The puppet

He was sitting alone in the park bench. The dusk was slowly settling down, spring wind was blowing, bringing a feeling of nostalgia with it… pain originated of unknown reasons.

He sat there watching the park gate, it was already half past five, she was supposed to be here at five. He was a little worried because she always maintained time, actually it was usually she who reached their meeting places first.

All nearby benches were occupied by lovers, some of them were looking at him, he was quite habituated of these repeated glances at himself, he was as handsome as Apollo himself, that’s what his friends have chanted to him for years.

He was about to pull out the cell phone to call her when he saw her coming toward him. He stood up and waved his hand and she started to come toward him. A sweet smile was lingering on her lips.

They became friends through internet, both were lonely and looking for decent friends in an alien city, where livelihood had sent them and became friends instantly. He was almost crazily in love with her but she did not reciprocated to his love. She kept on saying, “wait till we meet! If we ever do!”

Then they met, and he realized she was right. She was an extremely cultured, sweet natured but ordinary looking girl. Without any charisma at all. All his dreams ended then and there but she fell in love with him.

She was “shattered dreams” to him and he was “dream come true” to her. Even though she was a very practical girl but no matter how hard she tried she could not detach herself from him. The more she tried the more she got tangled in his love.

He left the town after their only meeting because he was promoted to their Delhi office.

He tried to brush her off but a part of his heart felt sympathy for her, because he knew he was irresistible to any woman, so he decided to give her time to recover.

He maintained a friendship and tried his level best to disillusion her. Whereas she became obsessed with him. Whenever he tried to call off the relationship her immense pain pulled him back to her. It appeared as if her very happiness depended on him.
She was just like a puppet in his hands, laughing and crying at the snap of his fingers.

Slowly his attempts started to materialize and he started to feel that the puppet is waking up, she is tugging at her strings to be free.

Then he realized that he is crazily in love with her. He tried to revive the relationship but she inched away.

He started to spend sleepless nights having nightmares of losing her and rushed back to meet her.

“Hi!!!” she smiled at him. “How are you?”

“Perfectly fine.” He smiled back at her. “Lets go and eat something.”

He took her to a small, cozy restaurant. A cubicle was already booked for them.

She sat down and instead of sitting opposite to her he sat down beside her. She looked at him with a little surprise and bowed her head. Her fingers were playing with the napkins.

The waiter left after taking the orders. He softly held her hand and slipped a small ring in her ring finger.

“Will you marry me? I cant live without you.” He softly whispered.

“Are you sure? I don’t think I am your type. You are too good looking for me.” She said. Hiding her eyes from his.

“I love you too much, and if I marry you this love will only increase day by day.” She added, “If you change your mind I will be shattered to pieces.”

“You refused me on our first meeting, may be its pity not love.” She said, “I don’t want your pity.”

He forced her to lift her face and look at him, straight in his eyes. His eyes answered all her questions.

“I may have been fool in the past but a man grows up with time.” He softly smiled, “I am not insane to let a love like yours slip away from my fingers.”

Nymph

Long long ago an evil demon ruled the demon kingdom. One fine evening he was enjoying the peaceful environment of earth. He came to a small tapovan.

His horses were tired so he released them to wander around and himself took a form of a bird and sat down on a tree to enjoy the solitude.

Suddenly he felt a piercing pain and found himself on the ground with an arrow stuck in his chest. Before he could react he felt two tender palms picking him up.

“Ma, Ma someone was trying to kill this beautiful bird.” He heard a voice sweeter than nightingale and looked at the face of the person who has picked him up.

She was as beautiful as a jasmine flower bathed in early morning dew drops, holy and fragrant. Just trying to reach her youth but childish innocence was still lingering around her.

Her mother took care of his wounds and the girl softly placed him on her window sill and gave him some water. He flew away after a little time. But could not forget her.

He came back in his golden chariot the very next day, he stopped at the gate of the tapovan and seeked the permission to see the girl’s father. He asked her for her hand in marriage which was refused politely.

Meeting the straight forward rejection of the parents he tried to woo the girl. Her name was Tamalika. But his golden chariot failed there too, so did his passion. He wanted that girl but love was yet to form in his heart and that innocent but wise girl could feel lack of love in his amorous advancements. She knew well that soon his passion will ebb away for he had too many temptations in life to tempt him.

The king went back rejected and upset. He kept on returning to the tapovan as the bird to see her. he used to hide behind leaves and follow her around, soaking in her beauty.

With time he became obsessed with her and tried for the last time to impress her or her parents but failed. This time he went back with a vengeful heart.


He called his most charming nymph Ritudaman when he returned to his palace and assigned him the task of conquering the heart of the girl, then breaking it and returning to the kingdom.

The nymph did what he was asked to do. The demon king enjoyed the whole show from his seat behind the leaves. He went back again to the sage after Ritudaman’s return.

This time he took his most beautiful queen with him. He thought in vain that they will be miserable.

He thought about meeting Tamalika to show her what she has missed. He observed with great joy that she was shattered to pieces. A deep sadness has taken over the earlier innocent happiness.

A few months later he went to see her, hoping the longing for her lover must have let down her moral walls and he can renew his offer. To his deep dismay he realized that Tamalika’s whole being was enveloped by an aura of deep peace. As if the arrow dipped with poison has become nectar after touching her blood.

He asked for Ritudaman when he returned to his kingdom for he wanted to see her miserable, shattered down, begging for his love. But Ritudaman was not in his kingdom any more, he has left and have left no trace behind.

In his sheer vanity and confidence he sent another nymph to play with her, then another and another but all failed. The king failed to realize the golden truth that though virtuous people fall for nymphs because they have special powers but they fall only once. They never repeat their mistakes.

Then one day one of his nymphs returned and said that Tamalika is gone from the tapovan. She doesnot lives there any more.

The frustrated king called for his most powerful witch to locate the girl. The witch showed him her image in her silver mirror. She was married to Ritudaman and living with him.

She applied all her magic …. or may be not but could not locate the place they were living in.



Glossary:
Tapovan: in ancient india sages used to build a group of small huts in forests where they lived with their students and sometimes famillies, these were called tapovans.