Kama: Liberation (Vol-I)

Chapter 21: Strange Sensations

Pity the sinners who redeem, sinning again by despising the self within.

****

Ishvara carefully put Aryam down, gently freeing her locks of hair from his grip.

Orange sunbeams fell on his face, brightening his sorrel skin. Glistening sparks of rainbow danced on his long eyelashes, pretty parted lips coloured in the crimson shade of blood. A tint of blush accentuated his cheeks. He moved a little in his sleep, pulling the blanket closer and ducking his head beneath.

Ishvara wrapped another blanket over him. "It's cold today."

Much like the nightmare.

She couldn't understand how the man in front of her could be the beast of her haunted dreams. Did Aryamna have a twin? Possibly not.

"But he is Aryamna, while the man from my dreams was Aryam. Aryam and Aryamna– so Aryam and someone who, isn't Aryam?"

She couldn't just assume he had a twin, yet the possibility remained and for now Ishvara put it aside. Joining two and two together, if the man from her nightmare and her husband were the same being, then Ishvara finally unearthed a big clue.

"Not just Aryam. Rajan Aryam he was! Could this Senapati be more complicated than I predicted?"

The silvery haired woman appeared to be a powerful warrior. And the woman who had earlier come dressed in her nightmare in mahogany, she called that lady mother, and quite despicable felt the thread which connected the two. Thus, this Ranavato, the name she had got to know from her previous nightmare had been her mother.

Ishvara shuddered. The people of Gandhar had said she was born of a veshya named Bhagvati.

"It was a lie."

She had to find out if any woman by the name of Ranavato lived in the palace. It didn't seem they had a sweet relationship.

She put her hand over her heart. So much was different. Indeed, Makba was right– what she was recalling drastically contrasted her present reality. If her husband really had been the Rajan then why no one recognised him?

The curse had asked her to be kept safe, away from the sudden blinding light of knowledge. Why would his identity be kept buried?

Aryamna tossed and turned in his sleep. Ishvara removed the curtains, letting the faint dawn feel welcomed in the humble cottage. "Wake up."

Aryamna stretched his arms and yawned. "Can I not sleep a little more? I always wake up early."

Ishvara's fingers reached for his face, caressing him with caution. She felt his warmth, the shine of his eyes growing more intense under her touch. He nudged her with his nose and relished the vulnerable moment, praying no interruption came and popped the fairy-like philia that circled around.

It was little but precious.

"I thought we can go for a walk together. There's a nice river."

Aryamna blushed. "For you, then."

Ishvara didn't want the moment to break. She felt more than just a companion to him now. After the events of last night, her world was more colourful.

Reluctantly she shifted. "I shall go to Mithhi."

Aryamna held her by the wrist. "I am sorry."

Ishvara blinked in confusion.

"I was being too clingy last night," he said. "I am sorry. I won't do it again."