Agni: - The Untold Folklore!

By Geetha George

The absence of the confetti of stars didn't just look eerie that night, but also there was something ominous about the third prahar of the night. Foreboding coyotes had been howling all night as if to express the pain that Queen Neelambari was trying to suppress through her gritted teeth. She had been in labor for four morning prahars and three night prahars, yet there was no sign of a new life emerging anytime soon. Her body twisted and twirled in response to the excruciating pain that shot through its every molecule as the next contraction hit her. One of the half-dozen midwives thrust another ball of opium through her gritted teeth. Opium was a new medication that was brought over from the Mughals in the Northern part of Hindustan.As the opium released a tingling juice to the opening of her throat, calming her nerves and temporarily masking her physical pain, she felt more anxious about having her first child. What if he was wrong? He couldn't possibly be wrong, he said I would give birth to an heir, didn't he? She tried to move her lips to offer prayers to Maa Bhavani in order to shun away the inauspicious thought She knew the King wanted a boy, an heir to the throne, to carry forward his legacy. She had had a series of miscarriages over the course of their five years of marriage She was lucky he hadn't considered taking another wife If she gave birth to a girl now, after all these years of unfortunate incidents, she would lose her place in his heart and in his palace. For the first time, opium failed to carry out its designated task; her heart thumped behind a fragile cage It wasn't just her heart that was about to break out of its cage and come through her mouth. The royal astrologers and soothsayers shared the same sentiment while they paced around the corridors outside the King's chamber and waited restlessly for their predictions, which were intended to please the King, to come true. But they had a premonition that a double-edged sword was hanging above their heads as they were heading dangerously closer to the ill-boding hour of the night. As per their calculation, based on the movement of the stars and the planets, it was time for the evil to wake up from its deep slumber aiming to do the unspeakable One of the midwives moved between the Queen's legs with a bowl of castor oil. While she dipped a piece of clean white cotton cloth in the oil, two others held the Queen's legs apart. But before she had moved any closer, she felt a dampness pooling around her knees as she knelt. She looked up at the head midwife and whispered, "It's time." They switched places quickly while signaling her helpers to get ready. The room was poorly lit, but her experienced hands moved around tactfully and quickly.It was now the fourth prahar of the night. One of the maids in the Queen's chamber turned the sandglass upside down, and with that the sky broke into a blinding flash followed by a deafening thunder There was a loud howling; people outside the King's chamber couldn't say if it was a coyote or it came from the Queen's chamber. King Mallasimha tramped out of his chamber with a goblet of wine in his hand and a look of concern on his face.The women in the Queen's chamber were also less than certain about the origin of the sound when the head midwife got up to her feet holding a slimy, bloodied mass in her arms. She asked one of the maids to bring the lamp closer, and the baby began to cry as the unbeknown swept across its face. Nevertheless, the midwife wanted to confirm the presence of a supreme phallus first As a maid held a lamp closer, she realized there wasn't enough sand in the entire universe to fill that sandglass to turn the night into day sooner. She turned to look at the Queen, not knowing how to break the news to her, but she was motionless, and her eyes showed no signs of life All the maids and midwives gasped in unison.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1095670719
• ISBN13: 9781095670712
• Release Date: December 2018
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 172 Pages
• Weight: 0.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"