28 TRUE or MYTH?
Part 28 TRUE or MYTH?
"Khushi is coming," Pasupathi said.
Arnav straightened himself. He stood without looking at her.
"Khushi, you here? Did Arvind sir send you with any purpose?" Pasupathi asked.
Khushi nodded no, glancing at Arnav. She was stuck to see Arnav's forehead, which was entirely of Thiruneeru. She could not help but admire him, who looked so cute.
Without looking at her, Arnav left the place. Khushi rushed behind him. Pasupathi smiled, seeing that.
"Are you angry with me?" She asked.
Arnav looked at her, his eyes reflecting the unspoken tension between them, and continued walking without answering.
"Arnav, sir, please say something."
He stopped and looked at her.
"What do you want me to say, Khushi? I don't lie like your Arvind uncle does. I don't have such a talent. You will stand and support only liars. So, I won't get your support..."
"Arnav sir, believe it or not, what you think will not happen. Arvind uncle is not what you think. I don't know why you are so stubborn about not trusting him."
"Do you want me to know why I'm stubborn? I told you about a mysterious man who met me. He told me you would become a Queen by marrying the King. He was the one who told me about the Murthy brothers and alerted me. The next day, the Pandit of the Kali temple, who helped them with black magic, died in the temple. His words came true. That's why I'm stubborn about not trusting Arvind, sir. Is that clear?"
Arnav looked at her sharply. Khushi averted her gaze and walked away, confused. She didn't know what it was and could not conclude anything. Arnav understood that.
Arnav stood looking at her, thinking something. He didn't try to stop her or console her. He didn't want to do that because if he consoled her, he would have to tell her about his mountain visit. If he told her, she would not let him go there. He could not go if she asked him not to go because he promised her that he would never do anything going against her wish. So, he kept quiet.
Arnav returned to the Palace only late at night. Khushi didn't sleep but waited for him. Arnav understood that seeing her room light still ON. Khushi saw him heading to his room; Arnav knew it. Without looking at her, he locked the door, making her disappointed.
The next day
Khushi and Arvind didn't find Arnav in the Palace. He left without having breakfast, and Arvind saw Khushi going out.
"Khushi, where is Arnav?"
"I don't know, uncle. He is not in his room."
"Didn't he tell you where was he going?"
Khushi nodded no.
"He must be in the Kala Bairava Temple, I suppose," Arvind said.
"I'm going there only..."
"Do you trust me?" Arvind asked.
"Who else could I trust other than you, uncle?"
"Don't you trust Arnav?"
Khushi was silent, her mind a whirlwind of conflicting thoughts. She didn't know if she should trust him or not. She was struggling between the truth and the reality.
"Everything will be all right. I will make them right."
"I trust you, uncle."
"Thanks"
"I fed breakfast to Ratna Aunty. She asked for Arnav, sir. I will bring him."
Arvind nodded. Khushi left and went to the Kala Bairava temple, searching for Arnav. To her disappointment, he was not there.
"Anna(brother), did you see Arnav, sir?" she asked a worker.
"He didn't come here, Pappa (Girl child)"
Khushi sat in the temple, all distraught. She looked at the Kala Bairava statue.
"Kadavule...! (Oh God!) I don't know whom to trust. I know Arvind uncle. He would not have such intention in his mind. He is like my father. At the same time, Arnav sir is a genuine man. He won't blame anyone for no reason. Please don't punish him for blaming Arvind uncle unnecessarily. Make him understand the truth. He is not talking to me. I can't handle this. Please end this problem." She prayed.
Khushi returned to the Palace as she didn't guess where he would be.
As per the plan, Arnav reached the Kali temple on time, which was precisely when Pasupathi had closed it. There was no one in the temple.
"Are you ready?" He asked.
Arnav nodded yes. Pasupathi saw Arnav carrying a small backpack.
"What's that?"
"Water and something..." Arnav didn't tell him what he carried in it.
"Do you think you will not get water there?"
"How do I know if this is my first time?"
"Mmm... did you have lunch?"
"No... I didn't because I left the Palace before anyone saw me, but I had bananas."
Pasupathi forwarded the Prasad tiffin box to Arnav.
"Have it"
"No thanks..."
"Don't be senseless, Arnav. You are going to climb a mountain. It will drain your energy. Stop arguing and have this."
Taking it from him, Arnav had it without argument. He, too, knew he needed energy, but he didn't want to create a scene in the palace. So, he left without eating anything.
Pasupathi waited for him to finish. They got ready and started heading to the mountain.
"We must take the path next to the Siddha Temple."
"Oh..." Arnav remembered the path that ran around the mountain.
