CHAPTER 2

  THE WINTER LIED

  128 BCE

  Himalyan forests, Kingdom of Ushinara.

  The sky is yet coloured calm, dawn hasn't broke yet. The late winter mist veils the hills.

  The dew floats about the little streams, and the frog sounds sitting on a slab midst it.

  Then suddenly steps of two men echoes the surface of stream and the frog jumps.

  "Coming up to the mountain top?I am already tired , are you not , brother Rudra?"

  Said the young boy named Shiva .

  "No" Rudra said .

  "No I am not , I was just testing you!... damn those monks!(Slowly)".

  "Those monks ! Why do they live deep in the woods? And why should we carry the ration to them?"

  (Silence)

  "Say something?"

  " I don't know "

  Forward they went,tearing the mist like walking on a cloud. Pieces of little twilight made their path from hind of pines . The Youth moved forward.

  Walking for a few time , they see a sage , worn out by hunger and yet meditating. Naked in this cold.

  Shiva sees him and moves forward to envelope the sage with his shawl but Rudra stops him.

  "You will catch a cold"

  Saying this Rudra undoes his own black shawl and envelopes the sage with it while the sage remains meditating with closed eyes . As he undoes , his snow like white body gleams with mist , covered by hundreds of strips. His hands and abdomen were completely covered with them, while a long strip over the shoulder covered his left chest.

  Shiva put some of the ration they were caring there . And with his emerald eyes like a deep lake , Rudra gazed their way till now for a moment and then they both continued forward.

  "You should put on a shawl brother , the monks will freak out seeing these bandages all over you!"

  (Awkward silence)

  "Say something!'

  " I don't care"

  "Aagh! You are no fun man!"

  In the cold dew of early winter, they wandered the woods , the conversation their warmth. Passing winds giving goosebumbs , ears chilling to mist. On the branch a black pine , a skeleton hanged to rope , cold and naked. They looked at it , the shape reflecting in Rudra's emerald eyes , exhaling the vapor out , he remarked , " It's going to snow early this time"

  As they talk , the dawn has already broken. And in front of them , was the monastery of Buddhist monks. As they move inside the well carved cave settlement, every monk and bhikuni stares at them. And between the sounds of meditation to the sounds of songs and ballads , they moved to the womb of the settlement.

  "now thanks to you and your body , everybody thinks we are strange"

  (Silence)

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  They enters the area where the chief was taking care of the wounded. As they move inside the room , the chief monk looks at them and smiles softly.

  "Rudra are you?, what is this?"

  "See I said you Rudra !"

  " Yes I am " said Rudra.

  " What is this , do you want bhikkunis to leave monkhood with showcasing this heavenly figure?"

  "What???!!!" A strange expression came out of Shiva .

  " If that handsome face was not enough , you have got body of indra!."

  " What handsome ?he ?not me?"

  "Ha ha" the chief monk laughed.

  While Rudra stood expressionless.

  Finnally after some moments of joy and laughter. Rudra interupts and says , " we have got the ration for the monastery"

  " Oh thankyou young kids, may buddha bless you both with good wives!"

  "Oh I am liking you monk dude!"

  On Shiva's statement , the monk crackels softly.

  Suddenly Shiva turns his head around to see the injured monks and asks.

  " How did they got injured ?"

  " Wolves attacked them during their way to stream . From a few days a pack of them is roaming around.you can even hear their howls during nighttime."

  "Oh yes ! There are also some missing cases of sheeps and goats in our Village down the valley, so it was the wolves!"

  " Our monks are quite in terror from the incidents. As the saying goes, Yuyutsu killed crocodile in its waters; there is always someone stronger."

  "Oh that's why monks didn't came to Village this month to collect ration for monastery. And here we villagers thought that you guys have abonden our food "

  "Ofcourse No that's not the case ."

  "Be aware of the wolves on your way back "

  "Okay!"

  They bid farewell to him and went out the monastery, again the gazes followed ,but now the reason of the gazes of bhikkunis and jealousy of monks can be understood .

