Quest for Love

Check out the theme here: A Retelling of Valli and Karttikeya’s Love Story

This post is a part of BlogchatterA2Z Challenge 2026.

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Time stopped as Skanda dropped his disguise of an old ascetic and regained his true form. He showed his real avatara, the one with six heads, twelve arms, and a deep red-gold body that looked like the heart of fire. He was so tall that Valli barely reached his ankles.

Valli stepped back in a trance, and for a second, Skanda wondered if she was afraid of him. But no. She walked back only to see him clearly. Though he shone with divine radiance, the brightness was not too much for her eyes. Ordinary mortals would have been blinded by it. However, Valli, though born as a being of the earth, had her own divine powers.

“Skanda,” she whispered in awe, wiping the happy tears that slipped down her face. “It… it is really you… You came for me!”

He smiled, shrinking to human height and regular features. Still, he was over a foot taller than she. “Didn’t you say I had to come for you?”

Valli laughed, her voice filled with joy and love. “I did, and you came. I knew you would!”

“Then why are you making me wait?” he asked.

Valli ran into his arms, sobbing and laughing. “My Skanda came for me…” she repeated as if to convince herself.

Once reality sank into her consciousness, Valli loosened her arms around Skanda and took a step back.

“That ascetic was you!”

He nodded.

“That hunter was also you!”

“Yes, I was both.”

“Was it a test?” she asked.

Skanda held her arms and shook his head. “Never. Your love is so pure that it needs no test or measurement.” Her confused expression made him explain. “It was Narada muni’s idea to meet you in disguise first, to learn about you and to share the stories you should know before you became my wife.”

Valli blushed at being called his wife. It was something she had wanted to be when she didn’t even know what it actually meant. However, her love for Skanda had only grown with age.

“What if I had agreed to either of their proposals?”

“You would still have married me. They are me, and I am them. It would have made no difference.”

“Wouldn’t you have thought my love for you wasn’t strong if I did that?” Valli truly wanted to know. She grew up listening to stories of how devas tested humans before granting them boons. She wouldn’t be offended that he didn’t trust her devotion without confirming it a few times.

Skanda smiled. He entwined their fingers and led her to sit under the tree. “Tell me, Valli. Would you have stopped worshipping me or loving me as a deva if you married a human?”

“Of course not! You are my deva… my everything, like my parents and brothers.”

“Then you have your answer. Your love will always be strong. Choosing a human partner to lead a grihasta life doesn’t change your bhakti. You can and should have both. That’s how the worlds continue.”

Valli listened to him speak and let the words fill her heart. She looked down at their entwined hands, marveling at the gold shimmer in his skin and how it contrasted with her green tone. His voice was soft but confident, assured and assuring in a way only the devas can speak.

“You will really marry me,” she whispered.

“Yes, Valli. We will get married, and right away if you want it.”

“Can we wait?” she asked. Though her dreams had come true, Valli needed time to get used to the truth. She also wanted to savor the feeling of being wooed and loved by him. Moreover, her brothers were to marry during the monsoons. She wasn’t yet sure if she should have her own wedding before theirs or afterward. Valli knew she wasn’t their actual sister, though they loved her more than anything else. She didn’t want to distract everyone from her brothers’ weddings.

“Whatever you say, Valli,” Skanda replied. He could see confusion in her eyes and wanted to make her happy. “It is because of your brothers?”

“Yes. I don’t want to be selfish.”

“Will they think you are selfish?”

She shook her head and sighed. “No, they love me too much. That’s why I don’t want to decide anything yet.”

“Then don’t. As long as we can meet every day, I can wait for eternity.”