The three sisters, Smriti, Saadhvi and Tvisha had decided to stroll in a park nearby at dawn. The elders at home were chit-chatting, and they knew that the girls were now older to go out on their own, so they let them go. The girls had lazily tied their hair with flower bands and ventured out of the house.

"Wow! This park is so big!" Smriti exclaimed. "The flower bushes are lovely too." She touched a rose and ruffled its soft petals.

Tvisha picked a jasmine flower from the ground and placed it on her hair. "This is my favourite place to spend my time, especially for my writing work. I get a good flow of ideas and words here. Sometimes you get to witness," she moved her eyes to the left towards a couple, "lovers who are way too deep in passion to care about the rest of the world."

Smriti giggled at the sight of the lovers who had concealed themselves behind a thick bush and vines. "Do you think all those romantic poets wrote those pretty poems after watching couples like them accidentally?"

"Who knows, they might have made love in these parks at night or nearby a river. You often write what you experience," said, Saadhvi, pulling a giggling Smriti away from looking at the couple. "You are too young for this."

A huffing, Smriti replied, "Oh really? What if I have a secret lover back in school, and I may have done-"

Tvisha slapped her palm on her mouth. "Shiva Shiva, you are still a little baby in my eyes. What lover boy are you talking about?"

A small smile made its way on Smriti's lips as the image of a young boy holding paintbrushes came into her view. Furiously blinking her eyes at the sight, she uttered mentally, 'Oh god, no, not him. I just met him a few days ago.'

Saadhvi looped her arms with both of her fingers and marched ahead. "We are not here to talk about lovers and romance. Look, the sun looks so pretty."

"Beautifully red like the lips of a woman, ready to be kissed."

"Smriti, no."

The trio took seven rounds of the park. It was constructed as a circle with flower beds and bushes in the middle and by the sides. Neat stone pavements were laid after the bushes to allow people to walk through. There was a separate play area for children and large swings for older people. The swings were a favourite of lovebirds who visited the park in the evenings. A small pond was constructed too near the central flower bed, which hosted a few swans that made the area look even more beautiful.

The sun had transformed from its red shade to golden yellow. A light, pleasant breeze blew through the park, which emitted a sweet fragrance from the various flowers planted. Smriti agreed with Tvisha. The park was indeed a nice place to spend time in.

Saadhvi was braiding Tvisha's hair, who had turned her face to the sun to get some warm sunshine on her. Smriti had engaged herself in hopping over diagonal squares. She was about to trip on a pebble but held a tree trunk to prevent the fall when her eyes caught a flash of black and wavy hair that eerily resembled Ekaksh's hair. She saw a little girl walking beside him.

"I am going to the pond, okay," Smriti said and followed the boy.

The boy wore a yellow uttariya and a white dhoti. The girl beside him was dressed in a pink blouse and skirt. Her small fingers were dyed in alta and her feet were adorned with anklets. Smriti had a gut feeling that the boy was none other than Ekaksh.

She followed the duo until they reached the park exit. A little run to them finally let Smriti confirm her guess. Tapping the boy's wet shoulder, she asked, "You are Ekaksh, right?"

The boy turned back. Smriti gasped in surprise. It was him. His wet hair moved in the air and stuck to his forehead. A few droplets trickled down his neck, which made her gulp. She looked up at his eyes, but quickly averted them. "You have come from a bath I see."

The little girl beside Ekaksh chirped, "Pretty didi is blushing I see."

Ekaksh tapped the girl's head and said, "Sssh, Siddhi. This is not right."

"Saying the truth isn't wrong dada."

An amused Smriti caressed the girl's cheek. "Very good, Siddhi. Also, aren't you so adorable?"Siddhi laughed, a sweet laughter from her caused even Smriti to shine brightly. "That I know didi. I am very very cute, which is why dada adores me a lot. Everyone does actually."

