12th June, 1244: Konya, Khorasan Province, Old Persian Empire (current day Turkey) It was the first time I set my eyes on him. Shams, the wanderer, a free spirit, in his sixties, appeared the only one for whom my craving soul had been waiting for since eternities. I was half his age, but was instantaneously drawn into his cryptic magnetism.  He said, "I had discovered you more than a pentadecade ago, but I decided to wait— until today. I wanted to confirm if you, Muhammad bin al-Husayn al-Khatibi al-Balkhi al-Bakrin urf Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī are worthy of being my 'Grandmaster Student'; the one I am seeking since decades."  My soul knew just then, that he was the only one I was meant to be with; but he... had known this since time immemorial.  As an elite member of high class society, my mother was related to the king of Khorasan in Eastern Persia and my father was a respected court advisor on jurisprudence. I was surrounded by riches, influence, class and contacts. And Shams, was 'A Bird', an antisocial, a blunt, powerful, spiritual and nomadic wanderer. We belonged to diametrically contrast backgrounds. The world would never approve of this connection, but what about my heart? What about my soul? What about every cell invading my body? I was in love, hopelessly in love. I had discovered the true meaning of love the moment I set my eyes on him. I was willing to pay any price to let his love stay with me, forever... My family admonished the entry of this strange mendicant and tried to prevent him from influencing me. But, was this mere influence? I was simply smitten. I was deeply, irrevocably and irreplaceably in love with him. *** 15th December, 1246: Konya, Khorasan Province, Old Persian Empire (current day Turkey) A part of my Soul was missing. Shams was nowhere to be seen. I had hunted, searched and stripped every single corner of the town and he had simply vanished without a trace. How could that be? I screamed, "Where is Shams? Bring him back to me, NOW..." Tears welled my eyes and flowed incessantly without break. My heart felt like it was being stabbed over and over... The pain was unbearable. I withered in agony. I clutched my chest and begged to all surrounding me, "I am willing to give anything you ask for. Please bring Shams back to me." My intuition told me he was still around and alive.  That's when my trusted spy came up to me and whispered hesitantly, "Sire, Shams is no more. Your son plotted to end his life and he was successful. He wanted to avenge you for marrying your twelve year old daughter to a man as ancient as Shams."  I plonked to the floor in utter disbelief. It felt like my whole body was being burnt. That's when the first verse of my love for Shams flowed through my heart in the form of this couplet.  'I'm in you and I'm you. No one can understand that until they have lost their mind.' A deep awakening stemmed within reminding me that Shams and I were not different. We were sparks of the same fire meant to merge back in union with our source. *** 3rd January, 2022: National Centre for Biological Sciences: Bangalore Ramya I wake up with a start. I feel the heat rising through my body. I realise that I am still at the lab. I had fallen asleep after working non-stop for over 38 hours. It was obvious.  But in the many recurrent dreams, this time I was Rumi— again. Of course, I love Rumi, just as much as I love myself. I read his words every day and feel like I have always known them; like words from my very own soul. Why am I so influenced that I envision myself to be Rumi? And then, Shams?  "Who is my Shams?" I ponder. I realise that I am devoid of love owing to the work that kept me engrossed and confined to this lab. But I convince myself that the love of the self, more than makes up for any external love— or so I think. I don't remember the last time I had left the lab. With my hair tied up in a messy bun, I had forgotten that time I had last seen myself in a mirror.  Without any further delay, I rush to the ladies locker room and stand in front of the majestic full wall mirror. A tired, yet a pretty, contented face peeks back. The deep brown eyes are shadowed by mild dark circles depicting lack of sleep. I sigh and the reflection mimics back. I smile; it smiles back. I sense a knowing within. It feels good. The stains on my white lab jacket don't bother me anymore; but I do feel like rejuvenating myself.  The locker room is empty. I take off my clothes. I observe my not so young, yet chiselled, near perfect, naked body in the mirror. I adore it. That tiny scar near the left ovary indicates the surgery I underwent for ovarian cyst as a teenager. It's been eighteen years since then. I check my watch. It shows 3rd January, 23:53 hours. In seven minutes, I will celebrate my 33rd birthday. But do I look thirty-three, I wonder? I convince myself that I look no older than twenty-five and feel no more than sixteen; I beam.  