Milk...

Prakriti's P.O.V,

Near the riverbanks of Triveni Sangam lies the dwelling of Maharishi Bharadwaj, surrounded by the lush forest, a kingdom of green.

Under the moonlight, the shrubs and medicinal plants planted beside the Ashram are magnifying the beauty of night with their colourful lights as they danced with the air.

The light sounds of some Rishi's reciting shrouded the whole Ashram in their divine brilliance, invisible to the normal peoples, drawing those with good hearts towards it...

Most of the Mashaal* had been put off as half of the Ashram had gone to sleep (i.e. Children and maidens).

The family of Adiratha and Vaibhav had been settled at one of the hut of the Ashram under the warm hospitality of the Rishis, the believers of the quote Atithidevo bhava, taken from the Taittiriya Upanishad, Which means 'Guests are equal to Celestials'. 

Considering the amount of time when Celestials disguised as poor beggars, normal merchants or other humans, who used to visit their believers, this quote is quite true (At least in Dvapara Yuga).

Devi Radha, Devi Vasundhara and Little Vrushali are sharing a room while Adiratha and Vaibhav are sleeping in the other room, leaving Karna and Aarav, who are nowhere to find inside the hut.

Previously, Karna had left the hut after his family had fallen asleep. Aarav being almost inseparable followed the young boy, unconditionally.

Actually, Karna couldn't sleep due to his lack of stability from inside. Though he wanted to accept his feelings and be one with them, it's not that easy!

Not everything behaves like shown in reels, where the protagonist can get everything by the power of love and friendship!

Therefore, Karna wanted to find solace by getting in touch with nature.

Thinking that, he went to find a suitable place to mediate.

...

At the same time,

Beside one the purest place on the mortal plane, Triveni Sangam, a child sadly gazed at the flowing water, lost in some thoughts.

A few moments later, he asked himself, "Is it wrong to not know about something?"

"What is milk?"

"Is it something delicious?"

"Why haven't I heard of it before?"

"I want to taste it! But others won't let me..."

"But... those children drank it with smiles on their faces. It must be delicious!"

"However, it might be expensive..."

"But... I don't want to burden Maa... We don't even have anything to eat at home..."

"Maa and PitaShri often sleep without eating their fill... I don't even feel hungry or thirsty..."

"Should I ask Maa? or PitaShri?..."

As the black haired child was drowning in his own self-doubt, a puzzled voice rang out beside him, "Just how many questions do you have?"

"Huh!"

The black-haired with blue gems adorned on his forehead, Aswatthama was shocked beyond belief when his gaze fell on the intruder with an unparalleled charm, Karna.

His mere presence is making the surrounding purer creatures of night i.e. Fireflies and herbs get merrier with every passing second.

For a moment, he neglected his worries as he lost himself to stare at the unfamiliar guest. But, the gem embedded on his forehead soon glowed in a blue light for a brief second, awakening the awestruck Aswatthama from his stupor.

"Who are you?" Aswatthama asked as he was unable to find his origin.

"I'm Karna, the Son of Shri Adiratha, Devi Radha and Devi Ganga, a Suta. And this little dove on my shoulder is my brother, Aarav." Faced with the question, Karna introduced himself and Aarav.

However, seeing the confusion of Aswatthama didn't lessened a bit, he added, "I'm one of the guests resting at the hut far away from Devi Kripi's hut."

Hearing the name of his mother, his confusion was replaced by his former sadness. Even then, he didn't neglect Karna and introduced himself, "Karna, I'm Aswatthama, the son of Brahmin Dronacharya and Devi Kripi, a Brahmin."

Despite being aware of Ashwatthama's identity from the grace of his previous lives, Karna didn't stop Ashwatthama.

After the introduction, Aswatthama turned silent. He tried to hide his urge to ask something but his furrowed eyebrows and his slightly lowered lips gave him away. 

Looking at the sad Aswatthama, Karna took the initiative to ask "Aswatthama, is something troubling you?"

Aswatthama hesitated a little before saying, "Is milk delicious?"

***

To be continued...

***

Sorry for this short* chapter!

I deeply apologize to the reader!

However, yesterday was pretty hectic for me due to a government institution to delay me for whole 10 hours! Can you even believe it!

Coupled with the fact of today being 'Mahashivaratri', I think anything else for the time being.

So yeah, lets meet again in the next good chapter~

JAI MAHAKAAL!