The maiden's tale
The maiden belonged to the wilderness. She had never been to either side of the road and so she didn’t know how either side of the road felt. Yes, she saw many people cross the path in search of the luxury and in time, get lost and give up and not able to get back and ultimately die on the path of luxury itself - trying their whole life to get to the comfort zone but breathe their last while they are still on the search for the same.
Did she stop everyone she saw? No!!
In fact, she was never noticed by anyone unless she wanted to get noticed.
When she saw him, she didn't have the same feeling that she had when she saw the other people. She didn’t find him the same. She felt he was different and just looking at him gave her an intense feeling and she felt that she could reveal herself to him and so she did, just to talk to him and clear her mind whether he was the person she wanted for herself or not . She wanted to keep him with her and just wanted to be with him because one, she didn’t want to lose him just in case he found the way he wanted to seek and two, she didn’t want him to get lost and just rot in the wilderness like the many she had seen along the way.
So, it was out of her selfishness which cannot be judged that she wanted to be with him.
She had fallen in love.
The first deception
He didn’t know the maiden's intentions. He wasn’t aware that she was trying to lure him away from his goal on the pretext of getting him closer to his destination. So, he followed her but he never thought of her the way she thought of him. His mind was fixed on his goal and he just followed her because he trusted the fact that she would help him reach his destination. Well, she tried to deviate him but she couldn’t.
A strange incident followed.
He wasn’t aware that she was smitten by him. He was unaware that she was trying her best to attract him towards her and deviate him from his goal and make him believe that he had reached his goal - she was his goal!!
After trying for as much as she could, she saw that her value in his life was limited to the fact that she would lead him to his destination. Not that he didn’t respect her or see her as an asset but that he was too fixated towards his destination and hence everything else seemed secondary to him.
She turned sad. And she didn’t want him to know or even be aware of her condition and so one day, he woke up only to find that she was gone - forever, leaving no trace behind.
He searched for her - only to know what had he done that offended her or what circumstance engulfed her that she left him on the middle of the journey she had promised to walk by his side on. He got worried and searched. He was filled with pessimism and couldn’t get over it and just stayed where he was - the spot where he slept knowing she was there but woke up to desolation.
At that moment, he felt that time had stopped. He found himself alone in the wilderness - just the way he had started.
The loner amidst the crowd
Time moves on - not for him. For him, time had stopped and it would start only when he would get the answer. He wanted to know that what did he do that offended or anything which led to her walking away from him. He was left broken. He waited and waited in vain. Finally, he decided to start his journey. This time, determined not to get strayed away by any charm and just focus on reaching the other side.
Thus, his journey began. This time resolute.
He set out and started finding his way through the thickets of the forest, making his way but constantly remembering her and feeling worried, confused and just left to wonder what had happened.
It took time for him to completely focus on his way but even then, time and time again, her memories kept popping up and he was left with no option but to assume anything just to console himself temporarily about the situation.
His journey was surrounded by the wildlife of the thickets - animals, birds, fishes and from the first ray of sunshine till the time the sun set, he could hear chirpings, roars, water sprinkling and yes, they were his company at one point of time. But now, all that was his company were her memories and his definite goal to reach the other side. It was as if he had turned deaf for the rest of the world and he wasn’t aware of his own existence in the wilderness. All that he saw was the road and all that he heard was his own mind bringing up different stories, excuses to console him of his sudden desolation.
The second maiden
Before he could realize, he was drowning in his own sorrow.
It was at that point of time that she entered.
He was walking down the road and just tripped over and fell. To rise, he raised his head only to find himself surrounded by maidens. He was sure that he was hallucinating because he could see her everywhere. The same face that had left him all of a sudden was everywhere. She was on the tree - staring at a squirrel, she was running after the animals, feeding the fish - she was everywhere.
All of a sudden through the maze a hand came through asking for his. He looked up, rubbed his eyes and then saw reality. There stood another maiden before him. She was different than the previous one. He took her support to get on his feet and started his journey after thanking her. He didn’t want to be strayed away this time.
He hadn't taken two steps before she interrupted her asking could she accompany him as she too was on her way towards the luxury. He took a moment to think and didn’t find any reason to say a 'no' because this was different. The previous maiden knew the way and hence he got deviated. Here, she didn’t know the way and was a stranger to the wilderness - just like him and he wouldn’t be deviated by her.
Thus, he began his journey with her.