Ekaksh ran a hand through his wet hair. His eyes set on the girl in front of him who was talking to Siddhi. The sun shone across her face, illuminating her dusky skin with a beautiful glow. The morning breeze made some of her loose hair fly gracefully around her. He badly wanted to touch her hair. A small gajra would make her hair look even more beautiful he mused. Her saree matched the shade of the light blue sky, making her look like an angel.

"Now, Siddhi, my dear one, can I steal Smriti didi for a while? You have been talking to her for a long while now," Ekaksh said. His heart raced when Smriti turned her eyes towards him. It felt nice to have her gaze on him.

Little Siddhi kept her hands on her waist, and said, "Admit it, you are jealous."

Before Ekaksh could come up with a clever retort, Smriti laughed and replied, "He is. You are cuter than him." Siddhi raised her eyebrow, as a playful expression gleamed in her eyes."Dada, sundari didi said you are cute."

Doubling up with laughter, Smriti said, "God, this girl is little only in her body. Very clever, young lady."

Ekaksh wrapped his uttariya around him, which was slowly slipping down. He then asked, "Will you be free in the evening today? I have to go to the palace now to drop this naughty brat off to her mother, and to umm.... get dressed myself."

Smriti twirled her saree pallu with her finger. Nodding, she answered, "I will be free yes, but come meet me at the temple in the evening. I am doing something there, and from there we can go to the riverbank."

"Ooooh. You will meet Sundari didi alone at the riverbank. Very naughty dada."

Ekaksh grabbed Siddhi's hand and ran his hand over his face. "This girl is truly an adorable menace."

"Bye bye sundari didi. Meet you soon!"

Giggling, Smriti waved at the duo as a happy grin etched on her lips. She saw them off and hopped her way back to her sisters who had busied themselves in some conversation.

***

The head priest rang the main temple bell to notify the devotees and the people nearby in their homes that it was the first hour of the Pradosha prahar, the first hour of the evening after sunset. The temple would soon be busy with the evening rituals, one of which was the customary offering of music and dance to the goddess and other deities of the temple.

Smriti had discarded the idea of wearing a saree for the evening. She wore a red blouse and a red skirt with golden borders that gleamed with the flames of the fire torches and diyas lit inside the temple complex. She wore a single rose flower in her hair and golden anklets around her feet. Her eyes scanned the temple entrance for any sign of Ekaksh when Ragini, the devadasi from the earlier day tapped her shoulder. "You ready? The performance is going to begin soon."

Leaving one last look at the gate, she turned back and walked with Ragini towards the inner sanctum of the temple. The moorti of the goddess was dressed in a lovely yellow saree and matching jewellery. A large lotus garland was placed around her neck. The priest had put a red bindu with sindoor between the eyebrows of the goddess. For a moment, Smriti felt as if the moorti had turned alive.

"I am so sorry, Smriti. There was some urgent work at the palace, or I would-" Ekaksh paused in the middle once Smriti turned towards him. She looked ethereal to him like the daughter of the goddess. Red and gold shades suited her. He stared at her for a moment and blinked his eyes to take in her gorgeous form. "You... you look beautiful."

Ragini looked at the exchange with interest. She knew he was the prince, and she also knew that he was hiding his princely identity from Smriti. He asked those at the temple to be discreet after Smriti told him to meet there. Ragini hadn't failed to catch the amazed yet fond gaze in Ekaksh's eyes for Smriti. She looked at the goddess and then back at Ekaksh and Smriti. "Well, I think it's time for the performance. Ekaksh, you can meet your friend afterwards."

He nodded and walked towards the natya mandapa, where temple dances were usually performed. On special occasions, temple dancers performed in the garbhagriha only for the deities. There wasn't a huge crowd assembled near the mandapa, as it wasn't a festival today. Ekaksh saw a few old women with their grandchildren, then a few poets who were sitting with their parchments and pens in hand. Some other devotees sat with folded hands, their eyes in waiting to have a glimpse of the dancers who were living divine women. It was said that their mere presence brings auspiciousness.

