The Village Girl

Chapter Thirteen - [Seetha]

An entire month had passed, and I counted the days. Though a month and a few weeks ago my life was exactly the same... I suddenly felt lonely now.

To keep my mind off of Aaryans absence, I had taken up more tasks at home and I'm the village as well. Our villages bharatanatyam teacher had injured herself, so I took on her classes, teaching her students four days of the weeks. I always loved dancing, being one of our teachers oldest students. My father was always proud of my successes in bharatanatyam, but knowing my love came for the stories told in our dances rather than the dancing itself.

Bharatanatyam was the art of storytelling through dance... and that made it the best art form. So I happily took over my teachers classes until she got better.

Then there was Maadu.

My pregnant cow kept me busier than ever. I wanted so badly for her baby to be born without a problem, so I took extra care of her now. Thankfully, there were many farmers in the village who knew what to do and they gave me all the advice I needed to make sure that Maadu would have no problems at all.

So during that first month I was kept busy, but despite being busy, it was during the second month of his absence that I became restless.

And so were my parents... my nineteenth birthday nearly six months away now.

After a long, but productive day, I returned home exhausted. My father, it seemed, had just arrived home as well.

He was covered in dirt, as he often was after a long day of working, so when I walked into our home and saw him take a seat and sigh in exhaustion, I smiled. "Would you like me to prepare a bath for you, pa?"

My very tall, rather young looking father smiled at me. "I would like that, thank you."

My mother had already prepared some tea, so I grabbed the pot and walked over to him with a cup. "Thank you, child."

I smiled before crouching down on the floor in front of him. I looked very much like my father, sharing his thick, black hair and tanned skin. The only big difference was that his eyes were a lovely shade of brown and mine were black. "So how was your day?"

"Probably not as busy as yours," he joked before taking a sip.

I chuckled.

"What have you been up to? How are the dance classes coming along?"

My father was, in my opinion, the best father. This opinion of mine came simply from the fact that he trusted me. Many fathers in this village did not trust their daughters. They did not treat their daughters as they would treat their sons. Not all, of course... but enough of them to be concerning.

These men thought of their daughters as burdens... baggage that needs to be married off as soon as possible. Or maybe even objects that could be sold for more land and riches.

Like Lalitha's father had thought of her.

She was lucky that her husband was a good man. But she was unlucky that that same husband passed.

And then that horrible father did not want her back... worried she'd be too much trouble for him.

No.

My father would never do that.

He was a religious man, believing that men should treat women the way Shiva treats his Parvati. With love and respect.

The goddess of knowledge was Saraswathi, a woman... and so he taught me how to read the same way he taught my brothers.

The goddess of wealth was Lakshmi, a woman... and so he let me work the lands and earn a profit just as he let my brothers.

The goddess of power was Durga, another woman... so he truly believed that I had a kind of strength in me that may have even surpassed my brothers.

And finally, Parvati, Shivan's wife, though destined to be with him, chose him for herself. And so my father respected my decision to pick a husband for myself.

And I loved him for all of that.

My mother was a lucky woman, as were my sisters and I. We had something that most women in this village didn't have... freedom.

My father often called me his 'gold.' Not for the reason why other men would call women gold, often referring to their skin colour.

My father called me his golden girl because he saw true value in me... value that seemed to grow as time passed. He would never just throw me away.

I loved my father very much. And I knew that everything he did, he did out of true love. So I respected his words and his decisions... and I always hoped that I would marry a man who thought the way my father did.

Not a simple minded man.

Maybe a man like Aaryan.

"Well, child?" My father pushed.

I blinked. "Well, the teacher is beginning to feel better, so I'm sure she will be taking her classes back soon."

My father leaned back in his chair and sipped his tea. "If you enjoy teaching the classes so much then why don't you ask her if you can help her, even after she gets better?"

I thought about that. "I think I just might."

"And what about Maadu? How is she?"

"Well, pa," I smiled. "I am excited for her baby but we have quite some time left."

"Another cow would be good for the farm," my father said, nodding.

"Big brother said the same thing."

"Did you find which bull impregnated her?" He asked. "It would help to know. The fiercer the better."

I chuckled. "I think it was Uncle Kannan's monster," I said. "But the beast wouldn't look me in the eye. I think the big guy was too frightened of what I might do to him if I found out the truth."

My father let out a big, hearty laugh. "You?" he asked, leaning forward to look at me. "You couldn't even hurt a little ant."

I gave him a silly grin before standing up. I pulled the pallu of my sari around me and tucked it into my petticoat. "Let me get that bath ready."

Suddenly, he cleared his throat, and that made me look back at him. The sudden serious expression on his face worried me a little as I realized that he had more to say. "Yes, pa?"

