Marvelous Tales #6 - "Love"

While still at their school, Pinki & Pappu fell for one another. Whole class knew them as best buddies forever. They would always sit together, take their lunch together and talk to each other in their own self-designed secret language which only they could understand. After school both of them used to spend hours chatting over Steem Chat but they never had their fill.

It was a hot summer day. Both of them were sitting next to each other in their class. Today was their last day at school as school was closing for the summer vacations. So they decided to spend some time with each other after school. They moved to a secluded place under a Banyan tree close to the school playground. They were so engrossed in their conversation that they had no idea when those moments turned into minutes and minutes turned into hours. Afternoon passed, evening made its way for night, but they were still sitting under that tree immersed into their own romantic world.

After the dusk, when the cover of darkness began to get thicker, their discussion also started to take some serious turn. Probably with the intent to know more about each other, Pinki asked Pappu, “If you were to reborn as a different living being, what it would be?” Citing the “ladies first” dictum, Pappu asked her to answer it first. Pondering over a bit, Pinki replied, “I like to give and help everyone. So I’d love to be reborn as this Banyan tree. How giant is this! What a perfect shelter it provides to us under its shade on such a hot day that we didn’t even realize how the day passed away! What an unconditional love it gave us today! I’d always like to give such an unconditional love and shelter to you too. So I'd love to be a tree like this. Now you tell me what would you be?”

Pappu thought for a moment and then suddenly said, “I’d like to be reborn as a Golden tree snake.”

“What?”, wondered Pinki. “Yes, a flying snake”, asserted Pappu. Pinki trembled appearing a little terrified, “But why do you sound so frightening?”. Pappu explained, “There is nothing to fear about flying snakes. They are not poisonous and you would love to see them fly. I’d also enjoy flying from one tree to another.” Pinki frowned, “So you are going to cheat on me? This is a huge Banyan tree. Can’t you stick with me here?”

“Err… I meant, I’d fly from one branch to another", clarified Pappu. He added, “Since people fear snakes, I’d be in a position to guard you better. And aside this, there is one more very important reason for my choice to be reborn as a snake.” Pinki got very curious now, “And what’s that, my love?”

Pappu told, “Because I love you a lot and don’t want to lose you at any cost. I know that you are the most beautiful person on this planet. And such a rare beauty is just next to impossible. There is a high probability of you being an Ichchadhari Naagin – a mythical shape-shifting snake which takes a form of an unimaginably beautiful girl …just like you. So I want to be a flying snake. Even if you were a tree, I would love to take a shelter in the hole in your trunk. Thus I’d always be with you forever!” Hearing this, Pinki gave a mischievous smile and immediately hugged him tightly. And then she kissed him with her lips on his lips …and spit the venom in his mouth. He was instantly dead. She quickly shape-shifted into a snake and vanished into the hole in the trunk of that Banyan tree.

[This story was created as an entry to the Marvelous Tales Contest where a tale needs to be spun around two words. The two words given for this were Snake & Tree.]