Pasupathy chose the path with no crowd. He ensured no one noticed them, but he didn't know a villager noticed them. He didn't take it seriously. He thought they were going to the Siddha Temple per Arvind's order.
They reached the Siddha Temple. Pasupathi lit a camphor at the temple's entrance as it was closed.
"Pray the Siddhas to be helpful. Without their blessings, you can't do it," Pasupathi instructed.
Arnav closed his eyes, joined his hands, remembered the mysterious man for a few seconds, and opened his eyes.
"Shall we?" he asked and stuck, seeing Pasupathi still praying.
He opened his eyes and looked at Arnav.
"Let's go"
They started walking. Arnav sensed his heartbeat rising gradually in fear. After all, it was an adventurous journey. He wanted to divert his mind. Taking a deep breath, he asked Pasupathi,
"Tell me something about Siddhas."
Pasupathi smiled.
"Why are you smiling?"
"I want to tell you about them. Before that, you asked..."
"Oh..."
"There are many Siddhas, but these eighteen are MAIN. Lord Shiva's direct disciples..."
"Means, did they meet Lord Shiva?"
"Yes... that's why they are Special."
"Special means?"
"They can do anything..."
"Anything means?"
"They could even FLY."
"Fly?" Arnav raised his brows in disbelief.
"Yes... they can make their bodies weightless, shrink, and expand by YOGAM."
"I can't believe this"
"They are beyond everything. That's why they are Siddhas. According to them, the body is just a medium. SOUL is what matters. They gave many good things and medicines to humans, but no one follows that"
Arnav wondered. He didn't know whether he should believe it or not.
As the path became steeper, Arnav and Pasupathi started breathing hard. The mountain path was hard, like hell, and their speed decreased.
"Feeling hard?" Pasupathi asked.
Arnav nodded.
"Shall we rest?"
Arnav looked at his watch and asked,
"Can I reach the peak in the evening if I rest?"
"We can... we just walked for two hours. You have time. I planned, calculating all this only."
"Ok..."
Arnav sat under a tree with Pasupathi. He looked at the peak.
"If you look at the peak, you will feel it hard."
"No way. However, I will have to go there. So, no issues."
"I like your confidence."
"Thank you..."
"Shall we start?"
"Yeah..."
They again started. After a while, Arnav stopped walking, sharpening his ear.
"What?"
"Didn't you hear?"
"What?"
"Growl of a tiger..."
"Growl?" Pasupathi looked at their surroundings fearfully and said,
"But, there is no tiger in this mountain."
"Couldn't you hear?"
Pasupathi nodded no.
"But, I could... clearly," Arnav said.
"We have to fasten our steps."
"Mmm..."
They started walking fast. They forgot their leg pain and the hardness of the mountain. Finally, they came to a plain surface. They stopped panting hard.
"You said you didn't hear the growl. Then, why did you ask me to walk faster?"
"But, you heard it..."
"So?"
"I don't know what I guess can be true."
"What did you guess?"
"One of the Siddhas name is PULIPANI..."
"So?"
"PULI means Tiger. He roams on the Tiger."
"Really?"
"Yes..."
"So what? He is a Siddha. Then why did you fear?"
"It's just my guess."
"I can't believe he roams on a tiger."
"You won't believe it if I say another one is PAMBATTY Siddha."
(PAMBU means snake.)
"That means he roams with snakes?" Arnav asked shockingly.
"Exactly..."
"Whaaat? Is that true?"
"Yes, he roams wearing snakes on his body. I told you, they can control anything."
"Can't we see them?"
"We can see Siddhas only if they want us to see them."
"I don't know if I should trust all of these."
"It's TRUE if you trust. If you don't, it's a MYTH..."
Pasupathi smiled and pointed in a direction. Arnav looked there. He saw a bridge created by the roots of wild trees. It looked like a spider web. It was not a clear path, so his steps should be careful.
"You should go alone from here on," Pasupathi said.
"As you have me by your side, why not you come with me?" Arnav asked.
"I don't know if I should come with you because I intend not to cross the bridge. You go..."
Arnav nodded.
"May God bless you..."
"Thanks..."
"Take care"
Arnav nodded and headed to the bridge, and Pasupathi left the place. Arnav came to the bridge and studied it. He slowly began to take steps. He heard a hissing sound when he went to the middle of the bridge. He got alert and slowly looked at his side. He was horrified to see a big snake five feet long, entangled with the roots, ready to bite him. Arnav understood his life had come to an end. When the snake sneered at him, Arnav sat down and tried to escape from the snake. But, as he didn't expect, a man suddenly appeared and held the snake.
To be continued...
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