Rescued

Draupadi was crouched in a corner of her apartment, hands clasped together tightly, shivering. She didn't bother looking up when her brother said goodbye. At the sound of a man's voice, she shut her eyes tightly so there was only darkness.

"Sorry about all that, Draupadi," her brother said. "But at least we saved you! See you tomorrow." Without another look back, her four brothers walked out of the apartment.

She was left alone with the memory of her abduction. She had been simply walking behind her brothers down the streets of New York when a man suddenly grabbed her, forced her into a van, and drove off. Yes, her brothers had saved her, but she didn't feel safe. Every shadow was after her. Every man was just waiting to grab her.

Her brothers were powerful, and power naturally attracts enemies. Her brothers ran the city while everyone who wanted to hurt them used her as an easy target.

She wasn't sure how long she stayed crouched in that corner of her apartment. Several mornings passed until she looked up and the rays from the sun shone so brightly in her eyes, filling her up with hope and anger.

That day she enrolled in every self-defense class she could. She had a knife short enough to conceal, but long enough to do its job. From then on, she only wore running shoes, T-shirts and pants. She wouldn't be helpless again.

A few months later, she was going for a run in Central Park when she tripped on something. There was nothing in her way before, but when she looked up, Kichaka stood over her. He was one of her brothers' sworn enemies. Before she could react, Kichaka kicked her in the head and the stomach. Her head aching and eyes blurring, she couldn't fight back as he put her in handcuffs and put her in a van.

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Draupadi's brothers hadn't heard from Draupadi all day. They heard rumors that their sister had been abducted by Kichaka. They searched for Kichaka's hideout, but it took so long they were beginning to wonder if they would find their sister alive.

One of the brothers finally found a homeless man who claimed to know Kichaka's hideout. For a few dollars, the man gave up the location, and the brothers were on their way to save Draupadi. The homeless man said they would find Kichaka at an abandoned factory on the river. As they busted into the abandoned factory, they expected to see their poor, innocent sister tied up and at the mercy of their enemy.

Instead, what they saw caused them to stop in their tracks. Draupadi stood over the limp body of Kichaka, blood on her hands and victory in her eyes.

She looked up from the body and regarded her brother's quizzically. "What are you doing here, dear brothers?" she asked.

"We... we came to save you," the eldest said shakily.

"As you can see, I am no longer in need of your protection. Sorry to waste your time. See you tomorrow!" Without looking back, Draupadi left the factory leaving her brothers to shake in fear from the power and strength of their little sister.

Author's Note: This is a retelling and modern version of the story of Draupadi's abduction from the Mahabharata. When reading the Mahabharata, I wished there were more strong women in the Mahabharata that kicked some serious butt. There are few strong female characters who grab the reader's attention while there is no end to violence from men.

To me, Draupadi's story doesn't make much sense. She has to live with these men, and then she is constantly being abducted. I don't think Draupadi would be abducted by Jayadratha and then wait patiently to be abducted again and her husband's family to save her again. I think that she would do something about it.

I didn't keep much from the original story. It is truly "inspired by" Draupadi's story. My story is set in modern New York (inspired by Law and Order SVU, my favorite show), and it features a strong Draupadi who is unsatisfied with being saved by others. Being a part of a powerful family puts her in danger. She wants power for herself and she works for it and overcomes her enemies.

Rather than being happy for her, her brothers are afraid of her. I think that those with power would rather help the powerless than raise them up to have power of their own.

Bhima and Kichaka. The Indian Heroes by C. A. Kincaid (1921).