Loving You Through Lifetimes

Learning to Empathize

"How have you been?" I ask him, while I inhale the cold air. It is the onset of early winter and I recall that we first met around this time. 

It has been forty years since that day that we met. I have never stopped loving you and I never will. Four decades have passed and yet I remember his younger face as clearly as if it was only yesterday. 

Now, the boiling lava of hate and vengeance has cooled down. My heart feels freer and lighter than ever before. I had always believed that spring was considered the season of love. It is funny that my love first blossomed in early winter instead. 

Now, while I sit by lake, gazing into its mirror-like surface. I see him, wading waist-deep, through the water, towards me. 

"Devasakha!" I call out, lovingly and he gazes adoringly at me, "Kadambari!" Time stood still just as it did the first time we met. 

"BE CAREFUL!" someone yelled. 

I snapped out of my reverie to see a crocodile slowly wading towards me. Before I can respond, a younger Naga boy leaps into action and kills it. 

"Are you alright, grandma?" he asked, worriedly.

I blink and recollect that I am now an elderly lady and that my rescuer is not truly my grandson. I went from being addressed as "Miss" to "Granny". It seems I must accept that I have grown old. 

When he repeats his query, I respond "Thank you, young man. Yes, I am fine" 

"Grandma, I always see you around this time of the year. I see you sitting in the same spot as always and looking into the lake. Are you looking for something?" he queried, curiously. 

"I met my soulmate here" I replied with a happy smile. 

"That's amazing! Where is he, I mean, you husband?" he asked. 

I let out a long bitter laugh, "He died, forty years ago" 

The boy's face immediately showed great sympathy. I waved it off with a brave face, "It was a long time ago, it's nothing now" 

"No, Grandma" he said, softly, "I can still see the deep wounds left in your soul because of losing him. I can see it, in your eyes, right here and now. Please don't hide your pain anymore" 

My lips began to tremble, "Today, Nagas and Suparnas live in harmony as allied kingdoms but you must have heard of our war-torn history with each other" 

"Yes" he nodded, "I know that both sides were at war for centuries"

"Then, you must be aware that it was considered treason, even until five years back, to love a Suparna?" I asked.

He nodded, "I am aware" 

"The man I loved and always love was a Suparna" I whispered, my voice cracking from emotion, when his beloved face appeared in my mind. 

"Grandma, you are brave" he said, gently, "It is not easy to live on, despite losing people who are precious to us" 

"We vowed to each other when we secretly married. We promised that neither of us would ever contemplate suicide. If we died, it would only be, because our time had come. If one of us had to die early, the other would live on, remembering their memories" I murmured. 

Tears leaked down the boy's cheeks. 

"You want to know why, because our dream was to ensure that Nagas and Suparnas coexist in peace. Even if one of us died, the other had to live on, to make this dream a reality" I said, patting his head. 

"Then, you are the famous Kadambari?! The one who brokered peace between the two enemies?" he said, taken aback. 

"Yes!" I nodded, smiling. 

"Then, your husband was the noble and selfless physician, Devasakha?!"  he nearly choked on his own spit in his excitement. 

"Yes" I said, trying to control my laughter. 

"Weren't you a famous assassin?" he said, raising an eyebrow, "No offense but how in the name of all that is holy are you associated with peace?!" 

I grinned at him, I could completely understand his confusion. My husband was known as "Amruthamshu" after the nectar of immortality, the Amrutha. I was known as "Kalakuta" after the deadly poison that could kill even Asuras and Suras, the Halahala. 

A famous physician and an infamous assassin - who would have ever thought we would fall in love with each other. 

"He taught me..." I told him, "I learned how to empathize because of him" 

While I explained more on that fateful meeting, I too remembered those precious memories.

Forty Years Ago:

 "Everything will be definitely resolved if the two parties talk to each other!" I scoffed. 

"I understand why you have misgivings" Devasakha shrugged while he flapped his wings.

"I may be a human concubine but I am well aware of the eons of hatred between the Nagas and the Suparnas" I said. 

I thought to myself, I am thankful that we Nagas procured shapeshifting potions from the Rakshasas. Now, even as we infiltrate the Suparna Kingdom, disguised as humans, you cannot ever guess where we are. 

"If you truly think that the Suparna King wishes to find a peaceful solution to this war" I asked, "Then, should he not have welcomed a Naga concubine into his palace?"

Devasakha agreed, "True! I was discussing the same amongst my friends yesterday. A war has recently ended between the Suparnas and Nagas. The best way to prevent future strife would be to accept a Naga concubine. In fact, the day, the Suparna King accepts a Naga woman as a queen, there will be greater chance for peace between the two warring empires"

"I know I seem to be overstepping as a human concubine" I added, just in case, he wondered why a 'human' concubine was meddling in Naga-Suparna affairs, "but you must understand that peace between your two kingdoms is beneficial to the humans too. We have a good relation with the both of you but because of war, our trade relationship has been greatly disrupted leading to major economic losses for us."