The Fleeting Hart

[ Ego, Orpheus, antiquus serpens umbrarum sum. ]

It was as if the moon was shape-shifting into the early morning sun. The birds were born of the memories of the last apocalypse, a day that was inscribed on ancient ruins within the endless forest. Shanaya had had a pale glimpse of the deer, as she had waited through the dark night by the lake of tears. She was seeking the swans when the moon was hiding behind the rain clouds, yet the birds seemed to float at a strange distance, lost in their own thoughts.

This distance reminded her of her loneliness, and as the first drizzle touched the still water, she could feel a shadow shift at the edge of the trees! It was unlike anything that she had ever felt, as she could feel a strange call that was intertwined with her soul, from a far past that she did not want to remember. She was startled at the presence of a masculine entity around her, and the first thought that came to her was, “Did Orpheus see me sitting by the lake?”

She did not want to turn back, lest he see the tears on her face. Amidst the delicate sound of her own heartbeats, she could perceive the form behind her take a step toward her and no more. She could hear the breathing of the creature, a fervent premonition that seemed like he, too, was surprised to find her waiting by the lake at the dawn!

The presence of the horned beast had somehow transformed the ambiance. The water of the lake suddenly felt more transparent, as if the blue was missing the fading shade of the crescent moon. She could feel that the swans were swiftly coming closer from afar, their tidings carried by etheric ripples that touched her naked feet.

She could feel that the flowers around the edge of the river were seeking the musky presence with unashamed desires. Shanaya could feel the trees themselves transforming into corporeal forms, as if the forest were turning into a horned man with a thousand serpentine hands and ten thousand eyes!

She turned back, in a desperate effort to see the creature!

For a moment, everything seemed to stand still in absolute silence…

Then, their eyes met.

The deer took a step backward, and no more.  

She could see in its brown eyes that the deer had recognized her, waiting only for a moment before thirstily receding into the darkness. The early morning sunlight had created a momentary play of shadows around the antlers, as if the holy ghost had reached out for her with an outstretched hand, before remembering that the veil of the night was disappearing!

Before the vision disappeared, she could feel Sandhya speaking to her spirit in magical whispers that seemed to emanate from the perpetual dusk of the dense forest, even when the sun had risen.

She was saying, “He was the SeshNag!”

Shanaya silently stood where the deer once was, wondering what it all meant! This was the poem that she wrote when she returned to her palace, still thinking of the encounter with the night.

Creaturae abstetere umbrae, terrae est Cervus amor

Intratae confusionis terrorem absolve, et tu homme apparuisti

Paradoxa persona tua, tradidisti salutem meam.

Apparuit umbrae, videtur aenigma.

Tu Antiquus Serpens!

Serpentis est amor.

सृष्टेः अपसृताः छायाः, धरण्याः कामः अस्ति मृगः।

प्रविष्टमोहस्य भयं शमय, त्वं च मनुष्यरूपेण प्रकटितः।

तव रहस्यमयः अभिनयः, त्वं मे मुक्तिं दत्तवान्।

छायायाम् आगतः सः, रहस्यम् इव दृश्यते।

त्वं शेषनागः! शेषनागस्य एव अस्ति प्रेमः।

*Latin and Sanskrit written with the help of AI. 

* { Halloween, 2026 }