Kritartha and his friends happily began their journey toward the glorious city of Ayodhya. Excitement filled their hearts as they imagined finally seeing Prince Rama and Prince Lakshmana with their own eyes.
They had barely walked a short distance when a familiar voice echoed from behind.
"Kritartha!"
He immediately turned around.
It was Kalindi, running toward him while trying to catch her breath.
Her face was filled with worry.
Kalindi: "Kritartha... I need your help."
One of Kritartha's friends sighed.
Kritartha Friend: "Kalindi... we're all going to Ayodhya to see the princes. We've been waiting for this day for years. Maybe you can ask someone else."
Before anyone else could speak...
Kritartha answered calmly.
Kritartha: "It's alright."
"I'll stay."
His friends looked at him in disbelief.
Friend: "What?"
"Kritu... you've dreamed about seeing Prince Rama ever since you were a child."
"How can you simply give up now?"
Kritartha smiled peacefully.
Kritartha: "I said I'll stay."
"If destiny wants me to meet Prince Rama, I'll get another chance."
He looked toward Kalindi.
"But if I don't help her now..."
"...who will?"
"It's my responsibility."
Kalindi's worried face brightened.
Kalindi: "Thank you so much, Kritartha."
His friends exchanged helpless looks before continuing their journey without him.
Watching them disappear into the distance, Kritartha silently prayed.
"One day... I'll definitely meet you, Prince Rama."
Then he turned toward Kalindi.
Kritartha: "Now tell me."
"What happened?"
"You look frightened."
Kalindi tightly held her basket.
Kalindi: "Our baby cow has been missing since morning."
"My mother and I searched everywhere in the village."
"I think it wandered deep inside the forest."
She looked into his eyes.
"I... I'm scared to go alone."
Kritartha immediately frowned.
Kritartha: "That's dangerous."
"Our elders strictly forbid anyone from entering the deep forest."
He remained silent for a moment before sighing.
Kritartha: "Fine."
"I'll come with you."
"But we'll search together..."
"...and we must return before twilight."
Kalindi nodded gratefully.
Kalindi: "Okay."
The two entered the vast forest.
Birds chirped above them while cool winds gently swayed the towering trees.
They searched every clearing...
Every stream...
Every path where the calf could possibly have wandered.
As they moved deeper into the forest, Kritartha carefully carved small marks onto tree trunks with his knife.
Kalindi watched curiously.
Kalindi: "Why are you marking the trees?"
Kritartha: "So we won't lose our way."
"If panic takes over..."
"These marks will guide us back home."
Hours passed.
The sunlight slowly faded.
The cheerful forest began to grow strangely quiet.
Kritartha looked toward the orange sky.
His expression became serious.
Kritartha: "We should leave."
"It's almost twilight."
"The Rakshasas may come out after dark."
"It's no longer safe."
Kalindi looked disappointed.
Kalindi: "Alright..."
"We'll search again tomorrow."
Kritartha shook his head.
Kritartha: "Tomorrow, the first thing we'll do is inform our village chief and elders."
"They'll organize a proper search."
Kalindi nodded reluctantly.
The two began walking back.
As they crossed a narrow patch of wet ground...
Kritartha's foot suddenly slipped.
"Ah—!"
He rolled down a muddy slope and splashed into what looked like a shallow water pit.
Within seconds...
He was soaked from head to toe.
Mud covered his face and clothes.
Kalindi burst into laughter.
She laughed so hard that tears formed in her eyes.
Seeing her laugh...
Kritartha couldn't help laughing too.
He tried climbing out.
Still smiling...
He pushed against the ground.
Nothing.
He tried again.
His smile slowly disappeared.
He looked down.
His body...
...was sinking.
His heartbeat quickened.
He tried with all his strength.
Nothing moved.
He slowly looked at Kalindi.
His voice had completely changed.
Kritartha: "Kalindi..."
"I..."
"...I can't get out."
The smile instantly vanished from Kalindi's face.
Her cheeks turned pale.
Kalindi: "K-Kritartha..."
"You're joking..."
"...aren't you?"
Kritartha looked down.
The muddy ground had already swallowed him from his waist to his chest.
He immediately realized the truth.
His eyes widened.
Kritartha: "This isn't a water pit..."
"It's a quagmire..."
"Kalindi!"
"Pull me out!"
She immediately searched around in panic.
Spotting a long tree branch, she grabbed it and stretched it toward him.
Kalindi: "Take it!"
Kritartha grabbed it tightly.
She pulled with every ounce of strength she had.
CRACK!
The branch snapped.
He sank even deeper.
Again...
She searched for another branch.
Again...
She failed.
Again...
And again...
Twilight slowly swallowed the forest.
The sounds of distant creatures echoed through the trees.
Kalindi's hands trembled.
Her breathing became uneven.
Finally...
She collapsed onto her knees.
