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Ballads of Nirvana
Chapter 19
Part 1
Indriya dreamt she was near the fountain again, the milk white shadow was bathing in the soft incandescent moonlight. She could smell the faint smell of roses and wet gray stone that lay beneath her feet.
“Hello Indriya, you have grown up.” A familiar angelic feminine voice called out. Indriya looked sideways at a beautiful woman black haired woman with piercing eyes and sharp features.
“Oh look who's here, the woman of my dreams!” Indriya smiled mockingly at the woman.
“So you knew it was me all along, Indriya?” She asked quietly.
“Of course not, I just realised that every time I drowned in one of my dreams I heard the same disembodied voice and obviously I did not know it was you. Wait, who are you again?”
The lady frowned slightly at her impertinence. Indriya knew better than to apologise, this lady was haunting Indriya’s dreams from when she was young, and drowned every single time.
Indriya almost gasped at the beauty of the woman she saw and her eyes made Indriya feel like she was fortunate to be seen with those angelic eyes and the face that seemed to be that of a goddess. Those eyes were not warm golden speckled eyes, but dark black unyielding ones. She was sizing up Indriya, taking every detail.
“My son seems to be training you well, Indriya. Well, after all he is my son.” She smiled, but Indriya didn't, in fact Indriya was awestruck and she couldn’t move a damned muscle.
“What...what the hell are you saying, woman? YOur son? You are Samanvita Tamas! Agni’s mother!” Indriya’s voice became very cold and hot at the same time.
“Now is not the time, Princess. I am here to ask you for a favour.” She said as she walked around Indriya.
“Too bad you will have to find someone else to do it, I know better than to do the dirty work of some dead Queen.” She asserted.
“How typical of you, Princess.” The Queen was smiling. “Would you not do it even if I told you it would help Agni and Bilvani?”
Indriya was tongue tied, she did not know how to react to the Queen's request.
“No...I cannot interfere with your family life. Besides, can you not do the work by yourself?” Indriya was desperate to get out this dream, she wished Agni could wake her up, but nothing of that sort happened.
“Don’t you think I would do it if I knew how to, Indriya?” The Queen glowered at her, but Indriya didn’t flinch.
“You can do it just the way you did it for me?” Indriya blurted. She knew she should not disrespect the dead but the Queen was not being especially nice to her by haunting her dreams anyway.
“Princess, I cannot penetrate into the minds of either because they do not have a mind like yours, they do not have a gift of transcendental awareness, like you do. You will have to help for the sake of Nirvana, for the sake of the world.” The Queen implored in a cool musical voice, rather soft for a Queen. Indriya pitied the Queen, she could sympathize with her, although, not entirely, but she could understand what drove her to walk out of her realm and come here.
“Ok, if not for Nirvana, for Agni. Agni who you love…” The Queen was talking but Indriya interrupted her.
“I don’t love your son! We are only… friends.” Indriya was surprised as she hesitated to say those words although it was the reality. All the more she continued.
“Queen, I understand what you want me to do, but you do not realise I have no army or kin that has one. How will I help you if you don’t?” She pressed her lips together.
“I understand, I will gather all the help you need to prepare your city for battle only if you promise to tell Agni about the librarian tomorrow.” Her voice held a vow, a burden that was well beyond Indriya’s age but she knew she would have to do it one day or the other.
“I’ll do it, but only on one condition, that is if you warn your son something is going to happen in his life that would make the ground disappear beneath his feet.” A wide abyss yawned somewhere between Indriya’s stomach and heart. Agni is going to hate her, Bilvani is going to hate her. But if this Queen keeps her side of the bargain then Chag, Mythri and most of all Agni will be saved from going against the King of Bhadra.
“Yes, I would have done that either way, even without mentioning, but now that you proved that you care about your people I will mention your name too. Thank you Indriya.” The Queen admitted heaving a sigh in the end. “I will have limited time to spend with him, he is not as ...accepting as you are.” She explained.
