Story:Parvati and Shiva Continued

My first day helping Shiva move into his new place was nothing like I had expected.  Shiva didn't look at me once.  He didn't say a word to me.  He voided being near me.  It was so strange.  He had specifically asked for my help but once I arrived, he pretended like I didn't exist.  I would be lying if I said it didn't hurt my feelings.  It's not the easiest thing to move someone's entire life from one house to the next with no appreciation for the work.

Day in and day out I worked.  I moved things, I cleaned things, I cooked for Shiva, I did everything for him.  Not even a thank you was muttered.  I was getting tired of my loneliness and lack of appreciation so I called my dear friend Rati to come visit.  I told her to bring Kama so that they could have time to be together outside of the village without her parents knowing.  Surely they would let their daughter visit and assist Shiva.  So the next day, the two of them came to help me.  Rate and I were packing boxes in the garage and Kama was off doing who knows what. When we left the garage and came into the sitting room where Shiva was sitting, staring at a framed picture of his beloved Sati, we saw Kama sitting beside him. Rati and I stayed back to listen in on their conversation.

Kama said, "Shiva, I know this must be tough.  She was a very beautiful woman.  Your love for her is outstanding."

Shiva just sat there and nodded his head sullenly.

Kama began to speak again, a little more hesitantly, "But...Shiva... have you thought about Parvati?  She is seriously one of the most gorgeous girls in the village!  How can you have her waiting on you without realizing what an amazing woman she is?  I know she's really shy, but she is one of the most loving, devoted girls I know and you would be lucky to have her in your life."

Shiva slowly lifted his head and stared at Kama. His face was so read and I instinctively backed up against the wall, terrified of the anger in his eyes.  With a loud clash, the framed picture fell to the grown, shattering into tiny pieces and Shiva's hand slapped Kama across the face with a fierceness I had never heard before.  Kama screamed out in pain and tears filled his eyes.  I jumped and Rati screamed out and ran towards Kama, blowing our cover.  Shiva and I met eyes.  I quickly looked away before I let my emotions expose me and went to escort Rati and Kama out of the house.  

I watched from the door as my friends rushed back to the village, and I knew deep down I would never see them here again.

After that moment, everything I had felt for Shiva changed.  Deep down, this action made me love him more.  I knew that he was still grieving and Kama had pushed him too far.  But I also knew that I could never share this love.  My looks, my cooking, my cleaning, none of it would make him love me.  If he were to ever love me, time was the only thing that would make it happen. So after that day, I decided to stop trying.  I was here to help Shiva, not to win his love, so I was going to purely serve him out of devotion with no alternate motives.

I rid myself of every worldly beauty.  I put my jewelry away, I wore simple clothes, I skipped meals to solely work on moving him out of his house.  I made no intention to be in the same room with him and I NEVER met eyes with him again.  I lived my life as a slave to him, trying to be invisible for his heart to heal without distraction.

I did this for years.  We moved into the new cabin and I remained to do the cooking and the cleaning. I slept and bathed outside and I stayed completely out of sight.  I began to enjoy the lifestyle.  I never grew bored, I always had something to do, and my actions were beneficial to the one I had grown to love.  I accepted the fact that he would never love me, but my purpose of life had changed.  My purpose was to serve, not to be loved.

(The small cabin Shiva moved into)

One day, several years into the new life at the cabin, I was working on the garden in the back yard.  I heard someone come up to me and stop behind me.  I only had an hour left of sunlight in the day and I needed to finish the garden so I did not look up to see who it was.  Then the person spoke.

"How can you work like this for no appreciation?"

I did not recognize the voice so I assumed it was a hiker passing by.  I replied, "It is work I enjoy, I do not need appreciation."

"I pass by often and see you working from the time the sun comes up until it sets in the west.  You are always alone.  The man you work for must be a bitter, evil man to treat you so poorly."

At this I grew angry.  How dare this stranger speak of Shiva in such a way.  Shiva was the most devoted man I had ever known and this stranger's ignorance made my blood boil.  I spurted, "You know nothing about the man who lives here.  How dare you say such things.  He is the purest man I know and if you cannot see that then you are not pure yourself."  I spun around and yelled, "Now leave!!"

Then I stopped.  My shovel clattered to the ground.  The man standing behind me was Shiva himself.

He chuckled to himself at my anger.  He bent down and reached for my hand to help me to my feet.
"Sweet, devoted Parvati.  I cannot believe I have treated you so poorly.  My mind was lost after Sati, but watching you day in and day out, devote your life to me with no interest of your own, has revived me.  You have brought me back from the darkness.  I love you, sweet Parvati, and I am forever indebted to you."

And that, dear friends, is how our love began.  Shiva has devoted his life to me just as I devoted mine to him.  We live as equals and we live in constant love for one another.  We have arguments and we have faults, but our commitment to one another conquers all and that is what I hope for you.

Devotedly yours,
Parvati

Author's Note:
I loved writing this story! This is a continuation of the story of Parvati and Shiva but it is when Shiva finally falls in love with her.  In the real story, Shiva disguises himself as a hermit to trick Parvati into saying something bad about Shiva.  Parvati gets angry at the hermit and still refuses to say one bad thing about Shiva.  Then he reveals his true self to her and tells her he is in love.  I thought, since Parvati has never heard Shiva's voice, she wouldn't recognize it was him if her back was turned to him.  That was how I made it into a more present day story without the mysticism of changing forms and living lives as hermits.

Bibliography:
Shiva Parvati: A Story of Divine Love, Amar Chitra Katha, Reading Guide.

Image information:

Fall Country Cabin found on Flickr.com