Once upon a time, Shesha, the king of the Nagas, ruled the island of Sihala. No one except his close relatives saw Shesha's human form (not even the servants in his mansion saw his face).
At that time, the Naga group had to face a great war with the Yaksha clan, who were ruling the other side of the island.
On the verge of crowning victory over the Nagas, Maharaja Shesha was in for a big shock due to the hidden machinations of many.
- To be continued...-
*******
(Nighttime)
"Oh! It's already nine o'clock? I've been so engrossed in the story that I don't even know it's been so long!" Maya, doubting herself, got up from the chair she was sitting on and hurried to her room.
(Maya is a woman in her thirties. If she has a world beyond home, work, and friends, it's the time she and her storybooks spend together.)
She went to the bathroom, took a shower, changed her clothes, and walked towards the bed, where she fixed her short neck-length hair.
"Maya! What else are you doing? Aren't you asleep?"
"Here I am going to sleep, Sahana." Maya turned off the lights that were shining in the room.
Sahana came to her room while she was turning off the lights.
"Hey, Maya, you have a meeting at the office tomorrow, right?"
"Oh… There is! How can I forget it?"
"Ah... the great thing is that you remember! Then why are you still reading the story without falling asleep?"
"Okay, okay, let it go, Sahana. I'm a little lost in the story."
"I don't know what's in it that you're so interested in reading!"
"How do you know if you don't read the story?"
"I can't win by talking to you! Okay, you sleep; I'll go to my room."
"Good night, Sahana."
"Good night, Maya."
Sahana went to her room.
(Morning time)
Both got up and got ready to go to the office. They were coming out of the house.
Slowly, both of them started walking as if they were talking. Then, there was an old grandmother on the road, stumbling to cross.
On seeing her, Maya decided to help her by holding her hands and assisting her in crossing the road.
Then there were big black cars lined up at the road crossing, one after the other, waiting for the grandmother to cross the road.
Then Maya and Sahana went to the office.
She went to the office that day and spent the whole day thinking, "When will I return home? When will I read the story?" After returning home from the office, she took a bath, changed her clothes, and read the story from her room without eating dinner.
Minutes turned into hours, and she was oblivious to the fact that she was reading the end of the story. Curiosity flowed in her eyes like a never-ending river.
**** (story continues)******
"Give me the diamond as a courtesy."
A woman was standing with a sword pointed at his back.
"Tara! What are you doing??"
"What, Tara?? Hahaha... you idiot! You still think of me as your girlfriend?? I'm Yavni, the princess of the Yaksha clan, and I've been pretending to be with you for so long to take over your kingdom," she started laughing.
Shesha's heart was broken by Yavni's words. But he couldn't believe what she said and wondered if it could be a dream.
Tears flowed from his eyes like an inexhaustible waterfall.
"Dara, don't play!" Shesha said.
"What you saw with your own eyes, you don't believe! Who is the fool who gave you the reins of power? Don't waste your time! Tell me, where is the gem?" As she asked, she stepped in front of Shesha and pressed her sword against his left chest.
Blood started oozing from his chest. The pain of Tara's betrayal was greater than the pain of guilt in his heart.
Moving his bloody lips, he said, "Kirataki, I have lost everything for you that I should not have lost. However, I was comforted by the fact that you were there for me, but today, I did not expect that you would be the reason for my last moment." He spread his arms to his left and closed his eyes.
A great light appeared in front of him. Everyone closed their eyes for a minute, unable to see the light.
He opened his eyes slightly and saw someone there. He couldn't believe his eyes; they widened.
In a stuttering voice, he said, "Emerald gem, look there, emerald gem!" he shouted.
,Yavni quickly grabbed the gem. But before she could get her hands on it, it magically disappeared.
"Hey!! Gem, what did you do? Where is the gem?" she shouted like a madwoman.
Without answering, he moved his bleeding lip and smiled brightly at Yavni.
His laughter only increased Yavni's anger. Without thinking about anything, she pressed the sword firmly into his chest. Blood flowed like a flood.
Despite having the strength to fight her and win, Anbu tied his hands.
He fell down like a dead tree. Tara stood in front of him like a black stone statue.
The words that came out of Shesha's mouth at that moment were, "Blind love always ends bitterly."
***********
(Maya turns and looks at the black page of the book with wide eyes)"WHAT!!....THIS IS THE END....???? , Read this ending I bought this book with so much trouble??, eh?? Has this writer gone mad when he writes half the story?? Why such a decision to break the hearts of the readers!! I don't like this decision at all..." screamed Maya.
