Sita, a young girl in a big city, had just gotten out of a long week of school. She had waited outside the school entrance to wait for her friends Sasha and Ramses, who usually want to go to the shops nearby Fridays after school, but both of them needed to go home for some reason or another. Crossing the street a few blocks away from the school, Sita walked slowly outside the store fronts, looking for a store she hadn't yet explored. Stopping in front of a brightly decorated store, she saw a strange statue with many heads and many hands.
"What in the world is that?" Sita wondered out loud.
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The Demon King Ravana sat bored atop his throne on an uneventful Friday evening.
"Isn't there anything in this kingdom of mine that can interest me?" boomed Ravana to his demons.
His brother Maricha spoke up, "My brother, why don't you go out and see for yourself? I'm sure there is something that could appeal to you."
Ravana slumped farther into his throne, "I have seen everything here there is to offer, haven't you?"
Maricha thought for a while. "When was the last time you visited the mortal world?" he asked, "I'm sure there is an endless supply of new people you could use for your enjoyment," he said hopefully.
"This is not a bad idea brother!" exclaimed Ravana, "I shall leave at once."
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"That is a valiant King, my child," said Ravana. He decided to disguise as an old man for the time being, so as to not scare the weak minded humans, but also because they seemed to trust frail old men easily.
"He doesn't look that valiant," said Sita, startled by the strange old man. He seemed to appear out of nowhere, or she might have just not seen him while she was focused on the store fronts. "How could he do anything with so many arms and heads? Wouldn't it get confusing?"
Ravana looked at the girl. How ignorant was she! If only she knew who she was talking to! Although... this girl looked so beautiful. If not for the new strange styles of the human world, she would look nice in his throne room, he thought.
"Well, I suppose if he's used to it, then it wouldn't be a bother to him. I just wouldn't know which hand to shake or which face to look at," Sita mused.
"I'm sure you could figure it out," Ravana said. A few more minutes and he would take her away. What a joy it would be to have such a beautiful mortal by his side! He decided to inch closer to trap her in his grasp.
Sita eyed the old man nervously. Where did he come from? He looked nice enough, but her parents always warned her against talking to strangers. "I should get going," Sita said to the man. "I have.. I'm meeting someone, have a good evening sir!" She said hastily. Quickly walking, she wished more and more that her friends could be there with her.
"Oof!" Sita slammed into two people running the opposite direction as her.
"Sita! Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Her head steadied and she saw that the two people were her friends!
"Yes, I'm great now," Sita said, sighing with relief. She looked back, and saw an empty store front. Where had the man gone?
Author's Note: I chose to do a variation on the story of Ravana and Sita in the Ramayana Part B reading. In my variation, I chose to keep most of the names to keep the image of the predatory Ravana and vulnerable Sita. I changed the story to a more modern setting, because I wanted it to feel more relevant to the reader. In the original, Ravana is trying to steal Sita away from Rama to prove that he is more powerful than Sita's husband Rama. I wanted to keep some of that story, but without the complicated background. I tried to keep Ravana's actions and thoughts just as simple and self serving, but without revealing himself because the modern day Sita did not fall for his trap. Also in the original, Ravana disguised as a brahmin, which is considered to be a wise and trustworthy person in Hinduism. I chose to keep the same intentions, but as an old man instead, to align with a more modern day feel. Sita in the Ramayana seems way too trusting of the disguised Ravana, so I wanted to change her reaction, because, and I think I speak for many of us when I say this, most of us were raised with some kind of wariness towards strangers on the street. Lastly, I changed Rama and Lakshmana to Ramses and Sasha, to fit with the modern story and to help Sita out in the end.
Bibliography. "Ravana and Sita" by Donald A. Mackenzie, from India Myth and Legend. Web source: PDE Ramayana.
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