The Lost Prince

6. Finding True Self

"From where I see, and the way you take care of him, I already know that you are falling for him. But trust me, this will give you nothing but a heartbreak. We cannot deny the fact that he is a royalty. We are no match for him. He might be a good person, but he is under the situation right now that is beyond his control. He had endured enough. But the day he finds himself, he will not need anyone. That is what makes a royal different from comman man. He would soar high... So high, that he might not even see you on the ground.... It's time you think about yourself, before its too late and before you can't think of anything else apart from him. Listen to me once.... Just once. Convince him to go back where he rightfully belongs. With his family, where he deserves to be."

By the time he was done explaining, Radhika was in a mess of tears. She knew, his every word was true, but she could do nothing more than wiping her silent tears and plate food for her brother.

Though the words hit deep, she continued to do her job of feeding Samar and giving a massage to his hand every night, until he fell asleep.

One fine evening, Samar's ears perked up to a strange noise. It was like an electric motor was running somewhere close. He tried to ignore it and closed his eyes, but the noise continued to ring in his ears. His curiosity peaked up and he walked out of the room towards the source of the sound that was coming from the back of the house. His feet carried him to the open back garden and halted at the scene infront of him.

Mohit was seated on a raised platform and he was creating a beautiful pot of clay on a wheel that was spinning in front of him. Samar realized that the sound was created by the motor that sounded the wheel. He could not help himself from moving forward and marvel at the creation that Mehul's expert fingers created on the potter's wheel.

Mehul realized a figure standing beside him and he stopped the wheel, halting his work.

"Sorry, did I disturb you?" He asked, referring to the sound of the motor.

Samar averted his eyes from the incomplete pot and looked at him.
"Why did you stop? It's beautiful."

Mehul was taken aback by his unexpected reaction. He could see the amazement in Samar's eyes. She smiled lightly.

"It's our family business. We belong to potter's family. There were a few orders for earthenware from a nearby village, so I was just making them. You want to see it?"

Samar nodded and walked forward to sit beside Mohit, who shifted in his place to make space for Samar on the large bench that he was sitting. He started the motor again and the wheel soon took up speed. Mehul dipped his hands in muddy water and smoothly slid his fingers over the pot. His expert fingers delicately glided on the clay and gave a shape to the brown wet love of clay that soon turned into a beautiful tall pot. Mehul glided a thread at the bottom to separate it from the wheel and lifted the wet pot in his hands and held it in front of of Samar, who was astonished at the effortless creation.

"How is it?" Mehul asked with a smile.

"I have never seen such a beautiful thing before." Samar whispered in a daze.

Mohit chuckled. He shyly looked at the pot and kept it on another platform, that was meant for keeping the raw freshly made pots.

Mehul collected another slab of clay and rolled it lightly to smoother it before smacking it on the wheel.

"Would you like to try it?" Mehul asked and Samar blinked at him.

"Me? Yes." He replied without a beat.

Mehul nodded and forwarded the bowl of muddy water to wet his hands. Samar did not think twice before dipping his hands in it and shivered internally as the cold wetness spread though his senses. He looked at Mehul once who encouraged him with a smile and lightly touched the slab of clay with his hands. A cold shiver rushed through him as the smooth clay glided in the hollow of his palms. His hands were immediately covered in clay and turned as dirty as Mohit's.
It was lightly ticklish and the slab changed its shape to an uneven form when applied pressure to it.

"Hold it gently but firmly. It should be enough to shape it up but not to break it." Mehul instructed.

Samar nodded but found it difficult to shape the slab in a circular form. Mohit gently wrapped his mud clad fingers around Samar's and patiently guided him to create a small pot, that could be used as a vase. It took a lot of time, but it was worth the efforts.

He gently separated the pot from the wheel with the thread and handed it to Samar. Samar looked at the pot and was amazed at the beauty that took shape from mere mud.

Mohit took it from his hands and placed it near the pot where his earlier pot was placed and we're ready to be baked. Samar looked down at his mud clad hands. He gasped lowly as he realized that his hands were completely covered in mud. He could not see another inch of his skin and a thick smooth layer of mud was only that he could see on his palms and back. He gently turned his hands around to look at the back of his palms and found them covered in mud too.

A warm wave of emotions rushed through him. He found the traces of his once Henna clad hands bound in cuffs and holding the burning stick washing and replacing with the mud and beautiful pot that he created. A sharp shaky breath left his lips and Mohit was startled.

"Kunwarsa! Are you alright?" He asked in concern.

Samar looked at him and Mohit saw a weird look of confidence in his eyes.
He nodded lightly and asked if could make another pot.

Mohit nodded and he noticed that while he was rolling the slab of clay, Samar deeply inhaled the smell of clay on his hand with his eyes closed and smile lingering on his lips.

He did not know that mere clay was enough to wash away the dirty and bitter memories for the troubled man. He was happy to get rid of a part of his troubled past. His hands were no more dirty and the clay had washed them away to create a beautiful memory that would last for a life time.

That night, when Radhika came to his room with the plate of food and sat in front of him, he gently pulled the plate towards him and whispered, "I will eat. Thank you."

Radhika was taken aback but composed herself and nodded before she left him alone to eat in peace.

She came out of his room, confused and hurt. Mohit had told her about the evening's incidence already. She did not know what suddenly changed, but her innocent heart shattered as she recalled her brother's words.

Would he really not need her as he starts to heal and leave her behind when he finds himself?

Her marriage to him was still questionable. But his sudden change of behavior shook her to the core and reality of her situation hit her hard. It was another she wanted to ignore, but it came to face her with great impact.

She was more than just surprised when next day, Samar left after breakfast and was away the entire day. He came back late in the evening and without giving any explanation, decided to dirty his hands in the clay that soothed his soul.

It was a regular thing for Samar now to leave the house in the morning and come back only in the evening. Radhika tried to ask him about it discreetly and he brushed it away, saying he was away for some important work.

He did not grace her with actual answers and that made Radhika more insecure about herself and her future with him.
She was worried for herself and for him so much that one evening, she lost her consciousness and fell to the ground. Samar who had already entered the house, froze to his place. Her family immediately gathered around her and Mohit splashed water on her face and she gasped to breathe.

She was helped up and carried to a room and Mohit looked at Samar, who still did not recover from the shock.
It was her grandmother who stayed behind with Samar, while Radhika was taken to the hospital by Mohit and her parents.

The incident shook Samar's existence. Something broke within him. He was pulled in a deep hollow of thoughts as the lifeless body of Radhika haunted his mind and brain.

One thing he concluded that he cannot let his past control him. He needed to take reins of his life in his own hands and shape his future. He did not have enough money to take Radhika to a proper hospital when she lay lifeless in front of him. And... This definitely could not continue. The situation needs to change and he needed to bring the change himself..... For him and for her too.

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