War For Love

~Nine~

Vedika was looking at her younger sister in dilemma. She had broke her saving jar, removing all the money, she had collected for herself. Siya had always loved silk sarees and anklets. She had been saving for them all her life. She always wanted to wear silk in her own wedding along with gajra (flower garland used as decorative for hair) and silver anklets. And she couldn't have burdened her parents for the same. Whenever her father gave her some money to buy herself some clothes, she would always save some rupees to buy the saree for her future but now Vedika was seeing her breaking not just her saving jar but also her dreams.

"What are you doing, Siya?" Vedika asked, making Siya to look up at her sister as she shrugged her shoulders, a wide smile on her face.

"I was going to the market. Will you accompany me? I need to buy a lot of things. It would be a great help if you could come with me." Siya said as she stuffed her money in the small pocket her skirt had, which she often hide with her dupatta (scarf). Vedika, however was too shocked to even understand had answer.

"What kind of help, Siya? I am not understanding."

"I'll explain you on the way. Now, we need to go before the market closes down and before Ma comes home and see us missing."

Siya said, gripping Vedika's wrist before she dragged her out towards the market.

Siya had sneaked out a lot of times, before. Vedika, however had rarely gone out in public and seeing so many people gave her anxiety. The only time their parents allowed them out was to bath in the river, early in the morning when less men are outside. But Vedika saw how confident her sister looked. She didn't looked scared, nor anxious or nervous. After all, she had been a part of the protest too. Vedika noted in her mind.

"Are you buying silk now? Weren't you waiting to wear it in your wedding?" Vedika asked when they stopped infront of the garments shop, making Siya to smile at her sister.

"We're not here to buy any silk, Jiji. We are here to get kurta (shirt) material and some blankets too." Vedika narrowed her eyes at her sister. She wasn't understanding anything Siya was doing and why she was doing.

"For whom?"

"For our villagers."

"But you wanted to buy the silk saree and silver anklets with them for your wedding." Siya smiled at her words, shrugging her shoulders.

True, Siya had always wished her wedding to be grand. Not like that of the King and Queen's but like that of her choice. She wearing the silk, gajra ( flower garland) in her braid and silver anklets was he wedding dream. She wanted no other metals but flower neck-piece and bangles. She wished to look like the nature. Beautiful but supreme.

But was her desire, her dreams greater than Sahib's necessity? He won't cover himself in the winter until the villagers don't have clothes to wear and she couldn't withstand the idea of Sahib shivering in the cold. She would be happy to wear a plain, cheap saree for her wedding, with no anklets and without the gajra (flower garlands) but the thought of Sahib in cold pained her to a level where she could give her everything to warm him.

"My desires can wait, Jiji but the winter's arriving. People won't have clothes to shield themselves from the cold. I can marry in a plain saree and without the anklets but those people won't survive the cold."

Vedika didn't knew if Siya was so generous or dumb. Who gives their everything. Everything they had been saving up, all their life for somebody else. They weren't rich. They never dreamt of wearing expensive ornaments of gold and precious stones or of studying abroad. They weren't even in the well-to-do list. Getting two meals a day was luxury for them. So the only dream they had was to have a fine marriage.

"Does this have something to do with Sahib, hm?" Vedika asked with a known expression which made Siya's cheeks to flush red. How everytime Vedika gets to know what Siya is thinking and how everytime it involved Sahib, in each and every conversation of her..

"Maybe."

"Maybe?" Vedika repeated, raiding her brows at her and Siya sighed.

"Sahib said he won't take the kurta until the villagers won't have clothes to wear and— and......."

"And you can't see Sahib in cold." Vedika completed her words, making Siya to shrug her shoulders, her skin burning as she talked about Sahib.

"I can't. But that's secondary. We need to buy the materials first. I need to stitch them all. God, give me power to finish my work in time. I hardly have few days in my hand."

"But I don't think those money would be enough for all the material, Siya." Siya sighed, nodding her head as she bit her lips, knowing she needed some more money.

"I'll manage for some more money soon."

"Or we can use mine." Vedika said and Siya narrowed her eyes at her, shaking her head, not missing a single beat.

"We won't."

"But we don't have any other option, Siya."

"I— I'll work for the landlords. But we are not using your money, Jiji. You have saved those money for your wedding. To buy a pair of earrings. I won't break your dream to fulfill mine."

Vedika glared at her younger sister, lightly hitting her head.

"You are sacrificing your wishes, your lifetime savings to serve our people. And you think, I'm such a bad sister, as to see her sister giving everything she has while I sit with my savings to buy an earring for me?"

"But you loved gold earrings so much!" Vedika smiled at her sister, stroking her head.

"But I love you more. Those landlords are very wicked, Siya. They.... torture people and don't forget Ma and Baba won't allow you to work in the farms too."

"Fine. Let's buy the material with the money we have now and tomorrow we'll come again with your money. Hm?"

And with that Siya and Vedika walked inside the shop, unaware of Sahib's presence behind them. Oblivious to the fact that Sahib had heard every word of their conversation. Sahib was learning something new about Siya everyday. He first thought, Siya was just some stubborn, disobedient girl but than slowly and with every day passing, he realised, Siya was not only stubborn but also immensely courageous, smart and selfless woman.

