Sara swooned
after her hysteria subsided. The King,
the Queen, the Minister and indeed the entire kingdom of Regina was plunged in
sorrow when she failed to regain consciousness even after a week.
The royal
physician had tried the best medicines in his repertoire on her and had thrown
up his hands in despair. Then the
physician from the neighboring kingdom was summoned. He took one look at the supine, beautiful
Princess and asked the king whether she pined for anyone. The answer was “Yes, for the peasant lad
named Juan who had been her suitor in the contest announced 3 years ago by me!”
“Then I’m
afraid, only his presence and words will revive her now!” said the physician
gravely. The King and his Minister
exchanged a hapless glance before the King gestured towards him to narrate the
entire sorrowful tale of Juan’s failure in his task and subsequent permanent
stay in that forbidden shrine from where none returned!
“Oh, a very sad
turn of events, Your Highness! Only he
can cure her. If what you say is true, and
that lad will never return, there’s little hope of reviving the fair Princess. I’m sorry!
Anyway I’ll prescribe some rare herbs for her. Please apply it on her chest and forehead,
once in every 3 hours and see whether the cure works its magic on her. I’ll
take your leave now. Please inform me if
she comes to or if there’s any other development. I’ll be back.” Then he went away.
As the King saw
his receding back, he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was
identical to the one that he had had when he’d heard the news of Juan entering
the shrine for medical aid. He had felt
the ground caving in under his feet. Now
he felt as if his whole world was falling apart.
“Please, can’t
we do something?” he pleaded with his trusted confidante, his Minister. “Give me some time to think. I’ll try to come up with a solution,” said
the Minister.
**********************
The Assembly
hall of the palace was packed with hordes of people who had traveled from far
away places to find a solution to the conundrum. “How could Juan be rescued from that
mysterious shrine, the place of no return?”
Scholars and
laymen had come armed with solutions.
Some novel, some preposterous, some downright absurd and implausible! Alas, not a single one was practical.
“Please calm
down, friends of Regina. We’ve gone
through, “Let’s lay siege on the shrine!” “Let’s invite the shrine’s head to a
meeting,” “Let’s create a duplicate Juan” and so on. As we’ve seen the pros and cons of all your
proposals and debated since morning over this important issue, I feel all of us
need a well-deserved break. Let’s have
lunch, have our siesta and gather here again in the evening for another brain-storming
session. Let’s see whether we can arrive
at a consensus on at least one solution that’s entirely practical and not only
notional! I’ll be rewarding the best
suggestion or solution, so do put on your thinking caps at the correct position
on your heads!
The Assembly
dispensed in a babble of voices still debating over the vexed issue.
******************************************************************************
It was 6 p.m.
when the august gathering reassembled in front of the King. Almost immediately,
a young girl sprang in front of the Assembly and pleaded with the King to hear
her first. The King and his Minister were utterly surprised. The girl was none
other than Myara, the Princess’ best friend and confidante. Then they looked
with interest at her. Probably she had a solution to their problem.
“I know that
his Highness, the King and the other dignitaries and scholars assembled here
may find me to be impudent and presumptuous when I said that I must be paid
attention to, first. But I sincerely believe that if my suggestion is
worthwhile and found to be apt for taking action on, we could all save
ourselves any further time or bother!” Now the gathering looked indignant and
ready to blow their top! What gumption
she had, that chit of a girl!
“O.K.”,
conceded the King. He really hoped that their misery would end, with that
girl’s suggestion. He wanted to give a fair opportunity to everyone there to
air their views and voice their suggestions. His gaze swept across the entire
Assembly hall. Hundreds of voices were raring to go! He hoped secretly that
Myara’s suggestion would negate any further discussion on the subject at hand.
He was already having a migraine!
“Your
Highness, my humble suggestion is to have his mother summoned, briefed and sent
to that shrine. Maybe she stands a good chance of being given the opportunity
to interact with her only son, if she pleads with the shrine’s authorities.
Once Juan is out of the gates of that forbidden shrine, the rest will be easy
for the guards of Regina. They can swoop down on him and carry him back to the
palace, to talk with Sara.”
The King,
his Minister and indeed the entire Assembly was stunned at the simplicity and
accuracy of that girl’s suggestion. Why
hadn’t any one even thought about it? The King and the Minister sheepishly
looked at each other. The ones who had given outrageous suggestions were peeved
but most of the Assembly marveled at Myara’s ingenuity. After the shocked
silence, a huge applause broke out there and Myara bowed graciously and thanked
everyone for patiently hearing her out. Then, seeing the King gesture to her to
come forward, she stepped right in front of his throne. He removed a sparking,
thick gold chain with a resplendent ruby pendant and gave it to her with his
heartfelt blessings. “You’ve done Sara’s friendship proud. We are happy to have
a jewel like you in Regina. We’ll immediately start on our mission. Thanks for
showing us the right direction, dear!”
“Thanks, Your
Highness! May I suggest something else too?” she said. Mystified, he looked
askance. “I’ll go and get Juan’s mother here!” she said boldly. Everyone looked
appreciatively at her. Imagine going to a
mother’s house, whose only son has been banished to a shrine from where he
could never emerge; and explaining things to her! It was not a job for the
faint-hearted hence they admired Myara even more than before!
After
pondering for a while, the King said simply, “Go ahead! I want her here by
tomorrow evening.” Myara immediately took leave and went home to prepare for
her long and arduous journey. She was tense with excitement. She only hoped
that that old lady hadn’t passed away!
To be continued....
The copyright of this novel is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.
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