Soul mates

‘It was an early winter morning. One could hardly see anything in the dense fog. The road in front appeared to lead one into an expanse of vacuum of fog from which there is no escape. The birds and butterflies were still asleep. Bearing the fierce cold, I was walking slowly with a vigilant mind. There was still silence, broken every second by the sound of my footsteps. I was searching with my eyes, wide open, but I was unable to find her. But I wouldn't give up. The clock kept ticking and I was deeply engrossed in my search.’

Interrupting the monologue, Shekhar questioned, ‘How did you know that you would be meeting her that day?’

‘Didn't I tell you? ‘, Shekhar continued, ‘I saw her in my dream the previous night. She said that she would be meeting me on that road. Her face wasn't visible clearly in my dream but I was sure that I would be able to find her even in a crowd of hundreds of people. That isn't a difficult task for soul mates. They are destined to meet, love and become life mates; spending every moment of their life in joy.’

‘The cold intensified and I started shivering. I couldn't move even a step forward. I stood there fixed to the ground. To add to my woes, it started raining. Presumably, the forces of nature were trying to take revenge on me for some reason known only to them. With every drop of water that fell on me, I moved a step closer to death. My vision blurred. My eyes refused to listen and I collapsed on the ground.’

‘And then she came- my soul mate. The rain stopped. The fog cleared. The sun rays struck the earth. Flowers bloomed and the sparrows sang on that occasion. It was the play of fate, nature and god. We were destined to be soul mates and so it happened.’

Tarun sat with his eyes wide open. ‘Did nature, god and fate really help Shekhar in meeting his soul mate? Do such things even exist?’ He wanted to argue but even before he could utter a word, Shekhar bid good bye for the day and left the place.

Tarun was alone in his house, left with ample time and enough thoughts to keep him engaged for the day. He moved to the balcony, stood underneath the burning ball of fire and thought about it. He stood under the shower of cold water and thought about it. He thought while he had his dinner and also while he slept. But he didn’t get the answers to his questions.

Days passed and a lot of things changed. Tarun was sitting on a rock and beside him was Sarayu. Her head was resting on his shoulders and her hands were tightly clutching his hands. Pointing to the stars in the sky, she said, ‘Look at those two stars. Always together like you and me. You are my soul mate, the only person I ever need in my life. Will you be with me and love me till my last breath?’

‘Of course! We shall live and die together. None can separate us. It was God who decided that we should meet and fall in love. I knew the very first time I met you that you are the love of my life. The rain on that day, every drop of it was a blessing from the gods above.’

 Few more months and years passed.

Tarun and Rekha moved around the holy fire and took their marriage vows. It was the start of a new journey and another story of soul mates.