He hesitated, and though there was seriousness on his face, he looked a little embarrassed. "Your mother..." he started, and I immediately knew what this was about. "She is quite concerned about the fact that you have yet to find someone for yourself."

I felt my cheeks begin to burn.

"She mentioned that there is someone who has piqued your interest... a warrior?"

My cheeks were burning even more. "Yes, pa."

"But he's gone."

"He'll be back."

"Seetha-"

I was starting to see what they were worried about.

"He will be," I repeated. I held out my arm, revealing the bangle. "He gave me this."

My father looked at the bangle, he didn't seem surprised by this. He had seen it before, I had seen him take a glance at it, but he never asked questions. "Jewelry doesn't mean-"

I rolled my eyes. "Pa, you know that's not what I meant."

He let out a breath. "You believe this man?"

I nodded.

"And how long are you willing to wait for him?" He asked. "Your mother is worried."

"He said he'll be back soon... he just had to go back home for some time."

"Home where?"

I hesitated.

That was a good question.

The royal family lived in Aathikara... so it must have been there. "Aathikara."

My fathers eyes widened for a moment as he sipped his tea. "That is very far." He watched my face for a moment and then sighed.

"What are you thinking, pa?"

He kept silent before setting his tea aside. "You are my smartest child, Seetha, and I trust your choices... but child... a life of a warrior is a difficult one. I have yet to meet him so I cannot judge his character, but I believe he must have captivated you with his words... and you cannot let that be all you look at."

"But I trust him."

"I am sure he is a good man, but there is a lot you need to look at. For starters... I know you young people don't like to think about it, but marriage isn't just about you and him. If you marry him, you must marry into his family. His parents will become your parents. His siblings, yours. I will not allow my daughter to marry into a family that will not treat her right."

I knew my father was right... but I wondered what he would think if I said that Aaryan's parents were the king and queen of Chandraba.

"And then there's the charts... we have to go to the priest and see if your stars match."

I chuckled.

"And then there's the simple fact that his is a warrior," he looked at me carefully. "My child... there are a lot of risks in marrying a warrior-"

"I know," I said, "Ma talked to me about that already."

My father sighed, almost sounding like he thought I didn't understand.

"I do understand, Pa, really... and maybe once you meet him you'll realize why I like him so much."

"And how well do you know him anyways?"

I felt embarrassed. "Not well enough," I said honestly.

His face showed the hints of worry, but then he smiled. "I trust you," he repeated, "But Seetha, I will not give you my approval until I have met him and judged him myself. Do you understand?"

I leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Pa, I would not marry him without your approval." I said. I really meant it. My father's approval meant everything to me.

He gave me a relieved smile. After a moment of staying silent, he spoke up again. "What is his name?"

"Aaryan."

My father nodded. "A good name. It means well known and noble... or respected."

Aaryan was all of those. If only my father knew.

And with that, I walked off to prepare his bath, feeling a little embarrassed.

---

It was after the third month that I too began to worry. I didn't worry because I thought he wouldn't come... it was more so because he was starting to seem more and more unreal. I wondered if he was ever even here.

I didn't stop thinking about him any less, but I also began to wonder how much of what had happened between us was real. My mind was wild... I really wouldn't be surprised if I had made much of it up.

It was just another day, I had woken up early to make Maasai comfortable before leaving to my dance teachers him to teach the dance classes to her students.

The girls danced beautifully and it was a good class. My job was to sing the songs and dance with the girls, walking around and adjusting their arms and posture as they danced.

Normally I hit a tiny bell to maintain the beat, but the real teacher was feeling a little better now so she sat at a side, hitting the bell while staring at her student with a stoic expression.

Our teacher was a wonderful, talented teacher, but I found that the students liked me better, as I was more easygoing and did not hit them with a stick when they made mistakes.

Once the class was over, I wiped the sweat off my forehead and smiled at the students left. My teacher thanked me again for my help and then I was approached by the giggly older sister of one of the students.

"Seetha," she called with a smile.

"Hello Priya," I said.

"I have to say," she started, a big grin on her face. She then pointed behind me, "That man has been watching you since the class started... and if you don't go talk to him then I will." She gave me a silly smile as I looked at her in confusion.

When I turned around and looked up at the hill, however, my heart started to race.

I looked back at Priya and chuckled as she giggled and walked away.

And as soon as she walked away, I turned around and started to run.

Holding the skirt of my sari up, I ran off the stone grounds of our tiny temple and up the hill. My legs hurt just a little from all the dancing, but it didn't matter.

And when I looked up at him as I reached him, he was smiling. And when I did reach him, I jumped into his arms, a relief filling me as he hugged me back.