Chapter 10: A Smiling Tear

A Smiling Tear

Radha's velvet voice floated over the banks of the Yamuna, mesmerizing even the silence itself. Krishna adorned her melody with the enchanting notes of his flute. Happiness found its home there, taking root to give romance a new meaning.

Radha sang—

"Krishna... whose divine manifestation is this love? Is it Splendour itself that draws a radiant veil around us, shielding us from the world's gaze? Or is it Love that, out of its own compassion, hides us beneath its sacred mantle?

This eternal love is like a blazing fire over which no one has any control. What a strange destiny! We tried our utmost to keep our meetings hidden, yet the Sun betrayed us with its golden light. Someone... please call the Moon and command the Sun to sleep for a while!

See... He touches the shy blush of this innocent maiden. I swear by my very soul, I have already lost my heart. Now I feel like losing everything in the name of love.

I know, Krishna... the day is not far when you will leave me behind. The shattered fragments of my hopes and dreams will narrate a million tales of sorrow to you. I shall never stop you. I shall only watch you depart with silent eyes while every dream I cherished lies scattered at my feet.

You alone have the privilege of filling the canvas of my life with the colors of love and tenderness. The rainbow of your affection belongs only to me.

Come... paint the colour of a kiss upon my coral lips... or upon these trembling curves that blush beneath your gaze. Then show me the true colour of your embrace.

Though you soar like a dark monsoon cloud and I remain a dancing peacock upon the earth, we become one the moment I spread my feathers and you descend as rain."

The stillness itself seemed to dance to the whispering ripples of the Yamuna in the biting winter breeze of that late morning. The flowers in the nearby garden swayed gently, smiling in silent ecstasy, while their fragrance hinted at the sweet agony of longing.

Longing forever deceives the heart into believing that what it cannot possess is all that it truly desires. Yet beneath that aching heart lay the healer's gentle touch, quietly resolving the eternal enigma of love and separation.

Radha stood at the very eye of that emotional storm. She bore every gust upon herself, allowing longing to wound her heart until she finally crumpled to the ground like a delicate flowering vine, broken beneath its own weight.

Suddenly, a burst of laughter echoed from the bathing ghat where the village girls were gathered.

Radha startled.

"Oh... was it only a dream?"

She looked around in bewilderment.

"Where is my Krishna?" she asked Vishnu Vandana.

Her eyes wandered anxiously across the riverbank.

And then...

She saw...

Viswasruti2020-11-03 16:07:48