Meera and Arjun married in the apple orchards the following spring. The villagers, once bound by fear, now sang new folk songs of the brave girl who had defied the river.
Children grew up hearing her tale, not as a warning, but as an inspiration:
"The girl who refused to be the river's bride,
Who danced and gave her people pride."
And the Satluj flowed on — no longer a prison, but once more a mother to her valley.