THE HEART PALACE 

In the depth of our eyes, we sow thousands of dreams. Some gets nourished and flourished, while some decay for forever. Such seeds were sown by two innocent souls as well, but they existed in such a world where they were in the grasps of wild climbers and weeds, which did not allow them to live and grow freely. One day, when they slept on their respective soils, found them in a world that was unknown for the rest; A world, which no one could ever imagine – A world, which was meant for those, who exist on earth in separate bodies but having one soul.

They met on the land of clouds; from where they travelled to the land unknown. On reaching there, they were welcomed by thousands of butterflies and fireflies, all possessing variety of colors. They fluttered their wings in a rhythm and sang the melodious songs. Bells were ringing in Bell flowers, clouds were pouring into the petals, and the water dancing in the circles. On watching this site, their hearts got filled with joy.

Soon they were served with grape wine in flower petals. They sat on the grass, which smelled like a fresh mint, giving a feeling of sedation. The drink spread a feel of calmness within them. As they got up to leave, all the fireflies gathered in a circle and formed a shape of a girl with wings. Soon a fairy was standing in front of them, all in pink with silver wings, blond hairs, skin as white as snow and face as innocent as a child. She seemed like a beauty queen.

Both the souls were mesmerized by her looks and were enchanted by all the happenings around them. Fairy asked did they know what this land was called. Princess said she did. Prince got a little confused and asked where they were? The Fairy kept quiet and looked towards the Princess and asked did they come to cross the lake. Princess had tears in her eyes, while she nodded in yes. Prince grew more inquisitive. Fairy gave the Princess some leaves, wrapped by an invisible thread. She asked her not to open it before they reach to the other side. They had to keep it between their palms when they were holding each others’ hands while travelling. The Prince questioned what was in the leaves and what its purpose was. The fairy told him that he would know soon.

Fairy turned towards the Princess and asked did she know what the requirement was to cross the lake, and what value it held? With heavy heart and glistering eyes, Princess said she did.
Fairy bade them farewell and told that she would meet them on the other side. Prince and Princess stood at the bank of the lake, when Princess placed the leaves in between the palms and held each others’ hand. They were about to step onto the surface of the water when the Prince suddenly stopped and said that he did not know how to swim. Princess asked did he trust her - Queen of his heart, and his only reply was, “without any doubt”. On hearing that, she pulled him forward and stepped onto the water. Something unimaginable happened; neither they got wet nor did they go inside the water. They remained on the surface and kept walking. Prince had thousands of questions in his eyes, which the Princess could read but remained silent. As they headed further, they came across a school of fish, having all clothed in ballerina dresses. They circled them and stared a dance which fascinated the Prince. Princess asked him to sit on water to enjoy the dance and relax. When the dance ended, they dived into the lake and emerged a while later with shells. Princess thanked them but Prince asked what they should do with the shells. They all smiled and replied that he would know soon. Hearing it, he grew impatient. Princess smiled and asked to get hurry as they did not have enough time.

As they were heading towards the other side of the bank, a huge jungle grew in the middle of the lake. All the trees were studded with the precious stones. Princess asked him to pick two stones of any colour. As soon as he did, he heard a squirrel speaking aloud. He instantly stepped back frightened, but the squirrel only said that she would remain with them for forever. Suddenly the whole jungle appeared vanishing which disturbed him further. With all such wonders, finally they reached to the other side, where they were welcomed again by the Fairy.

On seeing the Fairy again, Prince got excited but when he looked at his Princess, he got upset. She was in tears again which were shining on her eye lashes, making her far prettier than the Fairy. The Fairy asked the Prince to hand her all the things that they got on the way. The Prince did as he was asked for.

Then the Fairy asked him to listen carefully. The land was known as the Land of Hearts, while the lake there was known as Lake of Tears. On its bank, the palace personifies as the Heart Palace. Only those people were allowed to enter this land, which were united by the soul but could never be one physically due to various hurdles in life. Crossing this lake of tears symbolizes a true love for one another. No matter what happened in life, no matter how much their eyes shed tears but they would face the difficult times with the strength and dignity. Love is a divine gift, which gives us abundance of happiness and sadness but only true love has that strength to cross the Lake of Tears. Everyone can’t meet their soul mates. Some have to live only in the hearts, which is their only fate and destination. Heart Palace is the only place where souls can live forever, hidden from those eyes which would never accept them otherwise.

Hearing all that, the Prince collapsed on the ground crying bitterly. After a while, he asked about those things which were given to them. The Fairy replied that inside the leaves was a red rose. When the warmth of hands wrapped the flower, its fragrance started spreading love and happiness in the air. Shells were filled with love songs of the heart and the stones would take you down the memory lane every time you both thought of one another.

After hearing everything, the Prince slowly got up, went to the Princess and picked her up in his arms to kiss her tears away. Then he carried her into the Heart Palace for forever.

The next morning, when they woke up, they knew that they had been gifted by a divine life - a life which was much more beautiful than where they actually existed. It seems as if life is a never ending struggle but with a soul mate, no matter how far apart one is, never feels alone. Last but not the least, that’s such a life where they would be together not only there but even in the world here after.

"A life with unseen fragrance around is far better than such flowers that wither away in your hands"

Saqii