VAIBHAVI (Soulmate, Twin Flame, Karmic Love) - Chapter 1: The Wait

Chapter 1: The Wait

It was late in the evening, Vaibhavi got up from her mattress in the small office room and looked outside the window. She was anxiously waiting for important news from the Ministry of Trade and Finance and expected to see a messenger any time now. ”Why are they taking so long to decide?” she wondered. 

She had spent the entire day in anticipation, but now the suspense was growing into her. She tried to keep herself engaged in her daily work of examining the supplies brought in by the traders far and wide, approving the prices, and closing the deals for relevant parties. But, today, she wasn't able to concentrate on anything. She was counting each passing moment agonizingly and waiting for that special news to arrive soon. She again got up and went to the window to look for some action on the dusty roads. After a few minutes, she saw a horse rider fast approaching her office. She strained her eyes to look in the direction from where the dust was striding. As the horse rider was nearing, she could see his figure now. He was a royal messenger she was expecting the whole day.

The messenger rode into her office compound. He clasped the saddles and stopped at the entrance. The animal raised its head and came to a halt instantly. Before the messenger could get off the horse, Vaibhavi came rushing outside into the muddy compound. It had just rained in the afternoon, and the soil was still damp with poodles of water everywhere. Vaibhavi splashed her foot in them without thinking and dashed toward the messenger. When she reached him, she gasped for breath, half due to the sprint she just ran and half due to the excitement. ” Give it to me,” she demanded. The messenger was surprised to see Vaibhavi in that state; he carefully released the note from his bag and presented it to her. She didn't bother to go inside the office to read the letter. With heightened impatience, she tore open the seal and read the message within. 

She was highly delighted to read the news that the King had selected her for a foreign trade trip next month. Vaibhavi read the golden embossed letter repeatedly and couldn't believe that they had made a selection for the trade business trip. She had never been on a trip abroad since she joined the court. Out of joy, she jumped on the puddle, holding the message close to her heart, and giggled at the messenger. He, however, whined as she had splashed the dirty poodle water on his pajamas and boots. He kicked the mud off, and took leave on his horse.

Vaibhavi looked at his departing figure and came to her senses. She slowly walked back towards her office, now careful about the poodles, and thought,” there are so many things to take care of for this trip.” She had never been on an international trip before and didn't know how to proceed with the formalities. ”What should I do? ” she thought to herself as she walked in to clean her dirty wet feet. She went to the washroom inside the office and poured cold water from the bucket on her muddy feet thinking about the trip. And like a flash of lightning, Raya’s name popped up. He was a dear friend and was her collaborator for some time. She dropped the bucket and rushed to her desk in the corner of the office, sat on the mattresses with cold undried feet, and started writing,

Dear Raya, 

I hope things are good at your end. I have good news for you. I am coming to Aishwarya Nagar for the whole winter and would like your help during this period. I am looking forward to meeting you soon. Take care until we meet.

Yours Loving,

Vaibhavi

She carefully folded the note and placed it inside the metal container. She called her servant and handed it over to him. ” Make sure to deliver it to the international messengers tomorrow morning” she instructed him. He nodded obediently and went outside the office carrying her message in the sealed metal container. Tomorrow morning he would go to the district hub where mails from all across the districts were collected, distributed and sent for further deliveries. 

After sending the servant away with the message, Vaibhavi again pushed herself into the cozy mattress in the office lazily and drifted off into daydreaming about the trip. 

She remembered herself sitting on her father’s lap intently observing how he negotiated with the foreign merchants for the price that earned profits in selling the commodity items like Jute, Cotton, Medicinal barks, etc., And how he decided the price for niche items from faraway lands for buying silk, herbs, perfumes, and other exotic stones and jewels. Everybody far and wide was aware of his bargaining and negotiation skills. Vaibahvi’s father was a renowned trade advisor and a very successful merchant in the Mansab province.

Vaibhavi had picked those traits from her father. She was vigilant and aware of the surrounding kingdoms' happenings. She was also knowledgeable about the demographics and the prevailing mass psychology used for trade and business.

She also remembered her mother’s disapproval of her getting too much involved with the foreign merchants. She vividly remembered her mother calling her inside the house each time she sneaked out to be with her father and observe him in the house veranda where he would set up his small office during the day.

”Vaibhavi, come here and oil your dirty hair.” Her mother used to drag her inside the veranda house, where she sat deeply engrossed, observing her father talking to silk robe merchants with funny feathers and mesmerizing fragrances. She got up from her place and followed her mother unwillingly inside the house when the nagging got too much to handle, and it created a scene in front of the customers. 

Vaibhavi’s mother was fully aware of Vaibhavi’s stunning features as she was growing up. She had mostly inherited those from her grandmother, Vaibhavi’s father's mother. Her grandmother was a gorgeous woman of her time, and the neighborhood knew about her charm. There was a rumor that the king himself had pursued her grandmother. But, nobody knows what the actual story was. Her grandmother married a small-time trader later who had a job under the King’s market supervisor. The King was present for the wedding and had lavishly gifted the couple with a precious seven stone necklace and had also stitched a designer robe exclusively for her. The young bride shyly accepted the gifts and kept them securely in her house treasury. They were never worn again but displayed to everyone as a proud memory from the King himself.

The long tresses that Vaibhavi had now resembled her grandmother's long hair. The golden-brown complexion and big black eyes were the talks of the town. Vaibhavi had one more specialty that never missed her cautious mother’s eye. Vaibhavi got extra sensual and exuded her sexiness in front of the foreign merchants. She sat in a particular position or would play with her hair or robe in a suggesting way that would get the merchant’s attention. Her mother never missed this act and was very displeased with Vaibhavi’s behavior. But she was oblivious of the things that she was doing. ”Amma, I didn't do anything wrong. If the merchants look at me, how am I to be blamed? I was combing my hair as usual on the Veranda.” she would reply innocently, holding to the pillar and digging her foot into the mud floor. Her mother understood that this charm of hers was inborn, and she didn't do it purposely. But at the same time, her maternal heart worried about the consequences of this alluring act and how Vaibhavi might get into trouble because of this. ”Oh! Wretched Vaibhavi, couldn't you be like one of the normal simpleton girls? How will you help yourself from not getting hurt? Good lord, please look after her.” her mother muttered as usual with a frown on her forehead and kept oiling Vaibhavi’s long beautiful hair.

Vaibhavi smiled at her childhood thoughts and slowly drifted off to a peaceful sleep with excitement and joy in her heart on the cold mattresses as the room’s oil lamp flickered and went out filling the room with darkness.