Final Chapter (8): The Bloodtrail!
22 Feb 2003: The day had finally arrived. The entire valley was gleaming under the wedding lights. It was impossible to identify this valley under the realm of the colourful lights celebrating the wedding of Aayushman and Meeru.
“Alhamdullilah! How beautifully has Aayushman decorated this place!” said Jasmine with moist eyes.
“Yes. He has poured out his entire heart in this. These aren’t just lights, but his heartbeats.” Exclaimed Aditi.
Daniyal, Vihaan and Asif Chacha were busy looking into the other preparations and welcoming the guests.
As the clock ticked 8 p.m., the couple entered, and all one could feel was some divine couple’s entry from the heavens above.
They were twinning in red, long before this concept came into being. Aayushman’s red sherwani and white trousers well complimented Meeru’s red-coloured, heavily embellished lehenga, paired with a red dupatta, made perfect with the intricate Zari work. The red lehenga, drenched in gold embellishments was a true embodiment of royalty. The intricate tilla, dabka and zardozi work brought out the bridal glow in Meeru.
“Alhamdullilah! Noor Baras Raha hai!” exclaimed Chacha, and then, all the guests started singing the same in unison.
The atmosphere suddenly got covered with the flowers of Gul-Tour. It seemed as if even the gods were celebrating this couple by showering flowers.
“How magnificent!” said the priest, who thereupon invited the couple and their parents before the holy fire to start the rituals.
All was going well, till now.
Suddenly thunderclouds formed out of nowhere. The pleasant weather turned scary. Something was not right. And that something was none other than our villain, Saqib.
This time, he didn’t waste time in indulging in a war of words. He had come to display his actions. His eyes were red, with blood pouring out from the canthi. He was looking a true devil, but he hadn’t come alone. He brought some men from the distant parts of Kashmir, whom he had hypnotized with his poisoning words.
They took aim at the guests and started shooting, killing numerous of them without any mercy.
Blood took over all celebrations, ruining everyone’s effort to bring back happiness to the valley which had plunged into sadness.
Saqib got off from his horse and ran towards the stage, suddenly beheading Asif Chacha who had been his oldest enemy for being as honest as cruel Saqib was.
Everyone was petrified. No one could think of this in their wildest dreams. Their eyes filled with tears as blood flowed from the decapitated body.
Aayushman was filled with rage.
“I will kill you Saqib.” He shouted. But before he could do anything, his men had taken him as well as Meeru into their captivity.
Both the families were taken hostages, and dragged to the banks of the Indus.
On the banks, the families were made to sit on knees. In front of their eyes, Aayushman was beaten up.
“You thought that Ibrahim left the valley?” asked Saqib.
“That was what he said.” Aayushman replied amidst blood-curling yelps.
“He didn’t.”
“Then?”
“He loved only two things in this world. One was Meeru, and the other his Dagger. That night, after promising you that he would never come, he went and sat on the cliff.”
“Then”
“That night, his Dagger and his Heart met!”
“Long live Ibrahim!” shouted his men from behind to save Saqib from fainting and diverting him from that topic.
“Do you now realise what you have done? That your quest of power has killed your son and shall kill you too.” Shouted Meeru from behind.
“No, my child. I am immortal. Didn’t your dad tell you about this. Then let me narrate this out to you.”
“The night I killed my master was the same night he coronated me. Before killing him, I made sure he was drunk. Then, I trapped him emotionally and made him bless me eternal life. So, I would never die.”
“No, that is not true Saqib.” Shouted Daniyal from behind as he rose from captivity and smirked at him.
“That means you do not know the entire story brother. Before coronating you, your master, the reverend Shah Mir had called Miyaan Ji to his place and told him of a possible Murder. He had given Miyaan Ji the power to nullify any of his student’s curses.”
Saqib’s face became white. All this while, he had thought that he was one step ahead of time itself. This statement punched him straight on his brain.
Daniyal continued, “So, when Miyaan Ji learnt of your treachery, he nullified the promise given to you and instead, cursed your immortality. He cursed you that the day these two souls become one, you will be taken to the boiling cauldrons of hell where you will be made to pay for all your sins.”
Saqib was devastated. His anger increased. But Meeru was confused. She asked, “Then why didn’t Ammi tell me all this at first?”
“That is because we had to keep the details of this curse safe. This devil can see and hear everything around him but his powers aren’t enough to peep into our minds. Miyaan Ji limited his powers before dying.”
Suddenly, Saqib started laughing. He fell to the ground while displaying his newfound excitement. “You have given me another reason to kill Aayushman and Meeru now! Daniyal, you yourself do not know what you have done. Till now, I was angry at them for what they did to my son. But now, killing them has become a necessity for me if I want to live eternally.”
Though Jasmine repented Daniyal’s actions, he stood smiling.
Saqib started reciting the final prayers, “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un”. Then in front of Vihaan’s and Aditi’s eyes, he slit Aayushman’s neck.
The skies screamed in upheaval. His last words were: I LOVE YOU MEERU! He was dragged from where he was lying to the riverfront, creating “THE FIRST BLOODTRAIL” and was thrown into the river, under the notion that the water would carry him off.
Vihaan and Aditi immediately left for their heavenly abode. They had loved Aayushman so dearly that they couldn’t bear the shock.
“Next is our beloved Meeru’s turn to meet ALLAH.” Saqib smirked.
Amidst heart-wrenching echoes of pain of her parents, she too was killed in the same way. Her last words were: I LOVE YOU AAYUSHMAN!
She too was dragged and that created “THE SECOND BLOODTRAIL”, which he made sure ran parallel to Aayushman’s and never meeting, at least on land so that he remained immortal.
But as soon as she was thrown into the river, the sun that sat on Aayushman’s head started glowing, and it glowed so brightly that the entire atmosphere came back to life.
It made it possible to clearly see the bloodtrails which until now were only visible to Saqib.
There they ran, two parallel lines up until the water. But what shocked everyone was the fact that the lines remained parallel in the water as well, no matter which direction the water flowed in, or how many ripples were created, the lines were as parallel as on the ground.
But Aayushman and Meeru met again, their hands froze with each other and there their bloodtrails met, on the rock from where, they flowed ahead, together forever.
That night, the valley saw a vision in the night sky. Two souls, Aayushman’s and Meeru’s, dancing with each other until the doors of heaven opened for them and ALLAH called them back forever.
“And they have become one finally!” exclaimed Daniyal and Jasmine.
Saqib committed suicide. His immortality finally broke.
The bloodtrails are still there. From time to time, fresh blood appears out of nowhere and starts flowing, with Asif Chacha’s spirit often seen guarding it.
This is how two souls taught the entire humankind the meaning of pure love. Even after death, when they were set free from their bodies, their true love still binded them together, until eternity, and all they left behind, was THE BLOODTRAIL!
BY: TEJKIRAT SINGH SUKHIJA
CREDITS:
Manish Sir - for allowing me to be a blogger on this site.
Kiku Singh Bajaj (mamu) - for proofreading every chapter and suggesting changes.
Navneet Kaur Sukhija (mom) - for sitting with me for hours in selecting the songs.
Sumit Singh Bajaj (mamu) - for relentless brainstorming on every aspect.
Jasneet Kaur Bajaj (massi) - for helping me with the smoothness of the chapters.
Harvinder Pal Singh Sukhija (dad) - for spreading the story out to the world.
Tejkirat Singh Sukhija (me) - for creating this.