Suyodhan's Sakhi - Smriti Khand Part II

The Final Meet

I really feel that the above song really resonates with this chapter.

It was the night before the first day of the war. Pitashree had strictly instructed me to sit in the tent and not come out. I had been there, the entire day and now it was irritating me. I thought of taking a quick walk around the camp before Pitashree returned and with that, I instantly came out of the tent. I was walking around carefully, trying to escape the eyes of as many soldiers as possible. My eyes suddenly fell on the ever – familiar, well – built, muscular silhouette, standing on the edge of the camp and overlooking the widespread, holy lands of Kurukshetra. I immediately made my way towards the person. I don't know what came over me, but I really wanted to clear things out with Kakashree Suyo.

"What brings you here, Sakhi?" he asked, just as I was in his earshot.

"How did you know it was me?" I asked, in a surprised tone.

A humourless chuckle escaped his lips.

"Won't I recognize the one, in front of whom I bared my heart?" he said, finally turning to face me. Once again, he chuckled dryly seeing my eyes filled with accusations.

"So... like everyone else, even you consider me to be cause of this war, don't you?" he asked, starring straight into my eyes.

"Give me one reason, why I should not, Kakashree Suyo," I said, without dropping my eyes.

"What's the use? Will you be able to accept them?" he retorted back.

"At least, I'll be satisfied to know that the war wasn't just another of your hasty decision taken in the heat of arrogance. Because it's not just your or my family that is at stack, but lakhs of other families as well," I replied sternly.

"Rest assured, Sakhi, I have given this decision quite a good thought, before finalizing it," he said, turning to face the warzone.

"And what was the thought process that made you finalize this decision and risk the lives of so many? If I may ask?" I asked, as I went on to stand beside him.

"And since when did you start to require permission? Anyways, it's a thought with which your father agrees as well, my doll."

"You have discussed this with Pitashree?"

"Yes. We were discussing it after Vasudev left for Matsya."

I wondered, whether Pitashree had told him about Rajmata Kunti and his relation with her.

"I, or rather say, we want peace now. And there's no ultimate peace than death. Me, my brothers and to an extent, Karna as well, have been fighting since our birth. You do know, that my own, so called 'near and dear' ones wanted to kill me at my birth. And now, they would be happy seeing me die. As for my brothers, there has been no one else except me, who has ever paid any attention to them. Let alone attention, no one has even stopped to spare a glance at them. Ask anyone. There won't be single person except my parents, who would know the names of all the Kaurav brothers. And their excuse to not remember would be 'They are 100 in all. How can we remember all of them?'. So if there's no one to bother about them, who cares if they live or die? Then why not let them die along with me and save them from the hurting ignorance from their own family?"

"It's your family too, Kakashree Suyo," I said, in a quiet tone.

"I have stopped considering them as my family long ago," he replied, in an indifferent tone. I just stayed mum at that.

"After all that has transpired between me and the Pandavas," Kakashree Suyo started after a while, "there are only two options left for me. One is to ask for their forgiveness, give them the reign of Hastinapur and take sanyaas. Or to fight this bloody war and die fighting. I would always prefer the latter. Not only me, but my brothers and your Pitashree as well."