14 Flower
Part 14 Flower
Arvind was shocked. His fear was evident on his face.
"I will give you whatever you want. You don't need to go to the place. You can ask me if you want anything."
"Don't you want your wife to recover, sir?"
"I want her to recover. It doesn't mean I can allow you to put your life at risk."
"Sir, I have no one. If my death is written in this village, let it be."
"Arnav, don't talk like this. You are my responsibility. I can't let you take a risk."
"Sorry, sir. We don't sign any contract with you that controls me. You can't control me."
"Maybe, but why do you want to do that?"
"For madam..."
"No, Arnav. Please don't do that. I will assign people to bring the medicine."
"I'm sure no one dares go to the mountain and you too know that"
"You don't bother about it, Arnav. I will prepare a team with needed accessories and send them to bring the medicine."
"If you can do that, why haven't you thought of doing that yet? Why? Don't you want your wife to get cured?" He asked sharply.
Arvind was shocked. He didn't know what made Arnav talk like that.
"It's not as simple a thing as you think. This is an undeveloped village. We can't make these people understand the process of getting medicine. They won't understand. I should bring the trained mountain-climbing team from somewhere. I don't even know how to do that. If you are willing and have knowledge, you can bring them here. I'm ready to take it forward no matter what."
Arnav frowned. How could he agree to bring the mountain-climbing team if he wanted to marry Khushi? Was this his plan to stop him from going to the mountain? Or, he didn't care about Ratna Madam? He should handle him skilfully in his own way.
Arnav nodded yes.
"Thank you, dear."
"I'm going to the Temple, sir."
Arvind nodded. Arnav left the palace thinking about Arvind and his task. Should he search for a mountain-climbing team or go to the mountain? He should closely watch Arvind and know his true intention. If Arvind was trying to marry Khushi, he should decide accordingly.
He got into the car to go to the temple. When he reached halfway, he saw the man standing under a tree smiling at him. It was the same man he had met at the Kal Bairave temple, but he had vanished when Khushi arrived.
"Stop the car..." he ordered the driver.
He pressed the brake. Arnav looked at the man who was still there.
"Who is the man?" Arnav asked the driver.
"Who, sir?" the driver asked, looking at the place Arnav was looking at.
"The man... with beard... white dhoti..."
"Who, sir?"
"Look at there... he is standing under the tree," he said irritatingly.
"No one is there, sir..."
"Is not a man there?" Arnav asked.
The driver looked at him weirdly. Arnav looked at him, frowning, and again at the man who started walking. Getting out of the car, Arnav rushed behind him. He saw the man entering the deep forest. When Arnav reached the place, the man was not there. Arnav ran, searching for him, but he was not there. He stood, running his fingers in his hair, panting hard.
Arnav didn't know who he was. How did the driver not see him but only him? Or did the driver lie to him? What mystery was this? Why only he saw the man? Was it true that he had some POWER, as Khushi said?
At the same time, when he thought so, something fell on him as if giving him an answer. He frowned to see the thing. It was a FLOWER. He had never seen such a flower before. It looked completely different. The flower's petals resembled the hood of the Naga, a sacred snake protecting a Shiva Lingam.
Arnav looked up and found himself standing under the tree full of such flowers. It seemed the oldest tree because it was so big and tall. He looked at the flower thoughtfully. What did the falling of this flower mean? Did he have a power?
He walked thoughtfully, looking at the flower. The driver waited for him, standing near the car.
"What happened, sir? Where did you get this NAGALINGA Flower?"
"Nagalinga Flower?"
"Yes, sir. This flower's name is the Nagalinga flower. Very special flower for Shiv Pooja. See, its petals look like a snake protecting Shivlinga..."
"There is a tree inside the forest. It fell on me."
"Really? It's a good sign, sir. It's not easy to get Nagalinga Flower like a sacred flower," he said excitedly.
Arnav sat in the car, which the driver was driving to the Temple. Khushi smiled at Arnav and frowned, seeing the flower in his hand. She became excited, knowing what flower it was.
"Arnav, sir, where did you get this flower? There is no Nagalinga tree on the way to the temple from the palace?"
"I saw the same man on the way..."
"Who?"
"The one who I met an hour ago"
"Is it? Where? Did you talk to him?"
"No... I rushed behind him to talk to him, but he vanished. That was when this flower fell on me," he said, looking at her expression.
"Really? Didn't I say you are so special? Getting this flower is not an easy task. Do one thing."
"What?"
"Submit the flower to the Kal Bairava."
Arnav looked at the Bairava statue and then at the flower.
"Shall I?"
"Yeah..."
"No, you submit it," he said, giving the flower to Khushi.
"Mmm... ok. You, too, come with me."
Khushi went to the statue. Arnav followed her. Khushi closed her eyes, keeping the flower in her hand.
"Om Sri Kal Bairava, protect Arnav sir from all the odds and troubles. Give him a long, healthy life with all the prosperities." She opened her eyes and submitted the flower on Kal Bairava's feet smilingly.
Arnav gazed at her adoringly. Instead of wishing for herself, she prayed good for him. How generous and selfless she was!
"Don't you wish anything for yourself?"
"I never wished anything for me. God's plan is always better than ours."
"Then why did you wish for me?"
"It's because you have no faith in God. I know you will not ask anything from God. So, I wish on behalf of you."
"You said God's plan is better than us. If his plan is better than ours, why are you suffering with the palace people?"
"Correction. I'm not suffering but SUFFERED. I didn't wish for myself yet; God sent you to the palace to protect me from them. Before you came here, I thought tolerating them was my fate. I never thought someone would withstand them daringly, but it happened. What else is needed for me to trust in God?"
"I like your positivity."
"You, too, be positive. Positive things will start happening to you."
"You know you are unbelievable... I don't know how you could look happy always."
"Arnav sir, we can't change anything being sad. If we are happy even at odd times, the problem will become tired of making us weary" She smiled.
"May I ask you something?"
"Mmm..."
"What do you think about Arvind, sir?"
"He is a nice person. Because of him, I'm in the palace. He likes me very much."
"Very much means? What does he do?" he asked eagerly.
"He treats me well, unlike other servants. He provided me with everything; he made me study. He gave me an address. I believe he is more than my father and next to God."
"Mmm... and Ratna Madam?"
"She was the one who brought me to the palace. The big king was an angry man."
"Yeah, you told me."
"She looked after me without his consent and gave me everything. Poor she! She should not have faced such a problem in her life." She said sadly.
"Do you ever think of her medicine?"
"I prayed to God many times only for her recovery. I'm only lighting the lamp every Saturday in this Kal Bairava Temple for her."
"So you will be happy if she is cured."
"Of course, what doubt in that?"
"The medicine is on the mountain's peak, which no one could reach. Then, how will you believe she will get cured?"
"The way you came for my recuse, the god will send someone for her recovery, too."
"You are right... he sent someone already for her recovery."
"Really? Who is that?" Khushi's eyes sparkled.
"He is here... in front of you..."
"Here? Where?" She looked here and there.
"Look at me."
"What?"
"It's me" he smiled.
Khushi's face changed with shock like Arvind's face changed.
To be continued...
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