She didn't sleep that whole night.
She was very tired and worried, "What has happened in the dark!, I didn't expect this, poor King Shesha, the only big mistake he made was that he truly loved her" and lay on the bed looking at the ceiling.
Slowly she turned to her right side, then to her left side, and again and again she turned to both sides, not feeling sleepy. She couldn't sleep.
Suddenly she got up from the bed and sat." Ouch!!! This writer is crazy and has killed Shesha unjustly! " She screamed, scratching her head.
"If only I had been a character in this story, how could I have saved Shesha and changed the ending of the story?" she said without realizing it.
As soon as she said those words, she felt sleepy, and without her knowing it, she fell onto the bed and fell asleep.
In no time, it was as if someone had splashed water on her face. She slowly opened her eyes.
"Hey! Wake up! What more sleep? Wake up and boil water!" said an old woman. Maya got up without any hesitation, looked around to see where she was, and woke up.
"What do you see? Get up and do the work!" said the old woman.
Maya looked the girl up and down. Her clothes were very different. "Why is this grandmother wearing royal clothes in this era?"
Looking at her, she asked in a soft voice, "Grandma! Where am I?"
The girl who asked Maya's question looked at her strangely.
"What? Has this girl lost all her old memories? What! If not, have I suddenly become an old woman? She looks at me and calls me grandmother," she thought to herself.
"You are a maid, lady! You have been selected to work here as a maid, and you arrived here yesterday," she continued.
"I am not a grandmother; you can't call me that here. You have to call me Vijaya Amma. I am the one who supervises that you all are working properly," she said and looked at her.
Hearing what Vijaya said, Maya felt dizzy.
"What a royal house...!!! Have I really entered the story? No, no, no chance; I'm dreaming. Pinching myself will be fine," she thought to herself, pinching her hands alternately.
"Aw, it hurts! Oh, it hurts! I can't! If it hurts, I am in the story, and it will be true!" She looked at Vijaya as she thought to herself, "What shall I do now?" She immediately got an idea.
"Will Vijaya get up and do something for me?" she asked.
Vijaya replied, "Tell me what you want; I'll do it if you wake up."
"Can you slap me on the cheek?" asked Maya.
Vijaya was shocked by her request, but without thinking, he suddenly slapped Maya on the cheek.
"Why did you slap me?" she asked, her hands caressing her plump cheek.
"Your hands were like cotton; that's why it hurts when you hit them? I wanted to test and asked Mom," she said.
Laughing at her reply, she asked, "How is the foot?"
"What work should I do here so that I don't take this step anymore?" asked Maya.
Her reply made Vijaya laugh again. Vijaya started talking about jobs.
You have to get up in the morning, boil water for the prince to bathe, then fetch the firewood from the outer room for the stove to cook for him, and help the prince prepare his clothes before he comes back from his bath. Then, with the others, we should clean the garden together. That's all the work you have to do in the morning. I will tell you later about the work you will have during the day.
Hearing her breathless speech, Maya felt as if her breath would stop.
Maya gulped in fear as Vijay mentioned every job.
"I grew up not even knowing the direction of the kitchen at home! Do you have to do so much work now? Dad... have you seen the condition of your darling princess?" As she thought to herself, looking at Vijay, she asked, "What should I do now?"
"Go and wash your face first. I can't stand the bad breath! How am I going to get a job with all of you?" Vijay turned her face and left.
Hearing what she said, Maya moved the corner of her right lip, came out from where she was, and looked at the sky.
(The sky was black.)
"What a shame! Not only did they wake me up before dawn in the morning, but they also told me to work! I don't like being here at all! I have to go back home," she said sadly, and walked towards the nearby lake to wash her face.
She dipped her feet in the lake, sat on a pad in the lake, and washed her face by scooping water with her hands.
Then, a light appeared in front of her eyes, and a voice from it fell only on Maya's ears.
"Maya, I said ,you are now in my story, and I let you into the story because you can change the ending. If you want to come back to your world from within this story, you have to change the ending," said the voice.
The next moment, after saying those words, the voice and the light disappeared.
"What if I have to go back home? Do I have to change the ending of the story? What are you playing at? Answer me," Maya shouted angrily.
But no answer came to her; instead, from beneath the pool,
Maya only heard someone wake up with the sound of "Who is it??"
As she prepared to drive away in fear, she felt someone grab her and looked back.
Her eyes widened in shock, gulping in fear.
"Shesha..." she said...
- continue -.