"Ho h oho, I knew you would be here reading the love letter from your mysterious human lover." It was Iniya, the only girl that dared to go against the elders and talked to me.

  Any interaction with humans was banned in the Dhadhoodi village. Iniya and seashells were the only ones who knew of my secret.

"He is not my lover Iniya, he doesn't even know I exist," I told her rolling my eyes.

"Ha, that may be true, but you can't deny that, and one of the reasons for you undergoing the merge is, that you want to find who this guy is." She playfully flicked my hair behind my ears and teased me.

             I couldn't deny her, she was right. I reminisced about the moment 10 years ago same day when I was looking at the beach from the top of a tree and this letter landed on a tree next to me. He was writing it to his dead father who he mentioned would come with him to that cliff and make him recite a love poem (I have no idea why I find that creepy though). When he passed away he started writing letters and throwing them down the cliff on his death anniversary which coincided with my birthday. From what I have been taught about humans I always thought that they were cold creatures, that would do anything for their greed. But Raghav proved me otherwise. Every year his letters brought me out of the horrors of living a life that was seen as a curse by the people around me.

From his words, I could see that this human was also suffering a major loss. I just wanted to find him give him a hug and walk away as a stranger.

"Hey Miles, lost in your thoughts again? Don't do this in the human world I heard that they steal the belongings of those that do this."

"But how will I know him even if he walked past me"

"Ha... good question, and I think I have just the solution for that, come with me."

She pulled took seashells in her arms ( Which I am sure he was not very happy about and gave me a sudden kick that I landed on the nearest tree, except that I didn't get hit by the trunk but rather fell on my face on a soft grass somewhere else I stood myself up and realized that she had teleported me to Altras' house. Iniya appeared right next to me with seashells.

A voice rang in our heads, " I am not your pet kitty " and sea shells jumped to the ground from her hands and purred loudly.

"Okay, Mr. Tiger, Come now let's go inside. Altras is waiting for us"

The Naga residence was as bustling as ever, tree spirits and naiads sprinted amid their duties, Deers played with their calves and pretty butterflies flitted gayly. The carved encryptions on the bamboo walls as always amazed me. One thing we know is to never touch anything each symbol was a magical tantra.

We searched everywhere but Altras was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, Altras must have been summoned somewhere. I brought you here because we both wanted to give this" Iniya pointed at her closed fist and murmured an incantation. She opened it to reveal a giant floating bubble which meant only one thing: A GIFT!

I carefully burst the bubble. Neatly wrapped inside weaved bamboo leaves, was an amulet. A spherical crystal hung in a black cord, it was slowly shifting colours as it landed in my hand it turned purple.

"Ini ! You and Altras got this for me? It is so beautiful. Thank you so much". I gave her a hug.

"It is not just beautiful; it is a magical amulet. Outside, in the human world, Pluntis are weak and our magic is therefore weaker. This amulet is created from the dew drops from the ancient tree of whispers. You can summon the magic from it and help yourselves. Also, these amulets shift colours according to your surroundings. The color red denotes imminent death and pink means you just met the one you love. So when you meet your human friend, it will turn pink and that is how you can find him!".

"Where did you get this from"

"Altras helped me make it or to be honest I helped a little when Altras made it"

"This really means a lot to me Iniya. Thank you so much. This is my first gift besides Raghav's letters."

I wrapped her in my arms and hugged her tightly.

"I know that the village has been cruel to you and you always had eyes upon what was beyond the wild. You always wanted to see what the world and humans are all about. So I am only happy that you are venturing out beyond the limits of our forest. Except that, I'll miss you terribly" She said her voice choking with the suppressed tears.

"'Seashells and Mily ' you both are summoned to the merging ritual " Pluntis whispered around us.

"Seashells what do you say ?" I asked him.

' Come on dummy I wanna visit the world and don't u dare spoil it for me now' his voice rattled inside my head.

We apparated to the ritual ground.

