Love Conquers All Pt. 01

Dear Readers,

The following story is in two parts, both of which have been submitted to the site. It's a simple tale of love with very little sex and a lot of weird names. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I did writing it.

Subdued_Passion

*****

Nakushi looked at the giant statue that stood shining before her. It was such a monstrosity yet when the light hit its smooth surfaces it transformed into something else altogether and as always made her wonder about the legends shrouding it.

Once upon a time, it was said, the barren mountain their temple was built on was a lush and fertile place. The people above lived in prosperity oblivious to the evil beings that lived beneath them. The legend spoke of a great battle which took place ages ago, they spoke of how the earth split open and the very contents of hell's bowels were tossed out- scorching the earth and leaving everything barren in its wake. Along with the brimstone was cast out a creature so hideous and evil that even hell had no place for him in it. However the good people of the land were spared the wicked tyranny of the beast as the gods in their gracious mercy turned the creature to rock before it came to its senses.

The people of the land were bound in gratitude to their gods and showed it by building a temple in honour of the monumental event. The temple was build around the stone demon to ensure its evil nature be forever subdued by the divine presence surrounding it. And so it came to be that the inner sanctum of Jwala temple housed a demon beast. She laughed drily thinking of the village people who were too superstitious to realise that the temple had got its name from the volcanic eruption that had taken place there all those years ago; they would much rather believe in demons and hell fires than what was right before them.

The afternoon sun streamed in through the opening in the dome of the ceiling and harshly bore down upon the statue. Yet when Nakushi reached out to touch the tartarean behemoth before her, she marvelled at how cool it felt and how much peace it brought her just to look up on its grisly form. She could relate to the statue. Her people were superstitious in nature and made up tales to explain things that they couldn't understand. It was exactly why she had run away from the place over three decades ago and never returned to her place of birth till that day.

*****

Nakushi had the misfortune of being born a bastard; her mother had even named her 'unwanted' so she could never forget her place in this world as an undesirable. The only memories she had of her mother were ones where her mother cursed her existence and refused to comfort her or treat her in the manner she had seen other mothers treat their children. By the time she was seven her mother had abandoned her altogether and disappeared from their village.

She still remembered those early days of despair where she had to depend on the charity of her neighbours to meet her basic needs. At first, he people were kind towards her but none of them could afford to feed an extra mouth, not in a place where crops regularly failed and people died from starvation. After some time the villagers decided it would be best to offer the 'bastard' to the Jwala Temple.

Life at the temple was hard for a little girl and worse for a bastard who had no one to defend her and could only rely on the mercy of the temple priests. Nakushi's duties at the temple included cleaning and washing of the temple floors, helping prepare the meals, washing the clothes and making the garlands that would be placed upon the idols of the gods. In addition she was also required to run any errands the priests may ask of her.

The priests of the temple practised celibacy, so they had no wives or children. Consequently Nakushi had no contact with anyone other than the priests or the local devotees who visited the temple. It wasn't long before she discovered that like her mother, no one wanted anything to do with an undesired little girl. They were not entirely unkind to the little girl. They just didn't know how to deal with her. She was the product of sin and needed to be shunned for the evil she symbolised but she was also a pretty little girl with large doe-like eyes that looked at you with so much warmth that it could melt a heart of stone. They couldn't treat her like any normal child and they didn't wish to hurt her so instead, they chose to be indifferent to her.

The little girl tried her best to do the duties demanded of her but her small built and delicate physique made it a constant struggle for her to keep up with her tasks. The only part of her day she enjoyed was in the afternoon when everyone else at the temple was busy taking a nap after their meal. Nakushi was expected to use the time to catch up on her cleaning duties. Taking advantage of being unsupervised, she would head to the inner sanctum.

The innocent child was unafraid of the beast trapped in the rock though it loomed large within the holy of holies. She loved the way the rock would feel- cool and smooth under her little hands- as she wiped it till it shone like clear glass. Over time the ungodly being transformed into a dependable friend who silently listened to the little bastard girl pour her heart out. At times when she felt overcome with her loneliness she would wrap her small arms around one of its giant legs and weep to her heart's content.

And so the months rolled by in routine monotony, the undesirable girl turned eight years old and no one knew it. But the little girl was happy- for once the day was not marked by the sounds of her mother's cursing her birth. She finished her chores in the afternoon and before leaving the inner sanctum she wished that she could escape her world to be in a place where she would not be resented for who she was. The demon's eyes were closed shut and its mouth drawn in a severe line, yet, she imagined it had blinked and smiled at her request.

*****

In the mornings Nakushi would walk through the sparse shrubbery surrounding the temple to collect flowers for the garlands, she would notice in the distance movement on the dirt road- something akin to a mighty beast racing to attack its prey, kicking up a dust storm along its way. She learnt later- after one of the priests explained- that the beast was a vehicle called a bus, passing through the outskirts of her village on its way to the big city. However, today was different; a different bus appeared to arrive and leave every couple of hours. The buses also didn't stick to the usual route- each one came up from the other side of the mountain and halted a short distance from the temple.

