Devi Lakshmi: The Legacy of Wealth

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕾𝖎𝖝𝖙𝖞 𝕱𝖎𝖛𝖊

Lakshmi heard the lock on the door open, feeling Vishnu sit down next to her.

"Jaani..." he whispered, pulling her close to him. "Shhh, don't cry. I'm not going to promise it will be alright, but you can't dwell on it forever. Listen to me, you're going to ruin yourself if you keep thinking about him and Ganga."

Lakshmi didn't know how she could stop. Every day, fear gripped her heart, afraid that she would lose another one of them.

"Amma, it's okay." Amrita said, wrapping her arms around Lakshmi. "You still have me and Sundara."

"And Bhauma Anna and Mangala Anna." her twin spoke up.

Lakshmi managed to choke out a laugh, stroking their hair. Bhauma hesitantly stepped inside, joining his family's embrace.

"Where's Mangala?" she asked, looking over Vishnu's shoulder.

Vishnu bit his lip uncertainly.

"He... He left. He mentioned something about us liking Kamadeva better than him or something." he admitted, causing Lakshmi's eyes to go wide.

She shot up, hurrying out of the room. Her son thought she preferred Kamadeva? She loved the both of them equally, it had killed her to send him away. Everytime she or her husband thought about him, their eyes grew moist.

Lakshmi found Mangala standing by the door, reddish-black hair flowing in the wind. The sunlight illuminated his rust-colored skin, causing it to glow. She walked up behind him, touching his shoulder.

He whipped his head around, his eyes displaying a mixture of emotions. Self-loathing and anger were the boldest, causing his body to shake with barely contained fury.

"Amma," he said curtly.

"Your father told me you thought we loved Kamadeva better than you." she said softly. "Is that true?"

He snorted.

"What, you honestly think I didn't notice?" he asked. "I'm not dumb. Why else would you send me away instead of him? After all, no one cares for the God of Aggression. And it's believed that a person born under my influence will have a disastrous marriage. Funny how that worked out, right? The Goddess of Luck and Protector of Good gave birth to someone who brings inaspicuousness wherever he goes." Mangala snarled. "I'm sorry I couldn't be your dream son."

"Dream son?" Lakshmi demanded. "Do you think I wanted a dream son? Do you think I wanted you to be like Kamadeva? I loved Kamadeva for his loving nature, yes, but I never loved you any less. I loved how your first instinct was always to come to my defense at an insult, and how protective you were. But you were both my sons."

"Stop telling lies!" he screamed. "I'm sick and tired of you and Appa pretending that you love me! I'm sorry I'm not like Kamadeva, I'm sorry I'm not like Ganga, and I'm sorry that I couldn't help you get over the loss of your favorite children!"

"THEY'RE NOT MY FAVORITES! AND NOT EVEN YOUR FATHER COULD HELP ME WITH THAT!" she shouted. "THERE ISN'T A PROBLEM IN THE WORLD HE COULDN'T FIX, BUT EVEN HE WAS HELPLESS IN THIS SITUATION! IF HE CAN'T FIX ME, THEN NO ONE CAN!"

Mangala remained silent.

"You know, when I first arrived at Vaikutham again, I actually believed you loved me." he finally said. "But clearly you both are so caught up with your other children to have room in your heart for me. I-I don't think I can stay here anymore."

Lakshmi froze. He had to be lying. She'd already lost Kamadeva and Ganga... He couldn't leave.

"Mangala-"

"Nothing you say is going to change my mind." he said firmly. "But in all honesty... I really do wish I could have been a better son."

With those words, he walked away, ignoring Lakshmi's desperate cries for him to return. She loved all her children... Why couldn't he see that? It didn't matter if they were born to her or if they were of the earth. Godly, mortal, asura... She loved them.

"MANGALA!" she sobbed, attracting the attention of the rest of her family.

Amrita and Sundara looked confused as to why their mother was crying, while Bhauma looked around for his brother.

"What happened?" Vishnu asked. "Where's Mangala?"

"He said he's not coming back!" Lakshmi cried. "He left us, b-because he thought we loved Kamadeva more..."

Vishnu hated to see her have to go through the same pain over and over again. If Amrita, Sundara, and Bhauma left as well, he wasn't sure if her mind would be able to take it.

"Anna left?" Bhauma asked, stiffening. "He left... Me?"

Amrita and Sundara had begun to wail now, leaving both Vishnu and Lakshmi at a loss of what to do. They hated lying to their children, but unless they did, there would be no way to comfort them.

"I'm sure he'll return." Lakshmi hurried to say. "He couldn't stay away from us for that long."

Vishnu picked up the two girls, laying them over his shoulders.

"Now, this is no time to cry is it? Let's get you three to bed, alright? Maybe when you wake up, Mangala will be back."

They both nodded, still sniffling quietly.

"Is Appa right, Amma?" Sundara questioned.

Lakshmi hated how her children expected her to have all the answers. Though as a child, she had expected pretty much the same. Although she trusted Bhrigu, she wouldn't believe a word of what he said until Kyati, Kavyamata, and Puloma had confirmed it.

"Your father has a high chance of being right." she finally said. "How about I sing you a song before bed?" Lakshmi offered, hastily changing the topic.

"Yes, please." Bhauma said sweetly, clearly wanting to take his mind off the fact that Mangala was gone.

She held out her hand for him to hold and led him inside.

---

That night, as Vishnu gently removed her ornaments, the image of Mangala leaving played again and again in her head, tormenting her.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?" he asked, sliding her bangles off her wrist.

"I know." she replied, helping him with the clasp of her right anklet. "But I don't think I'm ready yet."

He nodded, sitting down next to her and removing her hair pin, letting her dark waves frame her face perfectly.

"I'll wait. Just promise me that you'll talk to me when you are ready, okay?"

"Okay." she said, laying her head on his chest. "I promise."

A/N Noooooooo! Our Mangala!

Thoughts? Comments? Concerns?

Now, excuse me while I go cry in a corner while simutaneously promising Mata Lakshmi that I'll never leave her. Not that Manu or Mangala wanted to... But if anyone tries to seperate me from Maa, they will have to physically pry our (meaning Manu, Mangala, and I) hearts away from her!