Unconditional Love

Tara picked her way through the stones carefully, bunching up her dress in one hand and holding her sneakers in the other.

Nobody had batted an eyelid when she’d appeared in the funky outfit, long sky-blue dress brushing against her black Converse sneakers with red rims.

Only Roshni had raised a brow but she’d merely said, “You sure the dress won’t get wet?”

Tara had smiled brightly and shrugged. “Meh. Doesn’t matter.”

And that was that.

What a change from the city! From everything she’d ever known and dreaded.

Here, nothing that she’d grown up with mattered. All anyone cared about was good food, laughter, kindness and soft, mindful speech.

And Maa.

The first time she’d lain eyes on Maa, her breath had caught and her eyes had instantly welled up. She’d approached her slowly, filled with awe, wary of getting too close lest the whole thing disappear like a mirage.

But it was very much real. She’d come to a stop right in front of her. Taking one long deep breath, she’d put one foot in first and then the other.

Maa had welcomed her gently and joyfully, lapping over her feet in cool tickles as Tara smiled widely and shuddered.

It had been love at first sight.

Every day since then, Tara had come to Maa. She’d sit with her for hours, talking to her, sharing her worry that her parents were trying to get her married off; her sorrow that she’d waited so long to come and find Maa; her joy that Maa had accepted her instantly, giving her the love, she’d craved her entire life.

She spoke about everything and nothing. And Maa always listened quietly. Sometimes, when she got upset because Tara was crying, she’d make her displeasure known by gushing over Tara’s feet. And it always made Tara laugh.

“Okay, okay,” she’d grin and swipe at her face. “I’m fine. Relax.”

And just like that, Maa would go back to a gentle flow.

Today marked the 46th day since Tara’s arrival. It had begun like any other day but for some reason, she felt different – ominous. Something was coming.

But shaking it off, she got dressed as always and set out to meet Maa.

Her sky-blue dress got tangled on the stones. Bunching it up in one hand and holding her sneakers in the other, she crossed the stones and rounded the bend where she normally got her first glimpse of Maa.

She heard a gasp behind her followed by an expletive. But the sound was drowned out by the sound of her own choked cry.

Maa was not there.

What… what… where…

She fell to her knees. Numb. Unblinking.

So, was this it? The unconditional love she had experienced for the first time ever was over? Just like that?

Were human beings really so selfish that they had taken away, without a second thought, the only time she had ever felt loved? She’d known they were an uncaring species but were they really so transactional? So full of themselves that they only looked at what they gained, not what they could give?

As thoughts careened into each other, headlong, her body remained perfectly still staring at the sight in front of her.

Bone-dry land. Just like her heart.

She heard Roshni at a distance and listened, even when she already knew. “It’s the dam, guys. They’ve tapped it. It’ll be another couple of weeks before they release the water.”

She didn’t fit in here, in this world. How could she, when these people used Maa as a… commodity? As property, as an unliving resource that was exploited?

She couldn’t even imagine explaining that they had stolen from her the only being she had ever loved – Maa was her everything. And it hadn’t been one-sided love; she had been Maa’s everything too.

What would humans understand of a love like this when they spent their entire lives getting people to love them back the way they wanted to be loved?

Impossible.

She slowly shuffled to her feet and walked over to the spot where Maa had gushed over her the first time she broke down. Comforting, always comforting – that was Maa.

She walked even further, in, in, in, over the land where Maa had danced just yesterday.

Until she got to the middle.

Maa’s heart.

She stood there, eyes closed, breathing in and breathing out. Maa’s scent was still there – petrichor, the humans called it. To her, it was just Maa.

Suddenly, she heard a scream. Even before she could turn around, a wall of piercing cold water crashed into her, lifting her, swirling and tossing her around as she gasped and choked.

She was being carried and there was nothing to hold on to. As she struggled for a foothold, the truth began to sink in.

Maa had broken free.

Tara stopped moving, going absolutely still. Maa had come back. For her.

That’s all she needed to know.

She smiled gently and closed her eyes.

Allowing Maa to carry her away. With her, into eternity.