 𝘗𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺.

" 𝘈𝘳𝘳𝘦. 𝘈𝘳𝘺𝘢. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦? 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶. " 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯. 𝘐𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳.