Son of Mah

xxii. the end is near

Away from prying eyes and the uncanny silence of the palace, two lovers, each mounted on a horse, strove towards the forest. They had no one accompanying them, except each other's presence and the subtle call of nature humming.

"It's calming here. Just you and me," Shahryar said. Squirrel scurried on either side of the narrow road lined by bushes. Wildflowers dipped in the seven shades of rainbow peeked from the green. Some loitered around on the path, their juices pressed by the hooves of the horses. Golden sunlight filtered through the mesh of leaves and branches.

"Just you, me and the one above," Shahrazad whispered. "The Divine is a witness to this moment too."

Green was such a beautiful colour, Shahryar understood it now. He had left his royal garden in ruins. The red of roses reminded him of both blood and love, and neither could soothe his soul in the past. Flowers– their fragility and their softness– served as a reminder of his own weak heart that was prone to defeat. He had thus, for years, protected it in an armour of cruelest and most insensitive metals extracted from the mastery of feigning ignorance and the ability to endure every pain. He had lived like a half-dead man surrounded perpetually by the stench of death. So many maidens came and went, none lived.

"I wonder sometimes, if any maiden had survived, would she have been able to melt my heart?"

"Maybe she would have, Shah."

"Tut-tut," Shahryar clicked his tongue. "Do not call me that when we are alone. I am supposed to call you Shah, don't you remember?"

Shahrazad chuckled. The kitten was out of the bag now. "Seeing this ethereal beauty of nature, I think you are convinced that you have committed a crime by neglecting the garden in the palace."

"I have."

"So will you take care of it now?"

"I shall appoint some gardeners. I remember that you liked dahlias a lot?"

Shahrazad raised a brow, amused at the discovery of him guarding such a little memory. "You remember?"

"Yes. I had made Mother sew a garland just for you. She was so eager to meet this so very special friend of mine."

Shahryar kept his gaze pointed at Shahrazad. The latter acted being absorbed in admiring the sight of chirping sparrows and the call of the eagle soaring high in the sky. A doe sprinted past them, heading towards the north.

"I think the pond is in that direction where the doe went," Shahrazad said.

"I had thought you would tell me something else," Shahryar said with a disappointed curve to his lips. The stoic man led his horse forward, leaving poor Shahrazad behind. The royal consort caught up with his husband soon, finding him exactly as he had predicted– near the pond. Shahryar tied his horse to a tree. He patted the majestic animal and spoke to it like an old friend. Shahrazad kept his horse beside this one and then followed Shahryar, who was headed towards the shore of the pond. The two men sat on the grassy bed.