Nakushi stared wide eyed at the crowds pouring out of the buses and approaching the temple. She knew it was a special day, a feast day, a day to commemorate the great mercy shown to her village by the gods- the day a demon was turned to stone. The days leading up to the festival were spent toiling in preparation for the feast.

The priests had told her about the crowds that made their annual pilgrimage to their temple to thank the gods and beg for their favour from the evils which currently plagued their lives. They told her about the devotees who chose to climb up the treacherous stones that served as stairs, all the way up the mountain to reach the temple as a way of proving their worth to the gods. They had also spoken about all the outsiders that came, some to watch, others to partake in the spectacle of the feast. Still, the young girl watched in awe as wave after wave of people poured in.

The solitary child grew excited to see all the different people headed to her temple. The kitchen was busier than it ever was trying to churn out enough food to feed the hungry pilgrims. Fortunately for her the best cooks from the village had arrived the previous night to prepare special treats for the visiting devotees, which meant that she was relieved of most of her usual duties. Since the priests were too busy to bother with her supervision she was free to wander about and observe the day's festivities.

The crowds arrived at the temple with offerings in hand. They offered coin, fruits and flowers to the gods, and slaughtered their cattle within the inner sanctum- violent offerings to appease the bloodlust of the demon trapped within the dark stone. She looked at the blood and guts that lay defiling Raku- the name she had given her rakshasa friend- as well as the space he was housed in. She wondered in stomach turning disgust at the waste before her as she contemplated the actions of the people- the same people who turned away from her because of the illegitimacy of her birth. She looked at Raku's face which appeared calm and stoic as always. Thinking about it, she noted, the idols of the gods had seemed just as unaffected by the show of gratitude from the devotees.

Nakushi watched the tin beast, the bus she corrected herself, resting near a tree less than a kilometre from the temple. She wondered where it came from and where it would go. She wondered if she could travel in its belly just to see if the world was the same or any different from where she was. The curious little girl watched as some of the people headed to the bus and decided she would escape her world, if only for a little while and return later with the bus.

*****

The grown woman stood at the entrance of Jwala temple. It was no longer her temple. She gave up that claim when she escaped all those years ago. She had returned out of curiosity or maybe for closure. It was only when she saw the rakshasa did she realise that she had come for her old friend. She thought about the last 30 odd years of her life and how similar or worse her life could've been to the one she experienced in this temple and the village, if not for the kindness of the Vermas.

The Vermas were an old childless couple that had found her huddled under the seat of the bus upon their arrival to the city. Instead of turning her to the authorities they had taken her home instead. It turned out that Nakushi's little brain had erased or suppressed certain painful memories that her tiny body bore evidence of. The elderly couple did not fail to notice the scars which shouted out the truth of the torture the child must've endured over the years. Reflecting on her past she recognized how her circumstances had changed by some random stroke of good luck.

Her adopted parents were godless people and placed their faith in science and their understanding of human nature; this was a little hard for her to understand initially considering the place she came from. They were lecturers at the university who in their spare time travelled to study and document cases of superstitious practises that continued to thrive in modern times. They had ended up visiting her village for the Jwala Temple festival during one such excursion.

She was unable to stop the teardrop from rolling down her face as she thought about her adopted parents. Long gone now, they had helped her survive her past and provided her with the chance at a future. She had proven herself to possess a bright and eager mind, keen to learn and absorb knowledge. She was glad that in their lifetime they were able to witness her carry forth their work. She was currently busy working on a book tribute to her late parents- a record of their contribution towards bringing many small towns and villages out of the dark ages by demystifying their legends.

And so it was that Nakushi found herself within the inner sanctum of the temple with her rakshasa once more.

*****

The obsidian shone brightly and appeared to almost smile in recognition. On her way in she noted that the temple looked unkempt and abandoned. No one greeted her or stopped her when she headed towards the inner sanctum to see her Raku once more. No, she corrected herself, not Raku, just a statue who served the purpose of a friend to a lonely desolate little girl. She wondered who polished the rock now for it to glow as it did.

It was a strange sort of reunion, watching an old friend with the eyes of an adult woman. In the past she had meticulously polished every inch of this stone and yet there were things that caught her attention now that she had never spotted before; like the taut muscles that appeared to almost ripple on the demon's body or the proportionately large bulge in between the tree trunk like thighs of the beast.

She blushed and looked away. Then she took a step back, shook herself and stepped forward again. This time she focused on just the face. The jaw was clenched and the eyes shut tight, yet, the face exuded serenity and warmth. This was her friend, the one who was there for her when no one else was. As she watched him, she sensed something fluttering in her mind, trying to break free- a memory! She closed her eyes and tried to relax so that the memory would come to her.

*****

When Nakushi came to her senses everything felt odd. Her surroundings were the same and yet different at the same time. She felt small and her heart was pounding away loudly. She could tell she was afraid but not why just like she couldn't tell why she found herself creeping low in the shadows of the temple pillars. She watched as the priest ran around peeking in every dark corner; he was searching for something. No, not something, for someone, for her... He was searching for her. This was familiar, this had happened... a long time ago. She was confused, more so because she was once again the little girl of eight who lived in Jwala temple.