A little while later, some musicians took their place on the right side of the stage. They touched their instruments and muttered a silent prayer. Ragini and one of her companions walked in with a shimmery piece of cloth followed by Smriti whose face was hidden behind the cloth.

"Dear devotees, I want you to welcome a young dancer to this pious mandapa today. A lovely soul, and a knowledgeable woman in making full of devotion towards dance and art, I hereby present, Smriti." Ragini announced and moved the cloth away. Both her companion and she left the stage and stood with the crowd in front.

The musicians and singers combined played and sang the Devi stuti. Their voices harmoniously fused with the jingling anklets of Smriti. Each time she took a spin, the red skirt twirled and furled like a beautiful reddish flare delighting the eyes of the crowd. Her eyes skillfully showed different emotions of the goddess, as per the hymns and actions present in the stories. Her agile limbs beautifully morphed and expressed different avatars of the goddess. It appeared as if the goddess and devotee - both danced in a single body.

For Ekaksh, the sight was spectacular. He had seen countless dances at the court and even at the temple. However, Smriti's dance made him feel something different. Her techniques were great, her expressions perfect and on point, but there was a divinely mystical aura around her as she moved. One moment, she was a fierce goddess killing rakshas, and in the next, she transformed into a loving benevolent form of the goddess, as the divine mother. Later, she would quickly switch to being a devotee thirsty for darshan. Suffice it to say that Smriti's performance mesmerized him.

The crowd, too, seemed to have shared Ekaksh's sentiment. Some women bowed at Smriti. The children admired her while the devadasis had tears in their eyes. They prayed for her with their hands folded against their chest.

The song came to an end, and so did Smriti's dance. Immediately she met eyes with Ekaksh and the intensity of his gaze caused butterflies to fly in her stomach. He looked at her with sheer wonder and admiration, and maybe a little amount of devotion. She made her way towards him with great difficulty because people from the crowd wanted to congratulate her for such a splendid performance.

"You were wonderful up there, Smriti, just as I had imagined," said Ekaksh, as he gently led her away from the crowd.

"So you do imagine me sometimes. That's nice to know," Smriti teased.

Ekaksh only smiled at her. They began walking around the temple. Smriti was admiring the sculptures. "Look, that dancer is so beautiful, see her there!"

The painter did look at the dancer beside him. He slowly whispered, his eyes never moving away from Smriti, "I see her too. She is really lovely and enchanting to see."

Both of them took darshan of the other deities too around the temple. Smriti pointed out a few more sculptures and designs and told him about the meaning and thought behind making them that way. Ekaksh, being the patient listener listened to her with great attention.

The temple bell rang again, notifying everyone that the second hour of the first evening Prahar had started. "Let's head to the Narmada now. It would be cool and quiet there," said Smriti who held Ekaksh's wrist.

A strange warmth seeped into his hand while his heartbeat seemed fuzzy. Reaching the temple exit gate, they turned front towards the temple and bowed down for one last time.

Smriti's rose that was pinned to her hair fell down. Ekaksh immediately picked it up and gently parted her hair to put the rose again. He admired the soft texture under his fingers. Smriti could feel Ekaksh's breath on her hair and neck. It tingled her skin.

After carefully fixing the flower, he stepped forward and admired the rose in her hair and somewhere inside his heart - even her. A loose strand flew with the breeze and landed near her cheek. A surprising level of courage had entered the prince's heart as he gently tucked the loose hair strand behind Smriti's ear. The light brush of his fingers against her cheek made Smriti breathe heavily.

"So, shall we leave now painter boy?" Smriti asked, trying to pretend that Ekaksh's actions had no effect on her.

"As the lady wishes."

***

Hello! Welcome back! I finished this chapter at 1.46 am. I have two events to attend the next morning but i couldn't help but write this. It feels nice coming back here with my story.

I would appreciate if you would leave comments and your views on this. it fuels me to write even more. Thank you so much and have a nice day!