“It’s cool, I get it. Be safe though, his head is a labyrinth or rather should I say, it became a labyrinth.” Indriya informed her by throwing her hands up in the air. “I know my son Princess, I know what he needs and what he has done instead.” The Queen gave her a pointed look.
“And, I almost forgot, Princess, Happy Birthday to you! That is why I was here in the first place wasn’t I.” She said with a stunning smile.
“Thank you, Matha.” Indriya smiled back.
Then the Queen vanished in less than a fraction of a second.
Indriya opened her eyes, she heard her phone singing to her, a birthday song. She pushed the thought of the dead Queen from her mind, she did not throw it but she just put it aside like putting aside a photograph of a loved person.
It was singing a happy birthday song for her, so she woke up smiling and screamed “Yes, Happy birthday to me.”
Indriya brushed her teeth, put on her earphones and played her favourite songs.
After a while she just couldn’t sit still, so there she was dancing and singing so loudly that the dead in the cemetery miles away could hear her.
___________________________________
Chag woke up startled when he heard someone singing loudly in the building, he realised it was Indriya because it didn’t sound like someone was choking on their food (courtesy of Mythri. She was a terrible singer.)
Just then someone knocked on his door and he let out a deep guttural grunt to allow the person inside. To his surprise it was Mythri, she looked just as startled and grumpy as he did.
He reached for his spectacles as he sat up on his bed, “Whoa, what’s with her today?”
“Don’t know, do you think we should find out?” She asked worriedly.
“Hang on, what is the date today?” Chag checked his phone. “Oh shoot! it is her birthday today.”
“Mythri, go get some cake and a necklace or something and get a gift you want to give her.” He nearly leapt out of his bed and rushed into the washroom.
Chag couldn’t comprehend what else he should give his cousin, he knew the huge fight his friend and Indriya had the day before, so he came up to a logical conclusion that he should give her a necklace instead of the portrait he made of her. Honestly, he did not like the portrait because his cousin looked absolutely flawless and his portrait was not very...convincing.
© YDR
Part 1
Indriya dreamt she was near the fountain again, the milk white shadow was bathing in the soft incandescent moonlight. She could smell the faint smell of roses and wet gray stone that lay beneath her feet.
“Hello Indriya, you have grown up.” A familiar angelic feminine voice called out. Indriya looked sideways at a beautiful woman black haired woman with piercing eyes and sharp features.
“Oh look who's here, the woman of my dreams!” Indriya smiled mockingly at the woman.
“So you knew it was me all along, Indriya?” She asked quietly.
“Of course not, I just realised that every time I drowned in one of my dreams I heard the same disembodied voice and obviously I did not know it was you. Wait, who are you again?”
The lady frowned slightly at her impertinence. Indriya knew better than to apologise, this lady was haunting Indriya’s dreams from when she was young, and drowned every single time.
Indriya almost gasped at the beauty of the woman she saw and her eyes made Indriya feel like she was fortunate to be seen with those angelic eyes and the face that seemed to be that of a goddess. Those eyes were not warm golden speckled eyes, but dark black unyielding ones. She was sizing up Indriya, taking every detail.
“My son seems to be training you well, Indriya. Well, after all he is my son.” She smiled, but Indriya didn't, in fact Indriya was awestruck and she couldn’t move a damned muscle.
“What...what the hell are you saying, woman? YOur son? You are Samanvita Tamas! Agni’s mother!” Indriya’s voice became very cold and hot at the same time.
“Now is not the time, Princess. I am here to ask you for a favour.” She said as she walked around Indriya.
“Too bad you will have to find someone else to do it, I know better than to do the dirty work of some dead Queen.” She asserted.
“How typical of you, Princess.” The Queen was smiling. “Would you not do it even if I told you it would help Agni and Bilvani?”
Indriya was tongue tied, she did not know how to react to the Queen's request.
“No...I cannot interfere with your family life. Besides, can you not do the work by yourself?” Indriya was desperate to get out this dream, she wished Agni could wake her up, but nothing of that sort happened.
