The world creates norms, and expects nature to follow it, unaware that the nature is the actual ruler

"Isha"

A wave of eerie sensation ran all over Rajvardhan as he uttered this name. Isha, who was standing right before him, was taller than him, but the way her half face was burnt, could scare normal people at night, though it didn't affect Rajvardhan at all.

Two years have passed since Rajvardhan has come to Kashi to receive teachings from his Gurudev. In the past three years, he learnt scriptures - both Vedic and tantric scriptures, and now he was no less than an enlightened being.

His humble behavior was the prime evidence that the teachings he had received till now were successful. Covered in a shawl, his lean and short-height body stood confidently before a thirteen-year-old Isha, who was five years older than Rajvardhan.

"May I come inside to pay offerings to my deity?"

Isha asked, her voice softer than feathers and sweeter than honey, beautiful enough to hallucinate anyone, but Rajvardhan had gained control over his senses so it couldn't affect him, albeit there was something triggering his very existence.

"You don't need permission, lady!"

He answered, bowing down his head to her. These are the ethics inculcated in him by his Gurudev.

"You were standing at the entrance so...."

Isha tried to speak, but Rajvardhan bowed down slightly and shifted on the side, with his arm facing towards the temple, signalling her to go inside. She smiled, and went inside to pray to her deity - Mahadev and Mata Parvati!

Offering her prayers, she came out and went away without even glancing at Rajvardhan. The attitude affected him a little, though he wasn't focussing on Isha much. It felt like his heart was beating faster than ever, and he didn't know why it was happening.

At the tender age of seven, when kids felt only children like feeling, Rajvardhan had started feeling something different in him. He used to smile when Isha arrived, and loved her presence around him, though they didn't share direct conversations, but their eyes talked... almost everyday when she arrived at the temple.

Isha was no less stubborn than Rajvardhan, since she never tried speaking to him after how he behaved with her on the first day of their meeting. So many devotees used to visit the temple everyday, but Rajvardhan's restless eyes always wanted to find Isha amongst them.

Days passed by, and became weeks. Rajvardhan was being taught about brahmacharya by his Guru these days, but his mind had already got struck by the arrows of infatuation.

Situations worsened when Isha didn't visit the temple for five continuous days, leaving Rajvardhan lonely. Albeit he has always been like this, but Isha's mere presence was enough to lighten up his mood. His restlessness was enhancing with each passing day, which was definitely being noticed by his Guru, Shastra Ram too, but unexpectedly he wasn't scolding Rajvardhan for his attraction towards Isha, as if he was promoting him to do so.

Rajvardhan was losing interest in everything - from studies to basic training that was given to him by his Gurudev. Shastra Ram was intentionally ignoring Rajvardhan's reckless behaviour, and on the sixth day, Isha finally arrived at the Ganga Ghat.

Her half face was covered under a veil. She scooped some drops of the holy water in her hands, and poured it onto her head.

"Isha!"

Rajvardhan called her out from behind. He had been running continuously since he saw her from the temple where he used to stay with his Guru. He was panting heavily, but the glow on his face was something that had never appeared till now.

Shastra Ram was observing all this from the window of the temple silently, with a small smile on his face.

A hesitant Isha turned around, listening to her name all of a sudden, and saw a little seven-years-old Rajvardhan standing at a distance from her.

"You shouldn't be taking my name!"

Isha exclaimed, her eyes raked from top to bottom to analyse the mature body language of a young Rajvardhan.

"I'm sorry, devi!"

He apologized instantly, lowering his gaze. It felt as if he understood something weird. He could decipher how Isha's thoughts were controlling him, but he didn't know how to counter those feelings.

All the teachings imparted to him by his Gurudev seemed to fail at this moment.

"Where have you been for the last five days?"

He asked her desperately, his gaze still lowered, but the grin on his face made it evident how relieved and happy he was to see Isha back after days.

"Did my absence bother you?"

Isha enquired, taking a small unnoticeable step towards him. The way she bit on her lower lip softly, ensured that she was also enjoying this conversation.

"This isn't the answer to my question."

Rajvardhan blurted back, but his tone still carried a tremendous amount of respect and softness in it.

"You won't understand my answer."

Isha mumbled, the smile on her face faded away. Rajvardhan's eyes were low, but they were welled up as if he discerned that Isha's smile had flown away, perhaps through her voice, or something else.

"Tell me, devi!"

He asked her again, and Isha began fidgeting her fingers.

"I was menstruating, so I couldn't visit the temple."

She finally uttered the words, clutching her eyes tightly. For her, speaking such words was taboo, and she had just said this to a boy - a boy too young to understand this term.

"Ohh!" Rajvardhan replied, and Isha exhaled sharply.

"See, you couldn't understand it."

She stated, glancing at her nails, getting bewildered.

"I know what menstruation is, Devi. Women bleed for 3-5 days in a month."

Rajvardhan asserted, and Isha's eyes widened, as she gazed at Rajvardhan with shock. How could a child so young know this term?

"You are too young to know this."

She declared, turning her face away from him. She was feeling something eerie and unexpected near her chest region. She felt like flaking out.

"I may seem like a child to you, but my Gurudev has taught me Samhitas and Shastras. He is orally narrating the Vedas to me as well."

Rajvardhan revealed to Isha, terrifying her further. She snapped her head into his direction again, and now her suspicion was getting stronger.