Fires had been lit all around the whispering tree, the ancient old banyan tree that formed the centre of the wild. Various tantric( geometrical designs that possess magic powers) designs were etched on the soil.

At the centre two pillars stood, about a meter apart, adorned with wild creepers that glistened in the moonlight. Two torches on the top of this pillar were carrying purple flames that illuminated the pillars and the area between with a crisp purple spotlight. Everything except for the flames stood still. And illuminated in the purple light, two thrones were hovering in the air: one throne made of living vines and bamboo plants for Thalava and the other one made of moving black snakes for Altras.

The air was also unmoving.

Pluntis can't enter the sacred grounds so none of us could do magic here.

But the whispering tree had its own magic and it was glowing in purple light. I thought of the times I had witnessed it show us visions and whisper prophecies.

Hundreds of Dhadhoodis had gathered to witness my merging ceremony. All of their eyes glinted in the moonlight but none of them made a sound or moved a muscle everyone was awaiting the arrival of Thalava and Altras. Iniya went to join them and I sat inside the tantric circle designated for me and seashells in his. I could feel all the unmoving faces rest their gaze upon me and it was getting eerily uncomfortable. They probably hoped after merging I would leave the wild forever.

The air was filled with the music of the wild, the roars of the felines, the elephants trumpeting the chorus, and the birds singing the melody that beautifully intertwined with the beat.

In between the beats the Dhadhoodi people started chanting,

THALAVA..... THALAVA..... THALAVA..... THALAVA.......

I felt the earth rattle below me.

Thalava's personal guards marched in carrying her in a palanquin decorated with coconut whiskers. Even in the dark, it looked white. Thalava stepped out of it. Her crown as always carried ivory tusks shaped like a horn. Her green amulet shined brightly in the moonlight.

Behind marched the animals, in the centre was Sherkhan the giant lion of 10 feet height. On top of Sher Shah was Altras. His grey hair and beard braided with beads His white robe contrasted against all of us wearing leather skin and dried leaves. He looked like a saint in the middle of us tribal people.

A wild macaw handed him a wooden cane, bent and slowed by the age he walked, he turned my side to give me a look and mouthed the words, Happy birthday. I was gonna miss him so much and all also the animals in this forest.

Altras the Naga and Thalava were the only ones here with magic. They both levitated and took their respective seats in the hovering thrones.

He started speaking in the Dhadhoodhi tongue.

"Dhadhoodhi, dhathu arra pluntis ,Spandanam"

(Friends, animals and plants, welcome)

"Namma eeda Mily arra Kadarchippi otraga patravandhan"

(We have gathered here to witness the merging of Mily and Kadarchippi( Seashells name in Dhadhoodhi tongue))

"Let the vow begin"

I stood up in the tantric circle.

"I Mily, Dhadhoodhi, server of pluntis and wielder of Manorupa hereby vow that I will never reveal the secrets of the wild to any human. I shall never use my powers against the wild. I shall never revive the dead or kill the living if not for saving another I vow all these in the name of ever so precious Lord Suryat and ever so kind Mother of Nature".

"Anyone rise if you have any objections."

A group of dhadhoodis rose up. In the dark, I could not see who they were. They were wearing masks made of coconut shells.

"Thalava we cannot let this girl get the power of vikriti(ability to change forms) and become a mrigarupa(half animal). We cannot let her have so much power. She has contact with a human and her plan is to destroy the wild"

What I heard rattled my insides. I knew that everyone hated me so I thought that no one would stop me from leaving. Now what in the name of pluntis is happening here? What do they mean by human contact?

" What are you saying dhadhoodi? Do not mutter absurdity without proof . The wild condemns liars." Altras rose from his throne and flew down

"It is no absurdity old naga, you must ask young girl Iniya"

Iniya trembled at the dhadhoodhi's feet.

"It is true". She mumbled silently and looked down.