I stack the clothes in a pile for I know that the laundry would care of the stains. A fresh set of clothes lay pressed and ready to be worn.  The shower calms me. The self-regulated settings senses the optimum temperature and sprinkles my body with warm droplets in quick successions. I experience healing.  I sing the verses of Rumi more to myself,  "In your light, I learn how to love.  In your beauty, how to make poems.  You dance inside my chest, where no one sees you,  But sometimes I do, and that sight becomes this art." As I wrap myself in the Turkish white towel and step out, the locker room door opens. She enters, and my world swirls around me. In her light, I learn love. In her beauty, I create poems. She begins to dance upon my chest, where no one can see her. But I do at that very moment, and the sight of her mystical dance becomes my art. A woman in her mid-fifties, her hazel eyes seem to unveil the layers of my pretence. Her moistened, rosy lips seem to whisper silence of truth to my soul. Her wrinkled, fair skin seems to show me the layers of challenges that lay ahead in my journey. I remain transfixed in astonishment. I see the reflection of my true, bare soul within those deep, mysterious eyes. She quickly apologies, "I'm sorry, I didn't know that the locker room was occupied. I'll leave." "No, please, it's alright. Just stay." "Are you sure? I mean, I can come in after a while." "Of course, please stay. By the way, I am Ramya, senior Phytologist and researcher of bio-enzyme activators at the institute. I've never seen you before. Who are you?" "I'm Cindy, the new research in charge. I've been recently transferred here from Sweden. I guess, we will be a team. Nice to meet you." Just then, my watch alarm beeps midnight. "We were meant to meet again. Happiest Birthday to me," I murmur, with bountiful joy surging within me.  While I know I am blessed with the best birthday gift ever, she looks and me and offers one of those mystical smiles I have known since the beginning of times. *** 22nd October, 2022: National Centre for Biological Sciences: Bangalore Ramya Time flies. Literally. I didn't realise when work started taking its mammoth leap and how much I have managed to achieve in these last ten months.  It wouldn't be possible without Cindy. She has been my guiding beacon, the force behind my breakthrough research.  Together, we make the perfect pair. Working with Cindy is meditative. It calms my senses and brings me closer to myself.  Unknowingly, we have leeched upon each other mentally, emotionally, spiritually and ethereally.  Our research involves seeds; they are not only important for plants but hold a very important role in fulfilling the food requirements of a large population. Hence, seed germination and activated dormancy is of great significance in the field of agriculture. While better quality seeds enhance the quality and quantity of crops, other factors like water, temperature, oxygen, and light are the essential conditions for the germination process.  The absence of one or more of these in the right proportion affects the sprouting of seeds. Similarly, the maturity of an embryo, seed viability, and dormancy are internal factors that affect this process. Here I am, working together with Cindy to discover the bio enzyme regulator to activate the seed germination process in order to increase production power. Tonight, the breakthrough finally occurs. This is the Eureka moment.  I rush to Cindy who is busy tallying her research calculations. "Look Cindy, the breakthrough moment that we have been waiting for is over. This bio enzyme regulator works wonders."  I show her the seed germination process with the bio-enzyme regulator. It works; we squeal in delight, and I pull her into a long, warm hug.  A sudden bout of magnetic current passes through my entire body, my heartbeat pounds against my chest, the mind feels restless ; but my soul remains in a tranquil state.  Cindy probably feels the same. She pulls me out of the hug, peers deep into my eyes and after a moment of hesitation, softly kisses my lips.  In the shadows of the night, her face is so close to mine that I can smell the sweet rosy fragrance of her lip gel. I am filled with intense pangs of passions and pull her close into a strong, powerful kiss.  Soon, her tongue is in my mouth. I have never kissed anyone before. In all truth, this prodigy of a tongue was unexpected. I wish to look at her face but I am drowned in the aesthetic delight of our first kiss. The reaction is so instantaneous and urgent that I simply clench my eyes shut and drown myself in the mystery of this marvellous moment. After what seems like hours, we pull apart. The magnetic aura refuses to pull us apart.  "Will the world approve of this love?" I ask in fear. She answers back with yet another magical kiss to seal me shut. This time, my soul sings its own poem inspired by the Rumi within me; in my own words: 'There is a void in My Soul, Waiting to be filled! Will You fill it for Me, Oh! Divine Love? As I approach You, Knowing well that I will be burnt, Burnt in the flames of Your ignited passion, As a dew drop awaiting to quench the thirst, Of My parched Soul towards completion...' *** 10th November, 2022: Karwar Beach, Karnataka  Cindy   The waters of the Karwar beach crash against the shores as I soak in the serenity of the location. The early morning star plays hide and seek showering its strawberry rays upon the landform. The breeze carries with it the scents of oceans and proffers me a sense of liberation. I feel one with Nature. This place seems the perfect getaway after all the hard work. Nevertheless, these last ten months have been the best time of my life. After Edward's untimely death about a decade ago, life had taken its own course. I had decided to involve and dedicate myself to plant research like a long lost mission.  The more I got involved, the more I was losing myself into the deepest chasm of its mystical depths. Yet somewhere, the mission seemed to remain incomplete. Like it was waiting for a part of my soul to compliment me, complete me as a whole and propel me towards the realms beyond Earth.  That's when Ramya happened; and with her, the discovery of ‘The Self’ began. I felt complete in her presence. The research quest seems to breathe in a new life. That day, when I entered the locker room and set my eyes upon her, it felt like a new beginning towards anointing and healing something that was fragmented. Like, I had found the scattered pieces to join the puzzles of my life's purpose.  The more time I spend with her at the lab, I realise that she is a reflection of my Soul. The only one with whom I can achieve the impossible. Probably, it is fated; I have come back to where I truly belong. It is her love that has pulled me to India; and finally has led us towards this mission. Our discovery will soon be announced to the world. Just as my thoughts wander into her, I feel her around. She has emerged from the resort cottage, through the cobbled pathways leading to the private beach area. She appears as fresh and tender as the morning dew. She quietly sits next to me, laying her head on my shoulder.  The whiff of her shampooed tresses elevates my senses. I have the urge to tenderly kiss her. I delicately pull her face up close, and kiss her deep.  She responds passionately; soon losing herself to the moment. The resort's private beach is silent and witnesses the surging passion between the two bodies. The dainty rays of sunshine conceal us in a transparent bubble of love and light.  Though this isn't our first kiss, it seems as refreshing and exhilarating as the first drop of rains after a parched summer. The love between us is pure, yet fiery and explosive; pious, yet passionate and spirited all at once.  As I'm still involved in the impassioned kiss, I lose myself in a deep reverie. *** 23 Sept, 1714: Somewhere in The Himalayas  The glistening glow of the full moon appeared to radiate my form. The gentle rays soothed my closed eyelids offering an anointing effect. The 'Super Full Moon' night seemed as lustrous as a newly polished round silver plate embellished against the starlit canvas above. The silence of the mystical night carried the sounds of my meditative state to the higher realms of the planet. I experienced myself levitating several inches above the moist earth below. The lustrous glow outlined the background of the Himalayan peaks looking resplendent in divine effulgence. As the luminescence of the magical moonlit night metamorphosed into the radiant beams against the crepuscular skies, my eyes finally opened.  I experienced the magical surrealism breaking through to welcome the fresh new day. I knew it was time to move again. As a Buddhist monk, life was devoid of complications. With a clean shaven crown, mala beads, carmine robes and a matching cloth sac, I gathered my meagre paraphernalia to a nearby falling stream of fresh water gushing from the mountains above.  I freshened up and quenched my thirst with the pristine water flowing ceaselessly in an uninterrupted flow. I then collected a few wild berries, gently chewed the pulp until they stood separated from the seed. The seeds— I carefully segregated each of them as per the size and flavours gushing through each of them.  “Sorting is an important process,” I reminded myself. I sorted them to plant them again in the soils through the varied lands that I would pass. I had chosen this way of life; a mission as a Phytologist emerging from the wilderness.  *** 11th December: 1714 Bhutan I stood at the doors of our Vihaara and offered my oblation to the sacred place. My heartbeats gathered momentum at the very prospect of meeting my revered, or should I say, beloved Lama. I was a monk only because he guided me; he protected me; he fulfilled the very purpose of my Soul.  