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Chapter 33: Part 1

Early in the morning, in his dream, he saw a subterranean, divine glowing light; the last words of Jodha rebounded in his conscious, 'I love you Jalal,' which brought a sweet smile on his face. The dark clouds crackled to wake him up; slowly, the storm was forming and shaping up to outbreak at the right time. It seemed as if nature was worried about the upcoming dreadful moment. Birds were gathering in their nests and waiting for the storm to pass, to wake him up to reality birds began to chirp; the pain, the discomfort was evident in their melody, the gusty wind blew his hair on his face. Dark clouds stirred away from the Sun, and few rays fell on his face with hazy sunlit. But

At last, his comatose mind came back to consciousness. He slowly opened his eyes; due to lack of sleep and extreme stress, he felt a heaviness on his eyelids, which suddenly brought him back to the present, how important this morning is for him and Jodha. His entire body shivered fearfully for a moment; he swiftly opened his eyes to get a glimpse of Jodha, but the swing was slowly moving with him only; he was all alone sitting on the swing. His heart skipped many beats, and his mind got alerted. As if he sensed in the aura of something wrong, The unknown fear alarmed him; he called out loud, "JODHA."

Heavy winds took the roar of his sound far away, but he got more panicked and ran inside her chamber when he didn't receive any response.

Jalal quickly looked at all other parts of Jodha's chamber; the changing room, art room, bathing area, but she was nowhere to be found. Again, he yelled loudest at the top of his lungs with a fearful sound, "JODHAAAA," the entire palace echoed back with tremor. All four guards came running inside the chamber, hearing his dreadful sound. At last, Jalal's eyes caught Lord Krishna's Temple in the main diwan hall. A Divine Jyoti(flame) of Diya (candle) was still burning, but Lord Krishna's statue was missing.

His heart exploded like a blast and got crushed into piles of pieces within a fraction of a second. His eyes widened and crackled like explosives; his face erupted with horrifying scary, alarming expressions. Suddenly he felt like someone captured his entire body, and he can't move any further from the strange grip. His doubt cleared that Jodha has indeed left, but still, he could not accept it. He was continually staring at the empty temple without blinking his eyes. All of his energy evaporated in shock. He just stood like a statue, as if his life stilled at that moment and came to an end. His mind scrambled with millions of thoughts within a minute. Deep down, his subconscious was aware that Jodha would leave him for his self-respect, but this sudden, he never expected. The entire night he dreaded these consequences, but reality seemed far worse than his fear.

A big storm was forming inside and outside; gloomy clouds were floating over the sky. Suddenly a heavy, gusty wind started to knock on all the windows and doors. All the curtains began flying in the wind. A steady divine flame of the temple candle (Diya) began to flicker; a thunder fell on his heart seeing the dancing flame. Within a flick, he gathered himself and ran to the temple to save his last hope of that divine Jyot (flame). He surrounded his hands to protect the moving flame. He yelled to command the guards to close all of the door and window quickly. A lonesome tear rolled out from his eyes with a mixed feeling of pain and satisfaction, seeing the stable flame of the divine. With a booming sound, the sky flashed with sparkle; the cloud began to dazzle with heavy tears. Within a minute, his life turned upside down; he was sitting near the temple; still, his hands surrounded to stabilize the flame, his brain had no strength to think further. His inner soul has gone missing from his body. He was broken; he felt as if his soul and body were sitting in different corners of the room, searching for his existence.

Moti and Abdul came running to Jodha's chamber. Seeing Jalal's terrified dejected condition, their eyes gleamed with tears. The guards shivered to see the state of their Shahenshah. Moti stood there in the corner weeping while holding a green roll of paper. Abdul instructed all the guards to leave them alone, then cautiously, he came near Jalal, bent down on his knees, and sat next to Jalal. In a soft tone, he called "Shahenshah," but Jalal didn't respond; his senses were frozen, Abdul's sound didn't reach his ears ...

Abdul cried, "Shahenshah" Agan; no response from him; his eyes were wide, still stuck at divine flame; Abdul put his hand on his shoulder, but still no response from him. Abdul fearfully yelled again, "Jalal," when he didn't respond at all, he shook him by his shoulder. His unconscious body fell in Abdul's arms; Jalal's open eyes with unconscious body gave a big shock to Abdul; he screamed the loudest he could "Shahenshah," the sound of his roar echoed in the palace a few times. Moti ran out to call the Healer. With few guards' help, Abdul put Jalal's unconscious body on the bed; within no time, the entire chamber filled up with people. After seeing Jalal's condition, Hamida couldn't control her tears.

Queen Rukaiya came running to see Jalal; the pain, the worry, and concern were visible on her face. Tears sprinted out from her eyes. She was glad she didn't give Jodha the death penalty; otherwise, Jalal would die with her. Her heart throbbed, seeing his condition. Before she could sit next to Jalal, Hamida yelled, "Rukaiya stop right there." The hoarse bitter sound alerted her; she took two steps back. When Rukaiya's eyes met with Hamida's hostile one, Rukaiya further retreated. "Queen Rukaiya, Begum E khaas, you have done enough damage; now stop pretending that you care for Jalal. Your tears won't help here; you should leave from here and go back to your chamber." With a heavy heart, she looked at Jalal once and walked out of Jodha's chamber.

While standing next to the King, Wazir E Aliya Maham Anga's lips curved with a devilish smirk. Her heart got filled with peace seeing Jalal's condition.

The Healer came to check on Jalal's condition; his pulse was running very slow than usual. After checking his condition, immediately, she made lep for him and spread it on his forehead.

