Anew

That was when Ilaa had found him. 

He had encountered a tiger on the path and tried to dodge it but the hungry gleam in the tiger’s eyes reflected the actions of it’s paws on Budh’s left knee. Budh’s presence elated Ilaa. They would hunt together, talk for hours regarding how the society just masked it’s belief in progress and laugh at the hypocrisy of the otherwise orthodox pundits who would judge people on the basis of their cattle and ghee containers in the house. Budh would compliment Ilaa’s cooking skills which would result in her getting a rosy blush on her cheeks and Ilaa would often mock him for having a mole right on the centre of his chin and they would dream of a land where a woman was given equal rights as a man.

Meanwhile, news of Ilaa and Budh’s disappearance had spread like wildfire. Ilaa’s parents had searched everywhere for her but they did not step into the forest as they dreaded going out of their protective bubble. Budh’s mother had passed away and his father never spoke a word as to how he thought his son had died. The villagers would abuse Ilaa’s parents on laying so much pressure on her while Budh’s father would be looked down upon with disdainful eyes. The parents were the victims of societal scorn and were charged guilty of not treating their children right. Their shadows were overcome by shame and humiliation by the master puppeteers of the prejudiced beliefs of aristocratic classes of society who had crafted this entire show of marriages being the ultimate goal for a person to attain in life!

But Ilaa and Budh were in the emotionally critical stage of life, where worldly matters didn’t seem to bother them. The strange happiness they both found from staying with each other was nothing but love and immense respect for the other person to run away from the harsh, cruel reality and survive against all odds.  The admiration in Budh’s eyes for her always made Ilaa feel proud to have achieved equal status as that of a man, if not in society but in her personal life. There was no looking down upon the other person between the two of them; both were capable enough to start afresh; anew, with each other.