A girl—seemingly of age 13 or 14—walked towards the river with hesitation, with a baby covered in red cloth. The tears were threatening to come out of the eyes of the girl anytime. For a second, she couldn’t help but just look at the radiant face of the sleeping baby.
The old woman—most likely a maid—came near her and caressed her head. She said something and brought attention to the box in her other hand.
The girl simply nodded and said nothing. She put the baby in the box with great care and took the box in her hand. The box was commodious and smooth. It was made of wicker works spread over with soft sheets and furnished with a soft pillow. Its surface was laid over with wax and it was encased in a rich cover.
She took her hands off the box and let it flow in the river. She took a deep breath and looked at the Sun. She did the only thing she could do, close her hands and pray.
…
The river kept on flowing and the baby in there started crying.
The box went along with the flow and crossed many rivers.
The river was now not as fast anymore. But the baby did not stop crying.
Suddenly, there came a couple. The woman noticed the crying voice of a baby coming out of the box and pointed out to the man standing beside him.
The man immediately jumped into the river and brought that box to his wife.
They opened the box and looked at each other.
They took the child with golden armour out of the box and discussed among themselves.
The man nodded to his wife and said-
“We’ll call him |<@₹(\)@.”
******
[MC’s pov, 5 year old]
I woke up with a tear in my eye. Nothing unusual. This has been happening for a while. Whenever I see this weird dream of the child being abandoned by his mother, I feel sad.
Also, what was that name at the end?
“Ah, Vasu, you woke up?”
While I was lost in my thoughts, my mother had come up.
My name is Vasusena, but she just calls me Vasu.
I coughed to clear up my throat and replied, “Yes, mother.”
My eyes went towards her bloated stomach. It seems that I will have a new sibling any time soon.
Father should also be coming to the village soon. But even if he doesn't come here, it's fine. He is mostly not present at home for the most part anyway.
There was a strange look in the eyes of my mother. I realised that it was the tear in my eye.
In a hurry, I wiped away the tear, but that made it stand out even more.
“Were you crying? Was it 'that' dream again?” Mother’s concerned voice fell into my ear.
“Ah! This?” I said in a ‘nonchalant’ manner, not wanting to give her anything to worry about in this condition, “It’s nothing. It was just that there was something in my eye when I woke up.”
Not convinced, she asked further, “Are yo-“
“It’s okay. Don’t worry. It's no big deal,” Not giving her a chance to let this conversation go further, I said, “You should be taking care of your health right now.”
“Also, why hasn’t father come home yet? He said that he would be here sooner,” I complained as if I was ‘disappointed’ with my father.
Of course, I knew why he might have been late. My mother had told me countless times.
“He is the Charioteer of Lord Bhīshma. There might have been somewhere that Lord Bhīshma wants to go. So it might take a while before he comes back.” And here I heard it one more time.
Lord Bhīshma is the protector of the Kuru Kingdom. He is the strongest warrior in the world right now. So it was an honour for father to be his charioteer.
"Yeah, yeah. I know, I know.” I waved my hand.
She chuckled and said, “Go, get ready. You should keep a habit of getting ready before Sunrise.”
“Yes~,” I said and ran in the northwest.
The river Champa starts from the southwest part of the City and flows northward—with a slight inclination for the east—for the most part. But then it takes a sudden turn and goes eastwards and merges with the Ganga river on the northern boundary of the city.
The northwest side—where the river takes a turn—is used by mainly women and children to bath. Men prefer to bathe in the northern part.
After a while, I slowed down and started slowly walking and went toward a particular tree.
I broke a twig from the Babool tree and started chewing on it. It keeps the teeth clean and makes them strong.
Of course, I could use the twig from Neem Tree. Buut… It’s so far away compared to the Babool tree. And the Babool tree is also in the way.
It is definitely not because the Neem tree’s twigs taste really bitter. Yeah, that’s definitely not the real reason.
“Radheya, come here.”
I looked in the direction where the voice was coming from and saw grandma Shanti was calling me.
Keeping the twig in my head, I went towards her.
It is difficult to avoid her.
“Did you just wake up, Radheya?” She asked.
Everyone except my parents calls me Radheya. [A/N: Radheya means “Son of Radha”]
Usually, people are referred with their father’s name. One would expect that they will call me Adhirathi, based on my father’s name Adhiratha.
But since I live with my mother only, they call me Radheya.
I like this fact.
Recently, my attachment for this name has increased. Mother is going to give birth to another brother, so I won’t be the only Radheya.
I don’t know how to feel about that. My mother won’t be my mother alone.
But I will also have a little brother to take care of.
Keeping my thoughts aside, I answered, “Yeah, I just woke up, grandma.”
Although grandma is our neighbour, she treats everyone as if they are their own kids and grandkids.