  And so They begins to walk the path back ,

  The Twilight after dawn gleamed the sky . Burnt with dawn , pink, purple and blue shades compassed the horizons , like the colours on burnt steel.

  From the entrance of the monastery, a breathtaking view of the forest valley of Himalayas could be seen.

  Both boys stood there watching down the mist retreating from the huge world below that looked so small there.

  " I didn't paid attention to it when we entered the monastery."

  "Neither did I."

  " This is what beauty looks like!"

  "Beauty..."

  .....

  " We should go brother Rudra , shouldn't we?"

  " (Inhaling with closed eyes) Yeah.."

  They travelled again to the path , but now the woods shined golden , the skies were again clear, as they went .

  Familiar stones guided the way.But as they reached the big stone , they saw the shawl that Rudra gave to sage , torn into rags, the food half-eaten, the kamandala* inverted ,

  And THE SAGE BEING FEISTED BY THE WOLVES .

  The hungry beasts savoring the guts of the skinny sage stopped and gazed back at them. As one stares at the darkness ,and it stares back.

  But what was more dark , the darkness or him?

  " Brother Run! We should run!"

  "No, pick up anything near you."

  Rudra said with a cold voice.

  "What have you gone insane , there are 7 beasts in front of us!"

  " If we run they will follow and hunt , our best chance to survive is to attack first.Now pick any tool near you. "

  " I don't understand... but gahh !! Fine"

  As they both of them pick fallen branches of trees as hand clubs , the beasts slowly surrounded them.

  "Attack !"

  Saying it , even now in calm , Rudra launched towards the wolves . Crushing the head of the alpha with very first hit.

  "The wolves are now discordinated , there is no alpha and so no formation, kill Shiva!"

  " No need to tell me that , 'all stiches'!"

  He says clubbing the small female wolf to jaw.

  " And here goes one!"

  " Shiva behind!"

  "Huh?"

  Suddenly from behind a male wolf jumps in rage at Shiva , but before it could have got it revenge for the female , he was punched in jaw by Rudra . The punch hits direct on the young male's face throwing him away,the impact was so hard that the stitches Rudra's waist and back muscle got opened, yet without delay ,suddenly three others wolves jumped on him. While another male wolf was engaged with Shiva.

  Blood spurted out of his body , yet not a breath of pain came out of his mouth. Now at this moment , Rudra opened his eyes for real.

  He embraced the wolf and lifted it , and then , smash! She smashed it's face to the ground.As the second one jumped from side , in the midst air , he got a hold on its front left which he then broke wide open. As he did it the wolf in the back has already got a hold over his waist , its teeth digging into Old wounds deep and deep ,while the blood flowed. Yet even then , the beast wasn't able to move him .

  As Rudra turned to kill it , bloodthrust overwhelming, Shiva from behind came and clubbed it to the death.

  "You would wanna than--"

  Suddenly Shiva got a glimpse of Rudra's snow pale face, covered with blood , no expression shaped his features, yet his eiere emerald eyes ,gave him shivers down to his body.

  And then Rudra took a deep breath closing his eyes , not of exhaustion but of calmness.

  "One is left."

  "O-Okay!"

  " i said ...ONE IS LEFT!...

  We have to kill that one I punched too !"

  He looked here and there and finnally spotted it. The young wolf was escaping injured . As Rudra rushed to it , Shiva stopped him .

  "Brother let it go , your condition is serious , you are way too injured! That one is just kid and it is also very injured , it will die on its own , let's return , it's already noon! Mom is waiting at home,let's go!"

  Yet his eyes was locked at the young wolf,

  Going a little far , the young wolf looked back at Rudra with eyes that held something, and that wasn't fear . 'They were same as his'.

  " If it died it's good, if it didn't, it will not loose to anyone again ,it will became a beast unmatched."

  (Rudra faints)

  -------*Chapter 1 part 2 end *---------