KRISHAVYAYAM

71. Bamboozled

When the sun and the moon meet in a tryst, an eclipse comes to existence. Partial, or full. However, it also happens that they come to form an engilded ring so ethereal the mortals can only stare back even though they are prohibited to. The rays that they exude at that time are said to be inauspicious- and those were the exact gradually venomed tunes Shakuni poured into the ears of her Matamaha- right before her eyes and she was swamped in the labyrinth of a different logic and calculation.

Krishna - the name itself spelled charisma. The hero of the era. The dark skinned diplomat who had the most beguiling smile and from whose form the word pulchritude came into existence.
Kamalnayani was swimming in forelsket yet again, and in the place of butterflies she once nestled in her stomach, his name spread halcyon in her heart. She had come to love him even more these days, perhaps, and the silence they shared never felt overwhelming. It came to her as her querencia, and to him she was an ancient muse. A goddess who perished for them but for him she resided sempiternally in his heart. No explanations were exchanged and no over expectations put, neither exaggerated overt gestures but just the right innate tenderness, love for them was simple.

"The mortal body is woven of threads derived from the five elements," she told herself, gazing far into the crimson and cream clad corridors mirroring the decor of her an year old marriage. Hridayaa remembered Kanha's endearment for her with teary eyes. "But the sat-chita-aananda, it's all encompassing; the formless, omniscient and omnipresent parabrahma who is far beyond the laws of nature. Beyond ties and fetters. Why, then, does this spell bind us? How can he my beloved- or even I- forget who we are as one lest we not unite in the appropriate hour?"

Karma is one thing the divinities choose to be striked by. But this- this? Nothing at all made sense to Kamalnayani. Had it been feasible, the spell would have had hers as well as Kanha's, Aishu's and the rest of the Shris' memories taken away. It would have been far more beneficial for them, then. She was an open threat against their baleful agendas, a bull let loose was not a smart move. Shakuni was not an idiot. He'd have weighed the pros and cons of every demarché, and so had she. The non-pareil Shakti bow seemed to feel remotely powerless in her hold, rusting and weeping, and the archeress was stuck in the realms between mortality and divinity.

'Hmm, smart thing,' a thoughtful voice hauled her away from her ponderings, and Kamalnayani raised her eyebrows incredulously as the goddess of illusion cleared her throat. 'You hit the bull's eye. Of course, you and the fellow mystical incarnates are beyond materialism so the charm cannot warp your recollections. Do accept my obeisances, Brahmanda-kramasya Devi.'

'But then nothing should be a problem, innit Devi? Why did you lie to me then? The spell shall break when the time comes, or lest we miss the eclipse it wouldn't be an issue either, no?
As per my observation then, it doesn't matter if the self choice is delayed or hurried. The outcome is the same.'

'The outcome shall not be the same. From an epiphany you have been cloaked. There's a reason why you both need to unite before it, of course.' A gentle smile graced Yogamaya, tacenda in it and Kamalnayani seemed immediately fraught by her aura. Occult and apparitions were surely some things to be wary of. 'You shall know in due time. Hari has been pranked similarly too, and is pretty much befuddled like his significant other.'

'Pranked, wow,' Kamalnayani replied, an unhinged sarcasm in her voice as the goddess chortled mischievously. 'It's good seeing him clueless once in a while. Old man appears less old with the clairvoyant wrinkles not racing on his features.
On another note I am flustered by your carried out pleasantries and deeds, Maya.'

'Nobody can see through your sedated veneer Shri, worry not. It's only a few days after all.'

Hours turned to days and then to weeks. A couple of them. And yet to the gods it seemed like eternities. The bells of her anklets were always the harbingers of prosperity, but now they were the serenade for everything she had fallen for.
Soon enough, the fateful day came shuffling to the threshold of the Saurashtras.