“Sigh… You are a boy. You should wake up sooner. You should be the first one to wake up. Also, start doing some exercise. Your father is the charioteer of Lord Bhīshma. One day, you will also have to go on the battlefield as a charioteer. You should not be lazy and….” She kept on scolding.
Well, I don’t know how to feel about her treating everyone as her own kids and grandkids.
One would expect that she is kind to everyone. But here, she is strict with everyone and rebukes them without missing any opportunities.
Furthermore, she always has a lot to say.
“.. And you should also store some Neem leaves in the house if you haven’t already. It might rain today, and all the leaves might get wet. You should do some of the work so that your mother can rest. Also, your-”
“I will go and do it immediately,” I said and ran away, not giving her a chance to say anything more.
Her instruction may never end if you just stand there.
“But you have a Neem tree in your backyard. Why are you running in that direction???” I could hear grandma yelling at me. “*Sigh* This generation~. So much energy. Can’t even stand for a while.” She shook her head and looked around—most likely searching for another target to talk to.
…
Dap… dap… dap… plop!
‘That baby was kind of similar to me.’
‘It also had a golden armour, but it looked very thick and had lots of design on it.’
‘Could that baby be someone related to me?’
Dap… dap… dap… dap… plop!
“Hey, Radheya, what are you doing?”
Vrushali was standing beside me and I hadn’t noticed her till she spoke.
She was the same age as me, yet her head reach only up to my shoulders.
I shouldn’t compare height with anyone, since no one is as tall as me around my age.
“Hm! I was just skipping the stones,” I said as I put one stone in my right hand from a tiny collection of them in my left hand.
“I can obviously see that. I’m asking why are you here alone. Why are you not playing with brother and other boys,” She explained her intrigue.
I threw the stone,
Dap… dap… dap…
“Ah- That. Well, they are no fun to play. I just find them annoying. And-”
Plop!
“Wait! What are you doing here?” I asked back, not wanting to talk about that topic more.
“AH! I totally forgot!” Vrushali exclaimed she facepalmed, “Grandma told me to find you and ask if you picked some Neem leaves.”
“Oh, that?”
Damn, I forgot.
“She said that you must have forgotten about it and muttered something about the new generation.”
I threw the 2-3 stones in my left hand on the ground.
I replied, "Well, I was about to do it soon.”
She said as she looked above at the sky filled with dark clouds, “You should hurry. It looks like it may rain soon.”
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Alright,” I said and started walking towards the house.
“Also-”
I looked back.
“Hm?”
“Umm… what was it? I had something to say. But I can’t remember.” the topic had slipped her mind.
“Well, if you forgot, it was nothing important, to begin with.” I shrugged.
“Hmm... You are right. It was probably nothing important.” She murmured, with a finger on her chin.
***
The Neem tree in my backyard is big, but climbing it was super easy, barely an inconvenience.
Of course, the thanks goes to my butt who lowered the damage on the fall during practise.
I started picking out leaves and dropping them on the ground. It hadn’t rained yet, so the ground was dry.
*rumble*
It seemed like it was going to rain anytime and it will be a heavy rain as usual.
After it rains, we will have to burn these leaves to kill all the mosquitoes.
Let alone mosquitoes, even I would stay away from this if it wasn’t my own house. Just smelling it will make you feel like you drunk some bitter medicine.
After plucking out enough leaves, I dropped to the ground and picked them up.
While going around the house, I found something standing in front of the house.
Since I went to the backyard first, I didn’t noticed it before.
It was a chariot.
Could it be of my father? Only he parks the chariot here.
This was probably what Vrushali had forgotten.
Well, this is a city of Suta/Charioteers. Parked chariot is a very common sight.
Although late, it is good that father has arrived before mother gives the birth to the baby she is holding for so many months.
My attentions was brought onto the voice coming out of the window.
Though instead of joyful mood for the arrival of my father, there was sound of sobbing.
After putting the leaves inside the chariot, I jumped and held onto the vertical bars of the window.
My mother could be seen crying as she hugged father tightly.
“There, there. Don’t cry,” father said.
Did he brought some bad news from the capital?
Or is that he has to go to war as the charioteer of Lord Bhishma?
After taking a deep breathe to calm down, mother spoke.
“This must be a sign from the gods. They must be doing this as a signals to let him know about the truth,” mother said with fear and concern mixed in her voice.
Father tried to argue, “We don’t know about that. Maybe it is just a coincidence.”
What are they talking about?
“Having the same dream over and over for more than a week is not a coincidence.”
Dream? For a week? They are talking about me.
“I’m just-”
“Worried, I know,” father finished her sentence for her, “And I also know why.”
What is it about my dream that they know and didn’t tell me? And why is my mother worried?
“But if it is the will of the creator, who are we to resist. Let the nature take its course.”
