Vasanthika

Prologue

Year 1356 CE

"So you know my Father?" Lakshya asked impatiently with his fixed gaze on the lady.

"More than I should." She looked at the shadow cast by the oil lamp. It was now not flickering

"You look like a replica of your father. The eyes remind his face."The lady replied softly as the boys settled before the mat near the fireplace. The winter was bitingly cold.

Lakshya looked at his friend Ashoka. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. Lakshya thought for a while. His journey was coupled with roller-coaster emotions so far. How many new things are crossing his way? It all began with the fleeting glimpses of the unusual beautiful girl. Why she was caged? Then came the fight in the yatri nivas. At last meeting this woman who claims to know about his father. Lakshya looked at the lady. She was thin, and signs of aging were starting to appear. Lakshya looked at her neck,it was bare without any symbol of matrimony.She gathered her shawl tightly to combat the cold.

"Were you in Love?"Lakshya asked poignance. Ashoka was shocked at his racing words striking like a razor on the lady. It must have hurt the simple sweet lady,she gave them shelter. At least for her generosity, Lakshya must have been careful.

"Your father and I had a very deep and intimate, far far away from a mundane lusty relationship. What would you name it? love or devotion or some unnamed feelings." She paused inhaled a deep breath.

"You must be jealous of my mother then."

"Me?" lady raised her eyes to cut the intense gazing of Lakshya.

"Never had that thought Lakshya. Troubles that started alongside the fall of Hosyalas stopped those envious feelings."

" The war was unfair and unjust. My mother claimed that my father died protecting the daughter of the late king VeeraBala and her son."

The lady was quiet. She looked at the flames of the ember.

At that time there was a knock heard at the door. Lady alerted the youngsters. Lady helped the youngsters to hide in the attic of that house. Lakshya and Ashoka spaced themselves in between the heavy wooden trunks.

Lakshya could clearly hear those conversations between a lady and some men. The voice sounded familiar. Yes, it was the same set of goons who came along with the carriage carrying the beautiful girl.

"Dear lady, How many people are living in this house? Demanded a gruff voice.

"Of course its lawful owners."

Lakshya could hear that Avantika was speaking with authority.

" Move aside Lady, we must search the house."

"Come again. Are you serious? I cannot let any strangers to inspect my house."

"Why?"

"My house is pious. Besides, there are vases of medicinal herbs which is toxic in nature. A careless mistake can make you lose a life."

Lakshya could hear the footsteps. Those men did not consider her warning important. His heart stopped a beat. A flash of him being found by those men froze his mind. They could arrest him and take him captive. If that happens, how can he accomplish his mission? It is a collective desire and hope of his mother.

"Hey, do you people belonging to Sambuvaraya?"

"Yes"

"There you are. YOu are standing in the land of Madurai. You don't have any iota of liberty to search my house. One small word can put your precious neck in peril. I have a greater influence on his highness's court."

Lakshya astonished with that declaration. He never expected her to be serving the King owing to her humble dwelling and simple looks. Her words must have stopped those men. Lakshya heard the feet threading into oblivion.

There was a ghostly silence. Now Lakshya's unruly mind went back past five years. Now he is around 13 a nervous teenager. He reached his dwelling after winning a local game with his friends. He could hear his mother talking to his uncle.

"I had no other way to protect he said, I could not believe my ears when he said unto me before dying. Nandini and He, that was too heavy for me to take. Nandini, princess fueled by cruel caprice and extreme sensual indulgence can pull such a vibrant man into the abyss. "

" He was a captive of circumstances. A reason which he does not want you to know." his uncle paused.

" was it worth?" asked his mother.

His mother stopped seeing Lakshya standing at the entrance.

Lady helped the youngsters climbing down. They seated around the small table. She served them a bowl of rice and hung curd. Green chilies. The humble dinner reminded his mother's flavor. How much trouble she endured in the upbringing. He had seen her teaching singing and dancing to the aspirant actors performing before the theater. She has to teach the proper expressions and modulations while making them dancing and speaking. Though she was a lynchpin in that industry, her salary was drastically less. Hand to mouth existence. But for his uncle, they would have been starved. Suddenly he remembered his mother Perhaps this lady can throw some light on pages of his father's life.

"I want to know something mother."

Lady looked at Lakshya. The word Mother through Lakshya aroused many suppressed emotions in a lady. Lakshya could notice the tears flowing uninterruptedly in her eyes.

"I have hurt you?" Lakshya holding the hands of the lady.

" Mother, something I craved for being called all my life. Somehow Lord made my wishes come true." The lady tittered her head pointing giving her cue for Lakshya to ask.

"Can you say about my father and my mother?"

"How can I forget Kulasekaran and Vasanthika. Their story, I would equate with that of divine love."

Lakshya was astonished at her eloquence.

"You must be well learned, dear mother. You could mint money in Hampi."

"Sometimes knowing too much makes you aloof my son. This Hemalekha has no use for there kind of fripperies. I live in the memories of past."