Week #1
She smiles as her childhood friend comes fluttering back - does it foretell change, is she missing the point?
Yet again, she finds herself caught in the middle of an all familiar blazing inferno starring at the faceless intruder; the nemesis who sparked the fire that consumed her lifeline and scarred her soul. The all consuming void that stole her sleep years ago and continues to rob her peace of mind ever since. Inevitably, she loses to that form which emerges out of the fire; he is the enemy - death himself or so she has been conditioned to believe. The fear is palpable, the pain still feels raw and hatred very real. She is not alone in this hatred, for many have lost like she has - each one alive to speak of their nightmares which have dragged on for years, dragging along their bedrugged lives along its spiteful path fueled by the false claims of Thakur and his men; innocence burns in the fire of their making.
But truth invaribly finds ways of catching up. Maamisa, the one who has kept the light alive inside little Paro when everything threatened to go dire- reminds her yet again that fire has different forms; it's not always the all consuming destructive force that leaves behind a trail of ashes but its the same that lights up the havan kund or provides warmth on cold winter days, or the sun that lights up our lives.
It is the same fire that will light up her life soon. And some more fortuitous words, you may run, you may hide but when it's time, he will find you amidst the darkness and light up your life. But what if that light burns too bright? Will its intensity burn her or will she thaw that fire and tame its trail of destruction?
Paro's marriage although very real may well end up being a mirage and nothing but a stepping stone further into the throes of hatred. May be that's why, she can't shrug off this anxiety but Paro does not question, or seek, she simply goes with the flow. She has no reason not to.
However, it seems that life has other plans for Paro. Just when you think, the chosen groom is headed her way with promises of happiness, the winds bring in Rudra instead. Riding along the barren landscape, its hard to differentiate which is drier, his heart or the arid land he traverses like some nomadic man. True to his name, he carries within him a silent storm. His ruthlessness is apparent in the brazen way he kills, and walks across the sands colored in blood. A man with a frozen heart who guards his inner vulnerability by this tough mask he wears. A man who kills and walks away.
Both of them had a tough childhood losing people that were too close to let go so soon. But while, good Samaritans kept the light alive in her, the very light was rudely snatched away from him, leaving behind this dark core that simply soaked in more. What does he have to offer to her besides this darkness? Or is it the other way around - Will she liberate him from its hold instead? Will Parvati destroy the fear that keeps Rudra hostage and give life to the corpse who traverses the lands like a lifeless being?
Paro dreams of a simple man with a kind heard. Destiny brings forward a complex man with a frozen heart. And in the whirlwind that ensues, amidst the plotting and the planning, they find themselves at the opposite ends of the warring factions.
Entwined with the enemy.
A beautiful woman belongs to no one. Words spoken years ago and by now etched into his psyche. Love is an alien emotion, he does not believe in.
He is the enemy, for he is part of the BSD- the fire that consumed the funeral pyres all those years ago, the same fire that scarred her soul.
That night however, the faceless man in Paro's nightmares finally had a face, it was him.