Mother didn’t say anything. Though she still seems to be thinking about it.
But why was she worried about it. If she knows something, why not just tell me.
Father continued, “We intended to tell him later on anyway. It doesn’t matter much whether he finds out sooner or later.”
"He is and always will be our son. We love him and he loves us back. And nothing will change that matter.”
“So what if we are not his birth parent.”
WHAT??
*RUMBLE*
The sky broke and water started pouring.
My brain didn’t have any energy to holding onto the window anymore as I dropped to the ground.
My mind went blank as I set there on the ground, with tears coming out my eyes.
I don’t know how to feel, but it feels like someone is crushing my heart.
There was unbearable pain the chest as if it was a leaf being crumpled by a hand.
It was nice that rain was hiding my tears.
I stood up and went back up to the tree.
Right now, I didn’t want to be seen by anyone. Just be alone.. For some time.
Even at this time, there was thought of what would my parents think, if they find me in such a situation.
…
Crying your heart out sure makes you feel more refreshed. Highly recommended.
I think I understand my feelings more now.
Why did I felt betrayed? It was not because mother didn’t tell me that I was adopted.
My “real” mother abandoned me as soon as I was born.
She might have her reason, maybe a good one too.
But does it really matter anymore?
She made her decision. She doesn’t want to be my mother.
Now that I can think clearly, I understand why mother didn’t tell me.
She was just afraid that I would treat her differently or even worse, abandon her.
Well, she was right. I am not gonna treat her same way.
Because I appreciate and love her even more.
So what if she is not my birth mother. She never treated me any differently.
Even when she is going to give birth to another child very soon, she is worried more about me.
She never treated me as another child.
I’m not sure if I can even repay back all the love she given me in this life.
But I will spend my whole life to do so.
While I was thinking about it, rain—which had tempered down by now— stopped, and there was sunshine again.
I looked into the eyes of the Sun and made a resolution as I wiped my tears.
…
“Are you listening?” Radha’s voice came out of the kitchen.
Adhiratha replied, “Yes, I’m listening, dear,” as he entered the house with some leaves in his hands.
“Go find Vasu. The food is ready,” Radha said, “And go check if someone else have stocked some Neem leaves. We will need it.”
Radha came out of the kitchen, surprised to see the leaves in the hands.
Adhiratha explained, “There were some in the Chariot. Maybe it was Vasusena who put them there.”
“Then why is he not here? And when did he put them?”
“I don’t know.” Adhiratha shrugged, “As for where he is, he must be still playing with his friends.”
While they were talking, Vasusena came into the house slowly.
“Oh, there you are,” Radha knelt down and cleaned his soaked body with a cloth, “Look at you. Why did you keep on playing even though it was raining so much. Come back early next time. What if you fell ill.”
Vasusena sniffed the sweet smell coming from kitchen and asked, “Did you make Halwa today?
She then looked at Vasusena with tender eyes and said, “Yes, I made some Halwa.”
“Yayy!! I love halwa. I had a dream where I was eating Halwa but woke up and found out that it was all an illusion,” said Vasusena with excitement.
There was a slight astonishment in Radha’s face.
“How did you know that I want to eat this mother? You are definitely the best mother in the world.”
Vasusena said gave a long kiss on his mother’s cheek and tightly hugged her.
Radha couldn’t say anything as she tried to keep her emotions in check, not wanting to worry her son.
Both of them needed this hug. So for a while they silently stayed like that.
“Umm… how about we eat the food before it gets cold.” Adhiratha interrupted this beautiful mother and son moment.
“Oh, father. You were here too? How come I didn’t notice you? Maybe it is because you are never at home. Hmm… that must be why.” Vasusena nodded as if he had said something profound.
“…”
“You should have stayed silent, dear. You can forget about another child for next 2 years.”
“…”
Not knowing how to counter this situation, Adhiratha just shook his head and accepted the defeat.
“You pair of mother and son.” He couldn’t help but chuckle.
Both mother and son joined in with their laughter.
“Alright, I will put out the food. It has been so long since we all three ate together.”
“And, Vasu,” Radha looked straight into the eyes of Vasusena and said, “If you ever get such dream, or any other kind of dream, tell me. So I know what to prepare.”
“En. I will, mom.” Vasu said with a bright smile.
‘Sorry, mother, for lying to you. I just don’t want you to be worried. Maybe in the future, I’ll tell you everything.’
'Hopefully, I won’t be seeing that dream again.’
*****
I had that dream again.
But there was something strange about it this time.
The reason why I never suspected that baby to me was because I could see that couple’s faces, and they definitely did not look like my parents.
But that is not the strange part.
The strange part is what they say in my dream.
“We’ll call him Karna.”
Karna? Is that baby someone else? Because after all…
“I am not Karna.”