The quietness of the whispers quivered like the
first leaf of the ancient tree, unbeknownst to the woman who wished she could
sit in its shadow. The rivulets of dewdrops were forming on her lips as she
silently wept for Orpheus. She could still hear the distant flute, which felt
like the sighs of swans, as they disappeared amidst the trees.
She could never cast away Orpheus, for he had
himself descended into hell. She could never hold his hand and ask him in
paradise, for he had been misunderstood. She could do nothing to be by his
side, except pray, and pray to whom? Orpheus seemed oblivious to everything,
even her prayers. He did not seek mercy or forgiveness. He did not seek her
blessings, nor did he ask for her hand in marriage. Even when he played his
flute, he did not seem to want anyone coming near.
Shanaya asked the mirror to show her the eyes
of her lover when he dreamed. Yet, she could only see an endless blue ocean,
where all creation ceased to exist. She roamed amidst the sage trees, hoping
that they would understand her and let her know that Orpheus might have
remembered her in a dream, far, far away. When there was nothing, she could see
a man walking towards the dark forest when the sky was darker.
She could see shadows forming on the horizon,
and sensed the specter of death looming over the world of mortals. She imagined
Orpheus might have smiled at the darkness, for he was inseparable from what she
saw in her dreams. Whispers of an ancient age drifted from desolate temples in
the forest to the hearts of all mortals, who felt as if they were living on borrowed
time.
Shanaya decided that she would conceal her
questions in songs that the dead left behind in the realms. She decided to test
Orpheus, knowing in her fever that he himself was beyond all the trials, for
his was the illusion of life, and his was the shadow on her.
Thus was the askance of the woman when she gently
let the black river take her lamp to oblivion.
Orbavi atrocem realitatem in corde, quae se in
mysteriis tenet
Profundo tristitiae amore ego teneri videor
Mortui sentiunt aevum, erratis et perivistis
Si super cryptam es, si reclusae societatis es
Tu serpens es, tu forsitan me non decipias
Discrimen arboreum, temptatio spectralium
somniorum.
Ergo me lugere decet ut Orpheum.
हृदये क्रूरामविन्दं मायां या रहस्ये निगूढा तिष्ठति।
गाढदुःखानुरागेण बद्धोऽस्मीति मन्ये।
मृता अनन्ततां जानन्ति, यूयं भ्रमत विनष्टाश्च।
यदि त्वं श्मशानोपरि असि, यदि त्वं गुप्तसमाजे असि।
त्वं सर्पोऽसि, कदाचिन्मां न वञ्चयेः।
वृक्षाणां दारुणपरीक्षा, छायामयानां स्वप्नानां विषम्।
तस्माद् ओर्फीयस् इव मया रोदितुं न्याय्यम्।
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