The Forgotten Sister

Chapter 6

*ANGADESH

" The streets are so colourful!! " exclaimed Shanta turning around in her chariot to see the vibrant colours of Anga.

" I knew you would love this" Vershini looked ecstatic. Anga was celebrating the welcome of their new daughter , the biological one of Ikshvaku clan. Dancers, singers, musicians, performers were all assembled to welcome her in grandeur. The beautiful city of Anga captured Shanta's heart and the first few months passed in bliss. She was made a regular member of the court and took over the proceedings in absence of King Rompad. 

It was only after a few months of Shanta's arrival did the kingdom suffer from drought. There wasn't a drop of water to drink. It came so suddenly that Rompad was not at all prepared. They chnaged courses of their rivers, asked help of their neigbhours. Deaths were reported everyday.

Shanta had never seen such piteous condition and had been working relentlessly to help the needy. She was on her way to get some water for a parched old man when she heard Rompad telling Vershini " This must be the curse." 

Shanta did not want to overhear. She went inside and asked about the curse. Rompad had unknowingly insulted a  Brahmin who was close to Lord Indra . And in anger, Indra had withheld the rains in Anga, causing the drought.

" There is no curse without an exception,Father" Shanta said expectantly.

"Yes. But it is impossble, Shanta." dismissed Rompad.

" What is it?" she asked patiently.

" A celibate sage unknownst of the emotion of lust for the most of his life  should be brought here to perform a ritual."

" A sage unknownst of lust? Most sages do not emote lust but they do know it." said Shanta thoughtfully.

" There is one. He has never had a chance to feel attracted. Sage Vibhandak's son, Rishyashringa." said Vershini.

" He is the son of Sage Vibhandak!  He will burn any woman to death before they can even see his son." sighed Rompad.

Shanta stirred. " He has not seen any woman?"

Rompad had to narrate the incident that lead to Sage Vibhandaka's misogyny.

" He must be greatly learned." She said at last. " We should try every way to bring him here"

" Not possible. Every one fears Rishi Vibhandaka." Rompad said impatiently.

" We can go when he is not there." pointed out Shanta.

" I have asked every possible woman and even man too. No one is ready to go." Rompad said sadly.

" I would like to try and meet him." Shanta shrugged.

" I forbid you to do any such thing." said Rompad angrily.

" We can lure him here. We can send our women. He is bound to get attracted..." trailed Vershini

" THEY WON'T GO! THEY ARE SACRED OF VIBHANDAKA!" Now Rompad got up.

" I will  go . I donot think seduction is the way you can bring him to Anga. I am not scared of Rishi Vibhandaka but I am certainly awed by him. As a princess of this land, I have every right to make sure Anga is safe and well. We must not hesitate to explore the smallest chance to save the Kingdom." said Shanta.

"It will not be safe. You have to go at the right time when Sage Vibhandaka goes to his daily meditative practice and be back before he returns." warned Rompad

" I know. I will take some time to find out his ritual every day and I will not make a mistake. I promise I will be back safe." replied Shanta.

" No spy will go there. They fear to go near his Ashram." Vershini worried.

" I will myself go. I already promised I will look after myself!" Shanta was now impatient.

" The only reason I am not stopping you is because I know you will hold true to your promise. This isn't any child's play, Shanta and donot come into the view of Sage Vibhandaka. "  Rompad said tiredly,knowing that she would not give up.

Shanta did not waste a second. She set out to the forest on foot with Aadi,a soldier who agreed to accompany her. They had to walk for using horses would have created noises and they didnot know the exact location of the Ashram as Aadi had seen the Ashram years ago from a distance.

" Are we near?" she whispered softly. It was almost dawn. They had been walking all night. They had taken the safest route relying heavily on Aadi's knowledge of the forest. So far they had only seen a sleeping form of a bear.  " Almost" he whispered back. 

They saw a distant fire lit in the form of a circle. " There it is!" he said softly in excitement.

" Then let us climb the tallest tree and observe the activities of the great sage" said Shanta climbing a tree.

It was an hour later when a young man slightly taller than Shanta opened the door of the quaint hut. He had a bronze skin, slightly muscled with the work he did everyday, shining black long hair twisted up, his beard was slight unlike most sages. He was not the most handsome person Shanta had seen but it was his radiant presence that stirred something within her. Rishyashringa. She had not expected him to be so  young. And attractive. She felt slightly embarassed to be spying like that. Sage Vibhandaka too came out and didnot seem to go away from the Ashram.

" We should approach him now" whispered Aadi hours later,just after Vibhandaka left.

Shanta almost fell out of the tree. She had forgotten Aadi was still there. " No! We donot know if he will be back soon or not. We are merely here to observe. We should stick to the plan. We need to save Anga and ourselves. Rishi Vibhandaka does not look exactly patient and nice."

Aadi shuddered. " He is not. He might kill you and me too if he sees us."  And minutes later Vibhandaka was back. Shanta looked at Aadi as if to say that she was right.

Rishyashringa didnot leave the Ashram except to bathe. Sage Vibhandaka left by noon and as Shanta observed, came back late in the evening.

" We need to come from the  back at noon" whispered Shanta. Aadi's stomach grumbled. " I am hungry"

" You finished everything we brought ! We will leave soon" Shanta shushed him.

Soon  after nightfall, Shanta got down after Aadi and landed with a slight thud next to him. A door creaked. Even in the dim lit fire, Shanta was sure it was Rishyashringa. She didnot notice her  small earring  which had fallen off as she jumped down. She ran after Aadi swiftly between  thick trees fervently hoping Rishyashringa had not seen her. 

But he had. He had seen a tall figure jump off a tree clad in dark clothes that  almost camouflaged the creature.He was very sleepy and had not noticed much. It was just like him but with no hair on the face. It had vibrant brown eyes unlike his black eyes, longer hair than he had. He had seen unusual creatures in the forest before  and did not think twice. He had had a long day and slept the moment his head hit the mat.

It was only on the next day did he vaguely remember the face. He felt it was a dream. He went to the tree after his father had gone out and the gleam of the fallen earring caught his eye. He picked it up rolling between his fingers. He felt strange. He had to tell his father about this new creature he had never seen or studied of. Suddenly, he realised that it was his counterpart as it looked so much like a human yet it was not like him. He could not bring up the topic with his father and he had been forbidden to go outside. Apart from bathing and collecting fruits. I can wander a bit further to collect fruits...he smiled.  He was determined to search the creature.

* Thank you for reading it. Hope you like it :)