Siya wished for nothing but a good wedding with silk saree and silver anklets for which she had been saving from her childhood and just because he said, he won't wear the kurta until the villagers won't have clothes, she literally was on her way to give her everything so that he doesn't sleep in cold.

Who does that for a stranger?

Siya. Who else?

Sahib remembered the story where Sudama brought a fist full of rice, the only thing, the only amount of grains left in his house when he went to meet Shri Krishna (The supreme god). Even then, Sudama had given everything he had to his friend— Shri Krishna without once thinking about himself.

Was Siya any less than Sudama? Even she brought everything she had for him. She was left with nothing but with a broken jar and empty dreams. And the fact that Siya left her wishes and dream behind, stabbed Sahib in his chest. The thought of Siya marrying someone else made a weird and different kind of pain to pump inside his body. He rose his fist to his chest, rubbing the exact place where his heart was.

Why was the thought of Siya being with someone else gave him physical pain? He didn't knew.

~~~~~

"Where did you get the another sewing machine from?" Siya asked her sister when she saw her stitching on another machine, they didn't had. Vedika smiled at her, shrugging her shoulders, as she kept the stitched kurta aside.

"I borrowed it from Chanchala. She doesn't need it anyways for almost a week. We can finish until then, hopefully." Vedika said, as she started stitching the next kurta.

"Great. You continue sewing, I'll go cook us some dinner. Baba and Ma must be own their way to home and they must be hungry too." Siya said, getting up from the ground as she straightened her skirt and Vedika looked up, her lips pulled down in a frown.

"But there's no vegetables in the house. Royals had increased the price of almost everything to reimburse the loss they had faced after the bombing."

"But that's unfair!" Siya said, angrily and Vedika sighed, turning back to stitch the kurta.

"Life is unfair, Siya. We expect too much from it. The other section of the village don't even have food for tonight." Siya felt a shear pain coursing down her chest. How could the royals be so cruel as to take away the right of food from the civilians?

"I hope, we atleast have some curd with us?" Siya asked, her voice low, tired and Vedika nodded her head in response. "I'll make some curd rice."

Later that night, when their parents came home, their father was very proud of their daughters working for the well being of the villagers but their mother was a little tensed because in this pace, they won't have any money left for their marriage.

Like every other meal, their parents left to the farm as they had to work more hard since the prices of food were rising again. Once everyone had done eating, Siya walked out with the rice and curd towards the lane that led her to Sahib's house.

Sahib was as usual, working out. One thing, which astonished Siya was how much dedicated this man was for his country. Even though he was hurt, he was whipped not even two days ago and yet he was working on his sword practicing, fighting skills and what not. Never did she heard anything ill from anyone's mouth about Sahib complaining for this.

Sahib could have been like every other man of their village. He couldn't have given two damns about people's independence and could've lived a less painful life. He often take blames of others to save them and it only increased his respect in Siya's heart.

Sahib stopped his practice when he heard Siya clearing her throat as she remembered Sahib asking her to let him know when she comes into his house. His eyes met Siya's innocent but fierce gaze and he could hear the echo of their conversation in hiw mind.

"Food." She said as she kept the leaf with rice on his cot before she looked at his slightly healed wounds. "How is your back?"

"Bearable." Was his curt answer. He gripped the white clothe before throwing it over his chest so that Siya could stop looking awkward. He wanted to ask her to take the food back as some people would sleep hungry tonight but he knew, if he won't eat the food, neither would she.

"Sahib......."

"You should stop coming her, woman. I can manage my food and medicines." Siya was taken back by his steely and cold tone. Something about his words and tone hurt Siya. Or maybe his words were affecting her more now. He affected her so much more than he did at first. But she swallowed down her hurt, meeting his dark eyes that were no less than the ocean with its depth luring her.

"Why, am I making you uncomfortable, Sahib?" Sahib opened his mouth to say yes but he couldn't bring himself to lie to her and hurt her even more than he was already hurting her.

How could he lie when her presence soothes his heart? How can he say that she makes him uncomfortable when her gaze makes him forget his pain? How can he hurt her when she had given everything she had of herself for him? He couldn't. He didn't had the courage.

"No." Siya felt relief flooding her system.

"Then, what's the reason you don't want me to come here, Sahib?"

"I think there's someone who is keeping an eye on us. I don't wish to put you in anymore danger. You should stop coming here, in my house, in my lane." Siya smiled at him, before looking in his eyes.

"You haven't yet know me, Sahib, when I stand with someone, I stand with them, no matter how much difficult and dangerous it is. And no-one, I mean no-one can stop me from doing so."

Reference: Shri Krishna is the supreme god of Sanatana Dharma (religion). He is one of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu (The one who directs the world). Shri Krishna had a friend whose name was 'Sudama' who was a poor priest.

After Shri Krishna became the King of Dwarka, Sudama went to meet him but he had nothing to gift him so he took the handful grains of rice left in his house for Shri Krishna.

Shri Krishna became emotional after witnessing Sudama's selfless devotion towards him and blessed him with fortune.

After Sudama went back home, Shri Krishna had gifted him pot full of grains which later turned into gold, diamond and precious stones and his hut transformed into a palace.