Stolen Sita

"These flowers have never grown so well. I am getting the hang of this," thought Sita as she watered and weeded her flowerbed. Over the years, she had created an entire garden containing herbs of different sorts, vegetables and flowers of all colors.

Rama and Lakshmana were out saving the forest from danger...classic Rama. He was always playing the role of the hero. It is one of the reasons Sita loved him so dearly. So, in their absence, Sita decided to tend to her garden. The trio had been exiled many years before and were finally adapted to the forest life. They had built a cozy hut to live in, and Sita was finally learning how to be normal. She could now cook, clean and even garden! Sita was completely entranced by her flowers when voices broke her focus.

“Hello, dear.” It was a voice she knew all too well and loved far too much. “Look what we’ve brought you,” said Rama with a grin. He had several rabbits in hand that Sita could cook with.

Since being in exile, food was not nearly as easy to find. It took hours to hunt and hours to cook. So, each meal was a victory and this was no exception.

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” replied Sita. She hugged her husband and turned to take the rabbits inside to prepare for dinner. As she walked from the garden to the hut, she was distracted by a large, yet strangely beautiful deer. Since being in the forest, she had become far less respectful of animals, as they were more dangerous in the wild, and in this moment, she wanted the deer for her own.

“Someday, when I am in the palace again, I want this deer as my personal pet,” Sita decided to herself. Often times, she day dreamt of what her life would be like post-exile. She would wear beautiful clothing, eat lavish food and, as she decided in this moment, keep any pet she deemed necessary. She called to Rama and explained to him what she wanted for him to do. Rama and Lakshmana were both strong in their discernment abilities and they both knew that this was a bad idea. But, as always, Rama was simply spellbound by his wife. Before he could stop himself, the word “yes” left his lips.

Off he went into the maze of green just as his wife requested. This is the last time Sita would see her husband for a very long time.

Sita was combining her herbs with which to season the rabbit when she heard shouting.

“Sita! Lakshmana!”

“Sita, Lakshmana, please help me!”

“SITA!”

She had been working tirelessly to make dinner before Rama returned home. These shouts shook Sita to the core and she knew in her soul that Rama was in danger. Lakshmana, discerning, once again, knew that Rama rarely needed assistance. But, at Sita’s request, he went to help. Lakshmana was barely out of eyesight when there was a *knock, knock, knock* at the door.

Slowly, Sita opened the door.

It was Ravana.

Author's Note:

For this week's story, I decided to revisit our friend the Ramayana. This specific episode is so pivotal in the layout of this epic. So, I decided it needed some more attention. In the original, it has the typicalities of many of the stories we have read. It was pretty cut and dried with its language and style of storytelling. I chose to create a more vivid picture of this episode. To begin, I added in dialogue in order to allow the reader a more personal connection to the story. Next, I added more imagery and descriptors about what their life in exile was like. I created interests and desires for Sita as well as a glimpse into Sita’s thoughts and feelings. For the end, I chose to leave out the actual action of Ravana stealing her away. I find that ending the story with the door opening to Ravana is more striking and exciting to read. It also leaves room for the reader to create their own concept of the ending. I am open to any and all suggestions! So, feel free to head over to my comment blog and leave me some feedback. Thanks for reading my story!