Forbidden

It was an autumn night. Mrinalini was with me! The rustling of the dried leaves was eventually seasoned with the cold west wind which had suddenly loosen itself. It was a full moon night, the Canterbury lake glistered as moonlight fell on it. The trees were standing bare in that cold night! In the midst of such a cold and lifeless atmosphere, both of us were teeming with life. I touched her hand, it had an icy edge. We both were feeling cold but had no other option left. The people in this strange village had no heart and always forced us to work in the fields. The story I am going to tell you, cannot be found in any book. I was there, guarding the fields along with Mrinalini. No one else in the village wanted to volunteer for such a daring job. Five months ago, we were brought in this village by an English man. We came to know after a long time that our parents had died in the catastrophic thunder-storm which burnt our houses and destroyed our families. I was fast asleep then and was quickly carried away by my parents and handed over to this English-man. When I got out from that death-trap, I found myself all alone. I felt like I have been deserted in this virtual hell called earth! But the most interesting fact is that I had never seen and probably have never talked to any girl except my own mother throughout my childhood. Still, I can clearly remember that it was a butterfly which led me to Mrinalini. She was busy binding some haystacks on the field. I did not notice her properly because I was very busy with that beautiful butterfly.

 

Life in this village was a mere struggle for survival, especially for the girls who were brought up only to be wrapped up in meretricious ornaments and were forced to marry at a very tender age. For me this was an island full of difficulties. But one afternoon, I had an encounter with the forbidden one. It was as if my whole heart was painted with the velvet hue of the closing sun and I felt the blood in my veins burning with rage. She was like the gust of monsoon wind which brings relief to the hot and thirsty grasslands. She was that ink which left an indelible mark on the canvas of my mind! But I could never gather enough courage to start a conversation with her. Whenever I saw her, I was perpetually dumbfounded and my nerves fired up throughout my entire body, locking up my jaws. And now after 5 months we have come very close to each other. Our love was a clandestine one and the only few who knew about our secret love were the swans and rabbits which patrolled over the fields at night. We were not brave and did never accept this duty out of loyalty. We accepted this dreadful job as it provided us with the only time when we could stay together. My name is Apollo, but Mrina always called me 'Sooan'. I never opposed to this and did never ask her the reason for calling me with such a name. That night was cold, the stars blazed in the night sky and we two were sitting under this universal roof and were sharing our thoughts. I had cuddled Mrina once, but she had been offended by that and after that I have always tried to maintain a safe distance from her. That night I was explaining to her about my unique star. Actually, that the star wasn't at all unique for the other people. But to me, it was my unique star. I told her that wherever we go, we will always be connected with the help of my unique star. It was unique because Mrina and I always looked at the same star on the night sky. I was sitting on the ground and Mrina was beside me. I held her hand and promised never to leave her for the rest of my life. She always doubted this as we were petty servants to the landlords and could have been carried anywhere at any time! She looked at me, her pupils began to dilate; I was still looking at that star and did not notice that she had come so close to me ! She kept her hand in my heart, and gently pecked me. I had always loved her from the very moment I met her. But she never had any sort of internal feelings for me. But now she has completely changed. I smiled at her and kept gazing at her beautiful eyes. She kept her head on my shoulder and went to sleep. This was how we bravely guarded the fields from trespassers!! But everything changed that night when Mrinalini came to the field and asked me to hug her with all my might. I can still vividly remember that night, it was cold and silent. Her body was burning with heat! She had high fever! I could feel it burning my cold skin. She laid down on the grass and was searching for that unique star. I was taken aback and was worried about her. The moon was absent from the sky that night and the surrounding area was dipped in complete darkness. I pulled her to my lap and slightly unbuttoned her upper garments. She was badly sweating in that cold night! I asked her whether she had any trouble to which she remained silent. I was quite sure that she had fever and hence ran to call the village doctor. It was midnight and everyone was asleep except for two of us. I kept knocking on the doctor's door but there was no reply at all. I was helpless! I returned to Mrina. Her sweat had dried up, and as I came near her, she held my neck, pulled me down and requested me to cuddle her. I started crying and my tear-drops fell on her cheeks giving her some relief. I embraced and cuddled her, she smiled softly and pulled me towards her. I kept holding her in my arms, she kissed me and propped her face into my chest. I was feeling great pain as I held her close to me. I cuddled her again and this time she did not oppose but looked at me and smiled. She told that she wanted to have some sleep. I put my arms around her and held her close to me."Look! Flippy has come,” I said to her. Flippy was a white rabbit who often gave us a visit to make sure that everything was alright. But she did not move, she was as numb and still as any creature could ever be. Amazingly the glowing fireflies gathered around us and I fell asleep. I could feel her breath over my skin, it was warm! Next morning the doctor came running; the landlord was also present. What happened after that is still a mystery for me. I never met Mrina after that night but came to know that she had died that night in my arms. I was shifted to a new place by my master!  Tonight I am standing here deep inside a mine, waiting in the long queue to get my food. I am bound by these damp walls. My unique star has become a distant dream for me. From my very small age, I have lost my parents, I have lost my Mrina too. My only regret is that I could never bid them goodbye. Both of them went for away from me when I was asleep! Deep in sleep, unconscious, lost in another world...

 

                 “Shatter these damp walls                     oh my father,

                   Banish this choking pain                        altogether.

                   Take me to my unique star,

                   Where my lost people are! "