Nakushi couldn't understand what was happening. She pinched herself wondering if this was a dream but she knew it wasn't a dream. This was a memory of something from her past. She recognized the evil man who was in hot pursuit of her. He was a new priest and he had taken an interest in the friendless child. At first he had seemed friendly enough but in a short while showed the true wickedness of his nature. As an innocent she had no way of knowing what she expected from her, but instinct warned her that she wasn't safe with him.

The priest had taken to commanding the child to perform unreasonable tasks impossible for her to complete in the given time. She soon caught on that he needed the excuse to punish her. The other priests were convinced that the offender was in fact a pious man trying to purge the child of the evil that was a part of her as a result of her birth, so no one intervened on her behalf. The blisters were still fresh on her body from the last time he burnt her as a lesson. She took her punishments with as much fortitude as she could, but something about the way his eyes would light up when he hurt her terrified her.

She was befuddled over how she had turned into that child again but she was aware of the imminent threat. She felt helpless as she was too little to defend herself from the brute and she couldn't call any of the priests to her aid as they had gone to the village to make arrangements for the upcoming temple festival. There was only one place that offered her safety and that is where she hid now. She knew it was just a piece of carved rock but the child trusted that her friend abided there and he would save her.

"Got you, you little bitch!" The priest yelled as he grabbed a hold of her and dragged her away from the corner she was crouched in while attempting to hide from him. She now knew a trick or two that the child would not have thought of. She raised her knee and kicked the priest in the crotch with all the might her little body could muster. The man howled in pain and let go of her arms to grab his genitals instead as the girl ran to her friend. She flung her arms around one of its massive thighs and begged.

"Raku please save me. Please, please, please..." She sobbed as she clung to him.

By then the priest recovered a little and laughed at her childish pleading. Her adult mind panicked as it was running out of options to get her to safety and yet as the child she stayed put certain in the belief that her friend wouldn't let any harm come to her. That's when things got really strange.

Nakushi felt a rumbling like the ground beneath her was moving. She opened her eyes that were shut tight till now only to find herself staring into the amber coloured eyes of the stone giant leaning down towards her. There was something about the eyes which nagged at her brain but that soon passed. Her attention was locked in focus on the spectacle before her as immovable rock flexed rippling stone muscles. She found herself being gently picked up and set down just as gently safely behind it. She continued to watch in shock and awe as the moving rock approached the priest.

The girl looked away when the creature grabbed the priest by his neck and raised him off the ground. She kept her eyes shut through the horrible crunching sound. She continued to keep her eyes shut even as she felt herself being picked up and carried away. She was too afraid to open her eyes and look at where she was going or what was happening. The child reminded itself that this was Raku her friend and protector and that she had nothing to fear. She felt herself grow dizzy and pass out once again that day.

*****

Nakushi came to and found herself within some kind of stone cave. She was lying on a bed which looked like it was carved out of stone. Some animal pelts lay tossed on the stone to make it a little comfortable. She got out bed intending to explore the little cave. The cave was a large room with some basic furniture, all of which was sculpted from rock. She looked around to find a door or a window but was unable to locate any opening. The room was lit by an eerie red glow. She wondered about its source for it appeared to be rising from the very floor of the cave.

She decided to feel around the walls for the presence of any spring activated door locks. The child reached out and placed her hands on the wall of the cave to feel for any grooves or activation devices but no sooner did her hands make contact with the wall that she screeched in pain and drew them back- the stone was as hot as a furnace.

At that very moment out of nowhere there appeared an outline of a door on the wall furthest from her. She watched in stunned silence as that section of the wall disappeared to create a doorway and in walked her Raku. Once the stone demon entered the cave room the wall became whole again with no sign of the doorway which had allowed him entry a mere second ago.

"Are you okay?" The voice boomed within the soundproof room, but it didn't scare her, on the contrary she found it calmed her.

"Y-y-yes." she stuttered.

"I heard you scream and rushed over. I had expected you to rest a while longer."

"My hands... got burnt." She explained timidly.

"I know, little one. I took care of that evil man." He said and knelt beside her. He bent as low as he could before he spoke again, "I promise you he will never hurt you again."

It dawned upon her that the giant thought she was talking about the priest and the burns he had inflicted upon her body. With all the sensational things she had witnessed she had completely forgotten about that wicked man.

"No," she shook her head, "my hands got burnt just now when I touched the walls." She held out her palms for him to see what she meant.

"Oh. I'm sorry. That's my fault," he explained, "I didn't expect you to be awake so soon."

"What is this place? ... How did we come here? ... What was that you just did with the door? Who are you?"

Se rattled off only a few of the numerous questions running through her head.

"Hush little one. I'll explain everything in time. For now you should rest."

He gently carried her back to the bed and lay her down. He then shuffled about the room opening a cupboard and taking out some things. He returned with a bowl of liquid that dazzled a brilliant shade of blue. The demon dipped the littlest of his giant fingers in the bowl and applied the contents to the little girl's palms. At first the strange fluid stung her wounds but that was immediately followed by numbing relief. He proceeded to apply the salve to the rest of the blisters and burns on her body. She watched the blisters almost immediately disappear leaving only faint scars of her injuries.