By Simrin Khan - Grade 9
2025, a year in the modern world. People move fast, sometimes losing themselves in the hustle and bustle of everyday life and at last, their fickle minds roam around aimlessly, searching for love, for a passion that surpasses eternity.
Rati, a normal girl born in a mediocre family. Her father was a sculptor, turning his devotion for his gods a reality. Rati grew up hearing the many tales of gods and goddesses, about their love and their wrath, about their sacrifice and creations, and yet she was fascinated every time.
Time went by, and she grew up into a fine woman, her hair as lush and dark as the eternal dark sky, her eyes like the stars sparking in the endless universe, her rosy red lips mimicking a bloomed rose. Everything about her screamed divine and beauty. Soon, she married her love, kama, his name mirroring the name of the Indian god, "kamadeva". Their love and marriage looked almost fated. As if, the universe wants to relive something ancient again.
Her husband, made beautiful flower bouquets and the flowers stayed fresh, as if his hands were divine enough to give them immortality.
One day, kama went to deliver a huge order of flower bouquets, to a person who refused to come out of his room, so worried, his friends asked kama to bring the flowers to him, thinking it would cheer him up.
But Fate was too cruel, kama's kindness resulted in the angering of the customer, who then burnt his whole house down, killing both kama and himself.
Dark clouds covered the sky as heavy rain poured from them, mirroring the thunder which pearced Rati's heart as she heard the news of her husband's death. Kama's body lay cold in the morgue, as his wife refused to acknowledge his death, claiming she shall bring him back, even if she has to fight the gods of heaven.
With this, she took her steps towards an old Shiv temple. Her legs and body trembling from both rage and cold. She blamed Shiv for her husbands death, for she finally realised something. There lives as Rati and Kama in this life, was a cruel joke made by the universe, as, in their past life, they were god kamadeva and goddess Ratidevi. Both the symbol of passion and love. Her love had already died once from the third eye of her beloved Shiv, the fact only fuele her anger towards him again. But Shiv knew nothing about the rage of a reborn goddess as he sat deep in his meditation.
"Oh my dear Shiva!" Rati screamed at the statue of Shiv, the Temple disolate and devoid of any people. Temple bells rang loudly as the moved because of the extreme wind, as if trying to wake Shiv up to tell him about this women who stood in his door.
"What wrong did my Kama do to you this time? To incur the wrath of her third eye again? Was his kindness too much? Was his willingness to listen to others the problem?" Rati's desperate plea soon turned into tear stained questions. Her voice trembled heavily, her eyes burning with anger.
"Will you not answer me? Should I meditate for years on end to please you, my Shiva? But forgive me, my lord, forgive me. I am but a mere mortal right now. This body can't meditate for thousands of years on end and nor will those humans keep the body of beloved. My lord... I am desperate... Please hear my plea" Rati dropped to her knees, and crawled to touch the feet of Shiv. Her pearl like tears falling on his feet. But no response came.
"Fine! If you won't answer me, then I won't stop dancing too! I will dance the same dance you did when you bought upon destruction, and I shall not stop until you show yourself to me!" She said, her voice ringing in the empty temple walls, as if, the walls too waited with bated breath. Her steps moved, her body sinced, it was a dance of devotion, anger and pain. Her feet bled until they mixed with the rain water and resembled a pool of blood but she did not stop. Because her shiva did not appear in front of her.
Her breath starting getting caught in her throat, her body now tired, she could no longer keep dancing physically, it was not possible too. But... The love she held for kama, the devotion and trust she had in her lord made her body move relentlessly. And finally... The voice of thunderous steps reached the ears of Shiva, his eyes twitched a bit, indicating, he might wake up soon. But maybe it was not enough, for he went back to his deep slumber of meditation again. His eyes did not open completely, until the dripping noise of Rati's blood mixed water reached his oblivious ears. Shiv finally woke up. His eyes tried to see what was the cause of this disruption when he soon saw a similar soul, a fierce one whom he could never forget.
"My dear Rati" Shiv said in a sweet voice as he transcended down to his temple on earth, making himself visible in front of a ragefully dancing Rati.
"You can stop now, dear. I am here. Tell me what you wished to say to me" Shiv said, his voice ever so sweet and calm.
The bells stopped moving, the ringing stopped and it seemed everything became motionless as Rati's desperate dancing finally came to an end.
"Why did you kill my husband again? What did he do to you this time? Can't you... Can't you please revive him again?" Rati's asked, her tears flowing like the fast paced water if Ganga.
"My dear, I didn't kill him this time, the misunderstanding of that human is what took your beloved's life" Shiv said with a pause and Rati broke into loud wails.
"But... The blood dripping from your body, the tears flowing from your night dark eyes, move me indescribably. So... I shall grant your wish, though the first time was because the gods tried to meddle into my choices and used kamadeva to use his sugarcane bow and flower arrows on me to make me feel desire and love which made me burn him with my third eye, this time, I shall revive him, because his kindness a d your devotion made my heart full with joy. So go! Go to your beloved and you shall find him smiling at you, as he too, fought a lot in the afterlife, so he could meet you one last time. Go back to him, my dear Rati, for he misses you deeply" Shiv said as Rati thanked him again and again and then ran out of the Temple.
Rati's feet did not stop until she reached the room she got to know her husband was staying in, they said, he miraculously woke up from death shocking everyone, but Rati and Shiv knew it was the result of the devotion and love shown by a wife towards her beloved husband.
Her trembling hands opened the door, and there she met, her husband sitting and smiling at her saying, "come near my Rati. I missed you so much". Tears streamed down Rati and Kama's eyes as they both thanked lord Shiva, knowing he showed mercy to them, yet once again, but this time centuries apart...
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