Sahithi's Adventures

Advice

21-10-1724, 10 pm.

Sahithi looked around her and was relieved to notice that no one was watching her. Everyone, including the one who had stripped her, was busy admiring the painting that depicted her shame vividly. ‘Time to escape’. She thought as she quickly gathered her clothes and crept towards the open window. She reached it with her clothes in her hands; she could get dressed when she was outside. She glanced back furtively to check; they were still discussing the painting. It was as if they, or perhaps god, wanted her to escape. She looked down the window – it was very low – she could simply climb out of it. ‘It’s a good thing this room is on the ground floor otherwise it would have been to escape their clutches so easily.’ She thought as she threw her clothes out of the window, climbing out quickly.

She crouched low, for fear of nighttime guards patrolling the area. The coast seemed to be clear in this part of the building. She found a thick bush that was high enough for her to hide; she quickly crept in with her clothes. She closed her eyes and waited for a few minutes; she needed her eyes at optimum visual capacity if she was to escape by using the darkness. While she waited, she felt her clothes; the long silk skirt, the blouse and the voni ( a long pallu which is tucked near the waist and draped in the front over the blouse). She had forgotten the underskirt, but she couldn’t go back for it. She would have to manage with what she had. She quickly restored her dignity again and peeked through the bushes, making sure there was no one pursuing her.

She held her breath when she heard the sound of footsteps; someone was coming towards her. With her heart in her mouth, she hid in the bush again, praying fervently that the person would go away. She was terrified when the person stopped near the bush and spoke. “As if she was waiting for me to catch her! Drat my rotten luck!” he collapsed on the grass in despair with his head in his hands. “Where did the b***h go?” he looked around searching for possible escape routes. Her heart was beating so fast that she was afraid he could hear it. She almost bolted out of the bush in her fear; she had a tough time staying still despite her danger. The chances of getting caught were more if she broke her disguise rather than if she stayed where she was. She waited with bated breath as he cursed himself, muttering to himself frantically. He seemed to be more terrified than her – it was something that gave her hope – but she did not dare to lower her guard. He might be trying to fool her into a false sense of security.

“It was in the temple that I saw her first. So let me start from there.” She almost laughed out loud at those words, but she controlled herself to stay quiet. Her ordeal was not over yet. She waited for a few more minutes after the footsteps receded, she didn’t want to take any chances. She peeked through the bush, making sure there was no one in the vicinity, and came out gingerly, ready to bolt like a deer at the slightest sign of danger. She wouldn’t have gone far though due to the restrictions imposed by the silk skirt that came down to her ankles. She looked around, trying to decide which direction to take. The bush pointed to an old, unused path that seemed to lead into a thick forest. She checked once more before hurrying along the path into the unknown dangers that the forest presented for her.

The path snaked in and out for a while, finally stopping at a dead end. “Why does this feel similar?” she thought. “Where did I see it?” she racked her brains for a while and suddenly she remembered. “This is the same place that Neelu brought me when I was visiting her. She took me to an underground, secret temple.” She breathed a deep sigh of relief. “If I remember correctly, I came here when I opened that strange bag of chocolates inside the temple. So, if I can get into that temple, I can try and go back to my timeline.” She went closer to the place she thought was the secret entrance. “Now, how did Neelu open it?” she glanced back to make sure no one had followed her. Her eyes went wide in shock when all she could see was thick foliage with no sign of a path. It spooked her. “Find that entrance fast, Sahi. This doesn’t feel right.” She took a deep breath trying to recall the actions of her friend Neelu when she opened the door. “What had she done? She had placed her hand on the ground.” She felt along the ground near the bushes till she felt something hard like a depression. She placed her hand on it. “Three times clockwise”, she muttered to herself, moving her hand on the depression three times clockwise. “Three times anti-clockwise.” The depression turned anti-clockwise three times and then – the ground gave way revealing the secret passageway. “Thank you Neelu!” she thought as she descended into the torch lit passage, glancing back to see the door slide shut.

She took a deep breath and walked confidently into the temple, stopping before the idol of the goddess, folding her palms in prayer. “Thank you for bringing me here, mother. Please guide me to a safe place or at least send me back home.” She prayed. It was some time before she opened her eyes to another amazing scene. A sage was sitting cross-legged in meditation. He was wearing a saffron dhoti, and had a saffron shawl wrapped around him. He rested his left hand on a dandam – a small stick used as a hand rest during meditation. On his right side there was a kamandalam – a small vessel with a snout to hold water from the nearest holy river. He was counting beads when she looked at him and opened his eyes as if he felt her looking at him. His eyes showered kindness – everything about him was holy; he sent off an aura of peace and power that was reassuring. She folded her palms in greeting. “Greetings, maharshi (holy sage)!”

“Deerghaayushmaan bhava!(live long!)” he blessed. “Sit, child.” She obeyed, her mind full of questions. “I know you have a lot of questions, but before I answer them, you have to make a choice.” She looked alarmed. “Don’t worry. I can send you back home or I can keep you in this timeline and help you fulfill the deepest desires of your heart. Choose well, for I will answer only those questions that are related to your choice. You can take your time as no one will find this temple till I want.” Sahithi’s mind churned with thoughts that threatened to overwhelm her mind. It took her some time to compose herself and organize her thoughts. Then she asked.

“Maharshi, can I ask a few questions to decide?”

“Ask, child.”

“Will my parents stop their restrictions if I go back to my timeline?”

“No.”

“Will my life change if I go back home?”

“No.”

“Will I be able to marry a man that I might love before I am married?”

“No.”

“Umm, Can I live as I like here, in this timeline?”

“Yes.”

“Then I will be here.” She said decisively. “In this timeline.”

“If you want to live in this timeline, you need to know a few things.”

“Like?”

“First, you need to follow the mores of society or you will find yourself either banished or killed. Society here is a lot stricter on women than you are used to.” He then proceeded to explain to her all the things she had to keep in mind to lead a safe and secure life. He ended by cautioning her against the danger she would face and how to get out of those situations. “That is all you need to know.”

“Maharshi, can I ask you something if you don’t mind?”

“Yes.”

“I felt aroused when they were removing my clothes and humiliating me. Is something wrong with me?”

“That, my child, is a remnant of the result of your actions in your past life. You have to live out what you did and what you desired deeply in your past life. Now, it is you who has to decide whether you want to let past karma control your present or rewrite your karma with your future actions.”

“I don’t understand, maharshi.”

“See, it’s like that. Suppose you want to experience the deepest desires of your life, giving importance to your s****l desires, then you will be able to do so at a great cost in your old age. You may or may not have friends left to support you when you need help the most. But, if you wish to lead a virtuous life, you will have help when you need it.”

“Is it wrong for a woman to fulfill her desires?”

“No. but it is safer when you do that with your husband.”

“Will I be able to find a husband who will fulfill all my desires?”

“Yes, but he can fulfill either your bodily needs or your spiritual needs.”

“Then can you help me find someone who can ….ummm…..fulfill my bodily needs?”

“Thadhastu!”

“Dhanyosmi Maharshi!” (thank you, o sage!) she closed her eyes in gratitude. When she opened them she was at the edge of some forest.