I felt swamped with emotions as I finally stood in the inner sanctum of the Vihaara where my Lama was peacefully tucked in deep meditation.  I had observed that my presence was not just always acknowledged by him; but reciprocated by the radiant love emitting through his soulful eyes. As soon as I entered, his eyes opened and our visions locked. I stood there for hours peering into the deepest chasm of mystical aura that encapsulated me within his eyes. I felt like discovering love; discovering myself in its depths.  Tears of ecstatic delight flowed through my eyes to fill my parched Soul that remained empty without his magnanimous presence.  There was only deep silence that was exchanged, yet the stillness exuded a million messages that uplifted my being, my body, mind and spirit. He, the all-pervasive, that part of my soul who completed me, knew exactly what had transpired in the Himalayas and how far I had succeeded in the mission towards protecting Mother Nature.  I wondered how I was able to survive all these months without him? Five years, four months and three days to be precise. I implored, "Rinpoche, I have completed the mission you had assigned to me. Can I now be guided by your divine grace?" The Lama responded, "Bhante, you and I are no different. You know this well. There is this price to pay for the unconditional love we share. We need to remain away from each other to fulfil our mission.  "You are my Yin and I am your Yang. Together, we make a whole. In order to balance the energies, you will have to leave again," he concluded. I felt my soul being taken away from me as I simply sat at his lotus feet shedding the mountain of agony within.  As the new day dawned, with the golden star rising from behind the majestic mountains, coating the snow peaks in gold, I left again for the next mission towards the Himalayas.  *** 10th November, 2022: Karwar beach, Karnataka The rising tidal waves leave us both drenched. The kiss is finally broken. It feels surreal and softening. We jolt back to the present. The sun rays are now blazing and blinding. I dither, but finally, decide to bring about that subject. "Ramya, I have shared another life with you. Would you believe that?" "Cindy, not just one life. Several lifetimes. We emerge from the same soul. You must have felt it." "Always! But, as a scientist, my practical mind never allowed me to believe it. But my soul! There was always a calling from deep within." "I realised it long back. Our research mission has progressed by leaps and bounds since you arrived. Your unexpected transfer was not coincidental. It was purposeful to carry out the long lost research we have been doing together since eons." "The new seed germination activator is proof of the incredible breakthrough we have made together. It wouldn't have been possible without you." "Don't you realise Cindy, you are my Yin and I am your Yang. Together, we make a whole. All through, we have paid the price for love. Now, this is the end result." she says, as we pull each other into yet another fervent kiss, losing each other in the deepest chasm of true love. *** 15th November, 2022 The newspaper headline flashes: 'Bio-enzyme Activators in Seed Germination boost Foodgrain Production: Female Scientists lead Discovery' *** Author's note: The above story is to offer an insight into the life and purpose of Twin Flames. Twin flames are believed to be the masculine and feminine polarities of the same soul that split with a purpose of spiritual ascension, nature protection, and/or a greater purpose towards discovering and spreading true love.  Just like Radha and Krishna who are known for their indefinite and unconditional love, many other uplifted and ascended souls are believed to have split to learn their lessons quicker and achieve a greater purpose without disrupting the energies of the planet. The bodies need not be of opposite genders as it is the identity of the souls that matter; which are predominantly masculine and feminine in their energies.  The popular example of Rumi and Shams are used in this story to depict the Twin Flames connection. Some Rumi verses have been used for authenticity and I wish to hold no copyrights over the same.  Also, some element of fiction has been added to suit the needs of the story. Glossary:  * Pentadecade- fifteen years (coined to suit the plot) * 'A Bird'- Shams was nicknamed 'A Bird' as he never used to stay in one place for long * Vihaara- Buddhist monastery or temple * Lama- an honorific title applied to a spiritual leader in Tibetan Buddhism, whether a reincarnate lama or one who has earned the title in life. *Rinpoche- an honorific title for a Tibetan Buddhist * Bhante - Respectful title used to address Buddhist monks literally meaning ‘Venerable Sir’   Penmancy gets a small share of every purchase you make through these links, and every little helps us continue bringing you the reads you love!