I felt the air get thicker and it was getting harder to breath. Did she tell them about the letters.? Why did you do this Iniya?

She shot a sorry look at my way. Her eyes were welled with tears.

Before anybody could utter anything more, the wind grew stronger and the tree of whispers shook its branches and its golden leaves fell down like rain, on the floor. Then, as if pulled by invisble strings they rose up and formed a mini tornado in the air. The call of the wild. It meant that a message was incoming.

There was an indistinct murmur. I listened carefully to make out the words.

The .... Manorupa .... Kills.... The... last ... Naga

The..... Manorupa.... Kills... The.....last .... Naga

The whisper was clearly talking about me as I was the only living Manorupa of the century. I will kill Altras? How could that be anything closer to the truth?

Before I could even process what I just heard, Thalava shouted "GOVERIYYYYY" (enemy)

The guards all lunged towards me with spears that had apparated into their hands as Thalava chanted a mantra.

I could neither find my voice nor move my feet.

"No... LISTENNN" Altras pleaded but before he could say some thing a spear was flying straight towards me. My amulet turned red. DEATH. That's when I realised that I could still do magic with the amulet. But now it was too late. At least seashells didn't have to suffer as my companion and merge with me.

I closed my eyes to accept my fate as I saw everything in slow motion.

I heard a pained groan. Altras had jumped in to take the spear in his heart.

"NOOOOOO" I yelled. I had in fact been the reason for him getting stabbed, just like the prophecy indicated.

He collapsed on the ground. I knelt down next to him and held him in my hands. He was breathing heavily and groaning in pain.

The Dhadhoodhis and dhathus(animals) were too stunned to move.

We felt an earthquake and trees had started falling. I remembered the ancient axiom, Nagas, dhadhoodhi, pluntis, and dhathus all have to be present for the wild to exist. If the last Naga dies, so will the wild and everyone in it. Now I understood why everyone was so shocked. Before I could think any further, Seashells jumped on me while clawing at my amulet. He apparated us to the borders close to The Thousand Miles using the power of the amulet.

"Should I be the one to do this, why couldn't you do this on your own" Seashells screamed inside my head.

I saw that Altras was still in my arms. I could hear pluntis weeping all around me. In the distance, trees kept falling one by one.

"Mily run away since Thalava declared you as Goveri, they will kill you the instant they see you! I will merge you both" Altras spoke in between moans. Normally Nagas could heal such injuries but he was too old for that.

"How can I leave you like this old Naga? When you along with the whole wild is about to crumble because of me?"

"Do not blame yourself for this. I have no doubt that you will never kill me. I know not what the ancient tree whispers of"

"But Altras no thing of Nature, could kill a Naga right?", I asked remembering another age old axiom.

"It is a spear cut in the hands of a dhadhoodhi smeared with poisons brewed by a dhadhoodhi. It is no thing of Nature"

It was poisoned too?

"I will not go anywhere without curing you fully with my Manorupa."

"But then you will forget this day"

"Yes but seashells will remind me"

I sat next to him on the ground and began chanting .. I concentrated on the memory of the day and summoned the power of pluntis. My amulet began to glow and a violet light swirled around us. I channeled the energy into Altras' cut. I could feel every muscle in my body tear with the agony_ the same agony he is feeling right now.

Altras' memories began playing inside my head. I walked through his memory lane.

A bunch of leaves floated above me. Each leaf represented a memory. Now all I have to do is find the leaf that has the memory of him getting stabbed and destroy it with the magic of pluntis just as I have been training for years by now.

In the hoard of memories soaring above my head, one thing caught my eye. The memory of my birth. I couldn't resist it all these years no one ever told me who my mother was. All the elders made sure no one knew her. Maybe she was so embarrassed about having birthed a curse.

As I picked the leaf in my hands, I witnessed my own birth through Altras' memory, and I saw my mother, the woman who had just ordered the forest to kill me at sight by declaring me as the enemy, Thalava.