Ephemera

Flaring the fire

"What?" Nakul asked as Yudhishthira rocked back and forth, paralyzed in fear, and bathed in guilt. 

"I- I can't do it, I tried to hold her hand and enter a state of nothingness, but- but it's like there is a barrier between that's stopping me, darkness, and- and it's dragging me with it."

"This shouldn't happen, it should be easier considering you are her husband!" Sahdev said worried.

"You don't understand! Draupadi's soul is refusing his life force, it doesn't want anything from him. Forcing her to accept it is too dangerous for bhrata Yudhishthira." Nakul said, as Sahdev replied, "But the connection of a husband and wife transcends this!"

Nakul sighed frustrated, "I didn't want to say this out loud, but my theory is that after their trust broke in the dice hall, she hasn't accepted him yet, and trust and safety are necessary in a relation."

Yudhishthira looked down sadly as he heard Nakul's words, and an Einstein realization hit him, even unconscious at the gate of death, his panchaali would rather die than accept his help. "Why can't one of you do it?" Yudhishthira asked as Sahdev shook his head, "She is on the gate of death, we both need to be here to operate on her if we have any hope of saving her."

"So, what do we do?" Sahdev asked as they suddenly heard a bundle of woods hit the floor and there, at the threshold stood Bheem and Arjun looking at Panchali in panic. They rushed to their wife, the queen of their hearts. Arjun, took her hand and sobbed bitterly, while Bheem grabbed his mace, "Who did this to her? I will send them to death right now!" He thundered as suddenly Nakul and Sahdev exchanged sad glances.

If there was someone among the five of them panchaali explicitly trusted was either Bheem or arjun. But currently they knew Bheem was a better option, for water extinguishes fire, while wind flares the fire higher and higher.

"Bhrata Bheem, sit down and take her hand and focus your concentration upon her, and solely her." Sahdev said hopefully as Bheem did so. "All your attention on her, and her only." Nakul added as Bheem gave a small smile, "My attention has been solely on her ever since she came to me, clad in red robes. This shouldn't be hard."

"Don't underestimate it Bhrata, she subconsciously pushed and foiled all attempts Jyesth made." Sahdev said as Bheem rolled his eyes, "I didn't bet her away, he did." Yudhishthira looked at Bheem aghast at the open hate displayed. Bheem gave an apologetic look to Yudhishthira.

Nakul smiled at how some strength returned to Panchaali the moment Bheem held her hand. Bheem felt himself drift away into darkness, but there, shone a sole star, diminishing slightly, pulling him there, burning faintly. He felt a pull towards it and let his heart follow. In the darkness, was a flickering flame, slowly rising higher at Bheem's proximity.

The flame called to him, begged to be caressed and he, couldn't say no. The flame burned, as he sent it higher and higher, it's ambers flying everywhere, lighting up the darkness. Bheem didn't know how time he spent, kindling the flame his soul could sense, faint but it was there.

But then something extraordinary happened.

Doors, doors, doors all burst open. Doors of wood, doors of iron, doors of air and magic.

And from another world, Draupadi swept down in the darkness, cloaked in golden light. The fiery queen's hair glittered like a shooting star as she plummeted into that darkness where it was only him and her. He knew this was just a hallucination but he couldn't help but wish it was real, and his brothers could also see their wife in her fire.

Nakul shook him out of his trance as his eyes met his wife's ebony eyes that gazed up at him, she was awake. She was saved.

"You did it Bhrata!" Arjun hugged him tight, as Bheem pushed him away, "You would squish Panchaali also." He scolded arjun. "Jyesth, are you ok? The darkness-" Bheem asked extremely concerned yet masking his tone as a formal tone as Yudhishthira shook his head in a yes.