“Don’t you think I would do it if I knew how to, Indriya?” The Queen glowered at her, but Indriya didn’t flinch.
“You can do it just the way you did it for me?” Indriya blurted. She knew she should not disrespect the dead but the Queen was not being especially nice to her by haunting her dreams anyway.
“Princess, I cannot penetrate into the minds of either because they do not have a mind like yours, they do not have a gift of transcendental awareness, like you do. You will have to help for the sake of Nirvana, for the sake of the world.” The Queen implored in a cool musical voice, rather soft for a Queen. Indriya pitied the Queen, she could sympathize with her, although, not entirely, but she could understand what drove her to walk out of her realm and come here.
“Ok, if not for Nirvana, for Agni. Agni who you love…” The Queen was talking but Indriya interrupted her.
“I don’t love your son! We are only… friends.” Indriya was surprised as she hesitated to say those words although it was the reality. All the more she continued.
“Queen, I understand what you want me to do, but you do not realise I have no army or kin that has one. How will I help you if you don’t?” She pressed her lips together.
“I understand, I will gather all the help you need to prepare your city for battle only if you promise to tell Agni about the librarian tomorrow.” Her voice held a vow, a burden that was well beyond Indriya’s age but she knew she would have to do it one day or the other.
“I’ll do it, but only on one condition, that is if you warn your son something is going to happen in his life that would make the ground disappear beneath his feet.” A wide abyss yawned somewhere between Indriya’s stomach and heart. Agni is going to hate her, Bilvani is going to hate her. But if this Queen keeps her side of the bargain then Chag, Mythri and most of all Agni will be saved from going against the King of Bhadra.
“Yes, I would have done that either way, even without mentioning, but now that you proved that you care about your people I will mention your name too. Thank you Indriya.” The Queen admitted heaving a sigh in the end. “I will have limited time to spend with him, he is not as ...accepting as you are.” She explained.
“It’s cool, I get it. Be safe though, his head is a labyrinth or rather should I say, it became a labyrinth.” Indriya informed her by throwing her hands up in the air. “I know my son Princess, I know what he needs and what he has done instead.” The Queen gave her a pointed look.
“And, I almost forgot, Princess, Happy Birthday to you! That is why I was here in the first place wasn’t I.” She said with a stunning smile.
“Thank you, Matha.” Indriya smiled back.
Then the Queen vanished in less than a fraction of a second.
Indriya opened her eyes, she heard her phone singing to her, a birthday song. She pushed the thought of the dead Queen from her mind, she did not throw it but she just put it aside like putting aside a photograph of a loved person.
It was singing a happy birthday song for her, so she woke up smiling and screamed “Yes, Happy birthday to me.”
Indriya brushed her teeth, put on her earphones and played her favourite songs.
After a while she just couldn’t sit still, so there she was dancing and singing so loudly that the dead in the cemetery miles away could hear her.
___________________________________
Chag woke up startled when he heard someone singing loudly in the building, he realised it was Indriya because it didn’t sound like someone was choking on their food (courtesy of Mythri. She was a terrible singer.)
Just then someone knocked on his door and he let out a deep guttural grunt to allow the person inside. To his surprise it was Mythri, she looked just as startled and grumpy as he did.
He reached for his spectacles as he sat up on his bed, “Whoa, what’s with her today?”
“Don’t know, do you think we should find out?” She asked worriedly.
“Hang on, what is the date today?” Chag checked his phone. “Oh shoot! it is her birthday today.”
“Mythri, go get some cake and a necklace or something and get a gift you want to give her.” He nearly leapt out of his bed and rushed into the washroom.
Chag couldn’t comprehend what else he should give his cousin, he knew the huge fight his friend and Indriya had the day before, so he came up to a logical conclusion that he should give her a necklace instead of the portrait he made of her. Honestly, he did not like the portrait because his cousin looked absolutely flawless and his portrait was not very...convincing.
© YDR
