Daughter Of The Nature

By Malvika

Nandini wandered along the banks of river Gayatri on a crisp March day to behold the most wonderful sight. Spring was in cavalcade of all it’s embellishment. The silvery waters of Gayatri rambled and crashed against the gigantic rocks, the glossy pebble stones that lay along were purged delicately by each passing wave. The trees along the gravel path seemed so joyous to have their solitary guest admiring their sagacity that they swayed their branches above her to acknowledge her glance. The Rhondendrons were pregnant with innumerable rainbow flowers nipping out of their buds as if they also wanted to be admired by her. The birds were flying about twittering with delight, flowers looked upon her through the grass and smiled. The sun had dedicated its entire Caravan of light to shine bright upon her and in that moment she was the Centre of the entire Universe. The lustrous snow capped mountains reached out to the sky and she pondered upon the sublimely of those places where no one has reached and no one ever will. There was something so right about her being there as if nature craved her presence as much as she did. Something surely was coming her way she could feel it in the pulsating of her heart.

It was then she lay eyes upon her, playing on a heap of sand, regardless of the distance their eyes met and melted at the same time. She loved all forms of life but that little puppy had aroused emotions that were inexplicable. There was something cryptic about the way she peered through those profound and enquiring eyes that it stupefied her heart. The puppy rushed to her instantly and she couldn’t help but take her in her arms. She was a healthy, independent puppy who decided to follow Nandini throughout her trail. She crossed a swelling Gayatri bridge to follow her back to her car and as soon as she opened the driver window, she swiftly jumped in and made herself home at the passenger seat.

It was Bella who chose her, she came in like a gift from the mountains. Nandini went to the same place next day taking Bella along to inquire if she was someone’s lost or runaway puppy, surprised when everyone told her that they have never even seen her in the vicinity before. She was unleashed to stay back if she wanted but Bella had made her choice. She came in as a threshold of a new phase her eyes making a deal with Nandini’s told them “I’m not coming with you to be chained, I’m here to unbound you from yours forever”.

Ever since Nandini and Bella were inseparable, Nandini only went to places where Bella was welcomed. The duo became a symbolic protest for the ones who made the societal rules. Their mobility without a sense of time, direction and purpose made them stand out of the crowd. She could be anything with

Bella around, a witch, the Goddess, a monster or nature itself. Her family and friends soon accepted her as part and parcel of her being, she felt safe and protected if Bella was along. None dared disturb her serenity even in secluded places for after discerning her presence they immediately noticed her shadow creeping along, her steady steps betrayed the look of a wolf in ambush. There was something about them that made the onlookers either hostile or completely docile in their thoughts without the pair doing anything to ignite any of that.

This incident happened on one of their travels to the mountains, it had rained continuously for two days restricting their movements. The night of the incident

Nandini felt absolutely morose and decided to watch one of studio Ghibli movies. Princess Mononoke resonated with her being and as she tiptoed out of her room she witnessed the first starry night of her visit.

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She found herself with a sudden urge to take a stroll but it was 2:30 in Am. She would have stayed put if Bella wasn’t. As she moved out Bella followed her eagle eyed and closer than usual. Even the dogs were fast asleep on that moonless night except on of Bella’s friend who started following them, reluctant to go out of his yard. Nandini and Bella assured him that they will take care of him if he wanted to come along. He might have understood the communication and continued with them checking out imprints, suspecting something. All three scared but excited. They followed the road that lead to the forest and halted a few hundred meters past the last street light. Pitch dark, starred but nebulous, noiseless except the sound of the woods and it’s mysteries now and then. Nandini sat there to meditate with her eyes closed, both the canines sat on her flanks touching part of their warm coats with her body. It was time to annihilate all the fear out of her spine.

She was taken aback when she heard footsteps,

Before she could register anything she saw a group approaching her, something about their movement made her uneasy. Blood pounded in her ears, her heart shuddered in her chest, her vision disfigured and she knew by instinct that they were coming for her. There had been rumors about her being a witch, she heard them too but laughed over it. She wouldn't possibly harm a fly, kindness was her most tangible virtue and yet her roaming had threaten the men of the society who saw her freedom as an encroachment in the lives of their women who they treated as cattle. She was stranded and in disbelief of being stalked.

For a moment she was given a divine vision in which she could forebode what the mob had in their mind. Her dread turned to outrage when she fathomed what they had in mind for Bella.

What stunned her even more was Bella’s countenance, she did not bark but snarled under her breath as if she knew what to do when the right time comes. It was a flight or fight moment for Nandini, she clenched her fists so tight that her nails dug into her palm, ready to run a marathon but something within her snapped and she could feel a transformation within her spurred by wild ferocity. Nandini gritted her teeth in an atavist rage, her eyeballs bulged out of their sockets and nostrils flared to an extent that her body almost became a Canon to be shot at opportune. She was a pantheist and in that moment of she felt the powers of her foremother spirits surrounding her in an impenetrable shield.

The group in vigil of their hunt carried no light with them, those cowards were scared of the own notoriety. All she could perceive was them slowly spacing in their way towards her, there was absolutely no light but they would have observed her unfazed with two wolf like shadows at her flank as she opened her hair in dissent making her look like the spirit of the forest which made their movement irregular and flustered. In that moment of terror they would have

actually believed those rumors of her being inhuman. She could hear them whispering among themselves, all she could comprehend was “Leave it, let’s go, she is mad” but one of the middle aged man she had previously noticed eying her with repugnant said “ Let’s teach her a lesson”. She felt for him what Kali must have felt when she lost control of her anger and bawled in a most inhuman wail “You have the audacity to think of hurting nature's own daughter?”

It was not Nandini anymore, there were multiple voices within her, the majesty of the sky was proclaimed by coal black clouds and the Mighty thunder echoed her voice, the mountains rumbled in approval. Lightening flashed right in front

of the group slicing that man in half making the rest run for their life. More than her own transformation she was astonished to see Bella and her companion metamorphose into ferocious wolves with blood red eyes. They shot at the fleeing group like bloodlust predators ready to engulf their prey, her dog was actually a sentient wolf gifted to her by her mother nature. She was nature's daughter after all, in her rage she breathed fire like a dragon and was unsatiated like Kali when her wolves produced the ripped but alive bodies for her to feast on. There was so much commotion and yet the valley was swallowed up in death like silence. In her Achilles’s wrath she would have exterminated the valley to destruction but the God of rain decided to pacify her anger and her fire turned to smoke in torrents of rain that was sticky like saliva and she woke up to Bella licking her face as if trying to revive her from her dream. Astonished to realize that it was a dream after all she muttered in excitement “Oh Bella I was the daughter of nature in my dream today”. Bella sighed in indifference, as she checked the time it was 2:30 AM and the rain had actually ceased to produce an astounding view of countless stars and Nandini decided to shoot out for a walk.

By Malvika