Beginning of the End
Somewhere in 21st Century India
Crash!
A loud thump screeches life to a halt. In a matter of seconds, my love has the lifeblood gushing out of her chest, her fragile hands struggling to cover the warm scarlet now coloring her pearls. Her legs are mere liquid with the weight suddenly thrusted upon them. I look down from a balcony, helplessly screaming her name.
"Jodha", I say. Once, twice. "Somebody, anybody? Please, she is my wife. Please let me out. My wife!"
16th Century Agra
"Joe--d...Joe-dhaaa", I stretched her name, at the top of my lungs, long enough to get a reaction out of my feisty begum and what a reaction it was!
"Kya hai?" (what's the bloody matter?) she all but knocked me over in her rush to get wherever she was going. Swiftly adjusting her nuth (nose ring) and signalling me to walk and talk with her, (a blatantly rude gesture to a Shehenshah. You minions better not repeat. But we can discuss that later. Right now my poetic muse wishes to describe my begum in a good light) the begum took off at what could only be a called a toofani (storm like) speed. I was panting to catch up.
"Hurry before I dismiss you mister", she said in a muffled voice hoping I would not catch the irk in her tone.
"Mister! Begum, I have been sending notes in calligraphy your way since morning just to get a minute of your time and this is how you treat me? What shame! Those darned artists are expensive!"
I huffed on the surface, but inside I was calm as a saint.
"So? You are the emperor, money is no object. Don't say otherwise, else the subjects might plan a rebellion. Plus, from times immemorial, women have a physical desire for jewels. I was getting ready. Besides, don't you have better things to do like wage a war on powerless local generals or something?" she scoffed, forcing me near my already shaky tipping point.
"Joe-dhaaa, know you limits woman!"
"And you yours man! See how that feels? Call me a woman again and I will show you", she her pupils dilated so much I could swear her eyeballs would fall out if she kept the stare up a minute longer.
"Show me what? You are a woman, are you not?" I clutched her wrist in my hands as I delivered every word of my jab to perfection.
She squinted her eyes, thinking silently for a minute for throwing best possible comeback my way. "You are a man, are you not?"
"Jodha, enough!"
"Change the topic, will ya? What have you summoned me down here for?" She must have sensed my aggravation as she swiftly turned the air around us to a teasing one.
"Me summon you? More like you dragging me out a half mile out of my way. If you still have enough brains to remember in your woman body (I added that one just pinch her ego a little), you should know that I asked you...no, I ordered you to be present in my chambers not out here in the middle of nowhere. That reminds me, where in God's name are we?"
I suddenly looked around not recognizing any of the landmarks in our vicinity. This woman better not have made me lose my way.
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