Hamida fearfully asked, "Hakim Sahiba, How is my son?"

Hakim replied calmly, "Don't worry, Mariam Makhani, Shahenshah's health is good, due to some shock he got unconscious, soon he will come back to consciousness."

Hamida felt immense relief. She took a deep sigh.

With Hamida's order, everyone left the chamber other than Abdul, Moti, and the Healer. Seeing Moti's dreadful condition, Hamida told her to stay, and also she wanted to ask Moti if she knew where Jodha went.

A few minutes later, Jalal came into consciousness. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Hamida caressing his head lovingly; her eyes looked moist. Swiftly he got up from the bed; the first word he said in a vulnerable tone, "Jodha" And, his eyes brimmed with tears.

Hamida gave him a warm hug. Jalal cried out loud on her shoulder for long. Her gentle, soft touch with immense love and care gave him strength.

Motherly love and care poured energy and strength into his soul. It struck him that he needs to search for Jodha? He immediately broke the hug and swiftly turned towards Abdul directed, "Look for Queen Jodha; she has left the palace, so send people in every direction in search of her."

Abdul replied respectfully, "I have already sent a troop to search for Queen Jodha. Jalal's eyes caught on Moti, who was standing in the other corner; her face was glistening with unstoppable tears and sorrow. His one glance toward Moti and he discovered Moti knew when Jodha left. While looking at Moti, Jalal stated, "Abdul, perhaps, Moti knows about when Queen Jodha left and in which direction she went."

Before Jalal called Moti, she came forward and informed, " Shahenshah, please forgive me; as per queen Jodha's request, I arranged a horse for her, but she has not told me where she was going. I don't know anything further. I begged her to take me with her, but she didn't allow me," with a trembling tone, she added," Queen Jodha has given me this letter and requested Abdul to read in private." She had no courage to meet eyes with Jalal; with lowered eyes, she gave the letter to Jalal.

Everyone, including Hamida, left the chamber without saying a word. Jalal gave the letter to Abdul and stood by the big jharokha. Heavy rain was pouring down, and rolling thunder was creating blue waves inside him.

Abdul started to read the letter.

, 'As soon as he heard 'Jalal,' many beautiful moments came in front of his eyes how she felt shy calling him by his name.

A lonesome tear trickled down from his cheek.

!

Aansuon ko palkon pe Laaya Na Kijiye;

Dil Ki Baatein Har Kisi ko Bataya Na Kijiye;

Log mutthi Mein Namak Liye Firte Hain;

Apne Har Zakhm ko Dikhaya Na Kijiye!

Jalal's eyes dazzled with tears; with a heavy heart he mumbled,

Luta kar mera sab kuch chale gaye aap.

Aur ye aakhri hukum de diya... Ahista se,

bikhar ke toot na jana humdum.

After taking away my life, soul, peace, and breath, you left me all alone, then mildly whispered your last desire, Don't break down.

Hearing her request, Jalal dryly stated, Wow, Queen Jodha, your love has no boundaries. While parting, you took my tears as well.

Abdul continued reading the letter.

Then she wrote every detail of the incident, what happened between Maham, Rukaiya, and her. How she got tricked, At the Jungle, she saw Maham talking to the Healer's assistant and the medicine bottle. Also, she mentioned how she waited outside the entire night and why she cooked food for Rukaiya. Why she served food to her, everything was mentioned in the letter.

Abdul continued reading.

At last, she wrote once again,

Abdul stopped reading to see Jalal's reaction...

With an extreme horrified shock, Jalal turned towards Abdul; he forgot his sorrow for a while. His eyes filled with intense rage and anger. He knew his Badi Ammi very well; immediately, he understood how she played Jodha. Many emotions jumbled through his mind within a second. Pain, hatred, betrayal, separation, and suffocation took over his soul. Jodha's letter was enough for him to put doubt on his beloved Badi Ammi. His heart cried out in pain from the deep scar on his soul. In a low tone, he sadly said, "Badi Ammi."

Abdul continued reading the letter...

******************

A tear trickled down with a little smirk on his face, hearing Junglee Billi.

Abdul also had tears seeing Jalal's condition. With a hefty tone, he asked, "Jalal, Do you want me to reread the letter?"

Jalal looked at him with acute agony, then he kept his hand on his heart and said, "Every word of this letter has imprinted on my heart. This is my Jodha's words."

"Abdul, I would like to stay alone for some time; Also, move all my stuff in Queen Jodha's chamber; I will stay here with her only. Send soldiers in all directions in search of her."

Jalal was alone in Jodha's chamber; he felt her presence in every little thing, which made him more helpless; he rested on the bed next to where Jodha used to sleep, he cuddled her pillow and broke down with a loud cry. There were deep scars on his heart; he slurred, "Jodha, please come back. I won't be able to survive without you. He wailed for hours while whimpering, again and again; her words echoed in his mind. Don't lose hope and courage; stay healthy and keep smiling. Don't let anyone see your pain and tears. At last, her words impacted him; he accepted that she has left him and has to fight the battle alone for her sake.

Finally, while looking in the mirror, he promised himself that he would not give up and find the real culprit no matter what happens.

'Jodha, I will prove to the world that you are innocent and wash this devilish blame from your head. This is the toughest war of our lives, and I can't afford to lose this war; I will fight; I will fight until the end. As per your wish, no one will see Jalal's inner turmoil. I will gulp my tears and smile.'

Jalal, with the letter, walked in Maham's chamber without any announcement. Maham was sitting on the sofa with closed eyes; she had a sly wicked smile on her face. He was very well familiar with this gesture; she always rested like this after every war and after every prey.

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