"Vedas? Orally? This is impossible in Kaliyug. Who is your Guru?"

She asked Rajvardhan, who smiled peacefully and nodded his head.

"I can't tell you that, Devi! I cannot speak anything about him before people whom he doesn't know about."

He asserted clearly, making Isha bite her lower lip. She analysed Rajvardhan further, and began taking slow steps towards him.

"You are too lean. I think you get so engrossed in studying that you forget to take care of your health."

She spoke in a soft tone, expressing her concern for Rajvardhan.

"No! He asks me to fast for days, staying away from water and food, that's why I've become like this."

He informed her, and now her gaze darkened as she glanced at him with utmost attention.

"Are you someone special?"

She asked him, gawking all over his body, which was completely veiled under a shawl. It seemed as if Isha wanted to find something - some mark or a symbol.

"I don't know! I just do what he says."

Rajvardhan muttered in a low assertive voice, being very sure that his Gurudev could never be wrong.

"Phir itni kadi siksha kyu de rahe hai Gurudev tumhe?"

"Then why is Gurudev training you so harshly?"

Isha asked him, gazing at the skies as if she was anticipating the arrival of someone.

"Wo to Gurudev ki iccha hogi!"

"That must be his wish!"

Rajvardhan spoke abruptly, taking a tiny step towards Isha.

"Hum jo bhi karte hai, bhavishya ki pukar par karte hai. Is siksha ka koi bada uddeshya avasya hoga."

"Whatever we do, it is the demand of the future. You must be getting such hard training because it is needed in the future."

Isha asserted, her gaze shifted from the skies to Rajvardhan. Her one eye couldn't open properly because of the burnt face. She walked a little further, and sat near the ghats. During the winter days, these ghats are mostly vacant. Only the priests and dedicated devotees visit this place at this period.

"Did my absence bother you?"

Isha enquired Rajvardhan, who took a place beside her, and began doodling on the water of the Ganges using a twig.

"It did!" He replied, gawking at Isha's face in the reflection of the holy water.

"I am five years older than you."

Isha blurted out, discerning how Rajvardhan's darkened orbs were anchored at her through the water.

"Does it matter?"

He enquired, the twig in his hand stopped moving now. He seemed to be deeply immersed in ogling Isha at this juncture.

"It does! And I have a partially burnt face, and you are a child. You must focus on your goals, not a girl....like me."

Isha yelled at him, pivoting her head into his direction angrily. It wasn't like she didn't want to talk to him, but the emotional turmoil struggling inside her was something more profound. Perhaps she wanted to avoid an event that was destined to happen.

"I don't know what it is, Devi. I have never been friends with anyone. I was separated from my mother two years ago. Since then, I have been living here all alone, just following the orders and commands of my Gurudev blindly."

Rajvardhan confessed, his eyes still fixed at Isha's reflection in the water.

"Raj..." Isha tried to counter him, but he didn't stop speaking.

"When I saw you for the first time, I felt something unusual. I see so many humans everyday. They visit this place with versatile emotions. Some come here to cremate their loved ones. So many devotees come here to pray, but your presence reminded me of something that I don't recognise anymore, something that wishes to speak volumes, but I ain't ready to listen to it."

He asserted in a low voice, as if he was sharing his secret with someone for the first time. Isha observed his gaze that has been ogling her without blinking.

She splashed the water with her hands, breaking the trance state of Rajvardhan, and he immediately gawked at her with astonishment.

"Isha!" He sibilated, his eyes blinking repeatedly as he observed Isha standing to leave him. His heart panged to witness such an event.

"You must stop thinking about me, and I will stop visiting this place tomorrow onwards."

Her words were enough to pierce Rajvardhan's little heart, and shatter it into pieces. She walked away, covering her face within the veil, leaving Rajvardhan all alone once again. It was no more than a dream for him, which just ended abruptly.

Isha was walking quickly through the route she takes daily when she saw Shastra Ram standing before her. She lowered her gaze immediately out of the respect she had for him.

"Antatah pehchan gaye aap dono ek dusre ko."

"You both finally recognised each other."

Shastra Ram declared, and Isha's eyes turned teary immediately. The moment she blinked, a thick droplet advanced down her cheek.

"Aap ko to niyati bhi alag nahi kar sakti."

"Even destiny cannot separate you both."

He spoke again, taking slow steps towards Isha, supporting himself on a stick that had a prominent symbol engraved on its top from where he holds the stick.

"Niyati....aisa koi avsar nahi hua jab niyati ne hume alag na kia ho."

"Destiny....there has never been a single chance when destiny didn't separate us."

Isha blurted out, a sly smirk on her face, and tears began rolling down her eyes.

"Isiliye na taki is baar aap ek ho."

"So that you both could unite this time."

Shastra Ram asserted, standing exactly in front of Isha. The dupatta on her head fell down on her shoulders, as she glanced at Shastra Ram, whose smile faded away gawking at her partially burnt face.

"Aise? Aise ek honge hum? Is jale chehre ke sath unki ho jaungi mai?"

"Like this? Is this how we will unite? Will I become his with this burnt face?"

She bellowed, but it was more like a warning, that she was saying to the universe. Her control broke, but before she could crouch and cry, she ran away from there, covering her face again.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

I hope you all are understanding this story now

How was the update?

💜 Love you all 💜