String of Pearls

Amber

"There is something intimidating about happiness. It casts a rosy veil making everything look easy and lovely while the catastrophe lurks inside, clad in peaceful white, hidden in plain sight. Happiness makes you do things that you shouldn't even try. 

It compels you to shed your armour, nudges you to destroy the safe wall, and reach out to the alluring unknown call. 

Bards and poets relate happy times to a typical cheerful day where joy fills the sight and the sun smiles bright. 

What no one describe, my lady, is that the notorious sun shall shine so bright and rob your sight. In your defence, you are in the height of delight and how can a mere little girl know that grand plan of the Almight? 

Now spins the wheel of fate, setting everything under the starless night. 

You will rise with the dare of a strong kite but as the pink veil slowly lifts, you will find yourself all alone, pushed to mend the plights you own but have never known until then. 

My dear lady! Destiny is taking shape and you have nowhere to escape."

The strangely dressed woman stopped speaking and shook her head violently. Suddenly she opened her almond-shaped amber eyes and gave me a hard stare for one whole minute chilling my bones before collapsing on the floor.

-------------

She blinked at us as if she is seeing us for the first time, I couldn't help myself and reciprocated her hard blinks. The weight of her words still resonating in my head, i kept staring at her while she tried to take huge gulps of water but ended up spilling most of them on her monochrome clothes.

Words deserted me, my wet tongue felt parched, lips quivered and brows fought to relax but tied in a painful knot in the centre of my forehead. It felt like someone was robbing me of the outlandish calmness my senses have grown used to for the past ten days in this magical palace of Indraprastha.

A lithe feminine figure stirred impatiently beside me, I turned to her side only for the knots of my brows grow severe.

Draped in her iconic blue silk, scantly adorned, curly mane with a tinge of burning red competing with her blue-dark skin in the unannounced contest of adding glamour to the oval face, Draupadi looked regal and relentless, picturesque and precious - all at the same time. 

With unearthly grace, she stood up in one quick motion after a broken sigh and scanned the room. I staggered, tripped on my saree, and struggled to keep my elaborate outfit close to my body trying to stand.

Draupadi held my slipping form tight in reflex without looking at me and held my hands until  I steadied as if she expected I would happily let myself fall anytime now. She was still scanning the room, her unblinking eyes touching every object around us until they fell on a fat red pouch, its contents tied carelessly with several gold ribbons on a giant table at the farthest lighted corner of the room. She gave me a cursory nod, swept through the floor, picked up the pouch, and threw it towards the still sitting, confused-looking woman who spoke spooky things just a while ago.

---------------------

"My servants say she is a master soothsayer. The Rajasuya ceremony duties are taking a toll on me. Let's indulge in something interesting this evening!" Draupadi said hours ago with a strangely-dressed woman tailing her. If only I had known then that this woman would make me uncomfortable with vaguely worded sentences that she claims as prophecies, I would have tried dodging Draupadi's company and escaped to the solace of gardens.