Tears streamed down her face.
She looked at Kritartha...
Then toward the dark forest.
Back at Kritartha...
Then toward the darkness again.
Fear slowly defeated courage.
She took one trembling step backward.
Kritartha: "Kalindi..."
"You can still save me..."
"Please..."
"Don't give up on me..."
His eyes filled with tears.
"...Please..."
Kalindi covered her mouth as she cried.
Kalindi: "I'm..."
"...I'm sorry..."
She closed her eyes...
Turned around...
And ran.
Without looking back.
Kritartha watched the person he loved most disappear between the trees.
Silence.
Only silence remained.
He could no longer hear the birds...
Nor the wind...
Nor his own voice.
Only the slow pull of the quagmire dragging him toward death.
He closed his eyes.
Memories flashed through his mind.
Everyone had warned him.
"She's only using you."
"One day she'll leave you."
He never believed them.
One memory surfaced above all others.
Kritartha: "You'll never leave me... right, Kalindi?"
"I've already accepted you as mine, As my family."
Kalindi smiled sweetly.
Kalindi: "Never."
"I'll always stay beside you."
"Even if death itself stands before us..."
"I'll never let go of your hand."
That promise echoed inside his mind.
Then...
Reality answered it.
She had let go.
Long before death ever arrived.
Kalindi never allowed him to spend time with his friends.
Whenever he planned to help his father, she would always call him away for one reason or another.
There was always another favor...
Another errand...
Another request that only Kritartha could do.
He had never questioned it.
Instead...
He smiled every single time.
He believed she wanted him beside her because she couldn't live without him.
He thought every moment she demanded from him was proof of her love.
So he gladly sacrificed everything.
His time...
His friendships...
Even the precious moments he could have spent with his father.
Sometimes she simply wanted someone to gather flowers.
Sometimes she wanted company because she felt bored.
Sometimes she only wanted someone to carry her basket.
And every single time...
Kritartha left everything behind and ran to her without hesitation.
Now...
As death slowly pulled him beneath the quagmire...
The truth finally pierced his heart.
It had never been love.
It had only been his own misunderstanding.
He had loved her with all his heart...
But she had only loved what he could do for her.
The realization hurt far more than the quagmire dragging him toward death.
Tears quietly rolled down his cheeks.
The quagmire slowly swallowed him until only his neck remained above the surface
Kritartha (thinking):
"I never knew my mother's love..."
"I only wanted someone... who would love me the same way."
"Just once..."
"I wanted to know how it feels... to be truly loved."
The mud reached his chin.
He slowly raised both hands toward the fading sky.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Maybe..."
"In my next life..."
Suddenly—
A powerful hand grabbed both of his wrists.
A figure leapt from the branch of a towering tree, a thick forest vine tied securely around her waist.
Using all her strength, she pulled him free from the deadly quagmire and threw him safely onto solid ground.
Kritartha coughed violently, spitting mud and water from his lungs.
He rubbed his eyes.
Then...
He looked up.
The last rays of the setting sun disappeared beyond the trees.
As the first silver moonlight filtered through the forest canopy...
It gently fell upon the woman standing before him.
For a moment...
Kritartha forgot how to breathe.
She was unlike anyone he had ever seen.
Tall and graceful.
A lean, athletic figure marked with faint scars that spoke of countless battles.
Her long black hair flowed gently with the evening breeze.
But it was her eyes...
Those deep, pitch-black eyes...
They felt like a bottomless abyss, silently pulling him in.
He couldn't tell whether he was alive...
Dreaming...
Or standing before a celestial being.
She tilted her head slightly.
Woman: "Are you alright?"
Before he could answer...
She stepped closer.
Very close.
Close enough for him to feel her breath.
His heart suddenly pounded wildly against his chest.
A strange warmth spread throughout his body.
He had never experienced such a feeling before.
Curious, the woman gently rested her ear against his chest.
She listened quietly.
Then looked up with genuine confusion.
Woman: "Why is it beating so fast?"
"Does it always beat like this..."
"...or only now?"
Kritartha's face turned red.
For the first time in his life...
He couldn't even form a proper sentence.
Kritartha: "I..."
"I don't know..."
"It's... never beaten like this before."
She stepped back.
Her expression became serious.
Woman: "Leave this forest."
"And never come back."
Kritartha remained frozen, still staring at her.
She raised her voice slightly.
Woman: "Go."
He immediately stood up.
Almost instinctively...
He obeyed.
He ran toward his village.
After a few steps...
He looked back.
She was gone.
Just like she Never exist
While running home...
Kritartha noticed something strange.
The pain in his heart had disappeared.
In its place...
Was an unfamiliar happiness.
A strange excitement he's never been felt
His heart still refused to calm down.
He didn't understand what he was feeling.
But for the first time in his life...
He wanted to feel it again.
And again.
