A Love Stronger than Fear of Death

Kama launches into his tale. “This was one of my stronger works, my dear, yet far from the best known. I have some regrets about how it turned out, but it, ahem, affirms my power when I begin to fear I am losing my touch.

The story is about a lonely man who longed for love, so I shot him through with my arrow and he soon found a wife. He was a fairly ordinary man, and she a fairly ordinary woman, but he loved her more than anything. Through some transgression of his own, he found himself impaled alive one day. Why was that? I do not know, my love. I didn’t show up until after that, when he cried out for someone to deliver his last message of love to his wife. Well, love is my middle name!”

Rati giggles and says, “No, dear, it’s your first name. You literally MEAN love.”

“Quite right, my darling. It is just an expression. Anyways! I assumed the form of a crow and flew over his impaled body to see why he summoned me. As I circled (and it took a few loops for him to notice me; being impaled is painful you know) he called out and begged me to send a message to his wife. He started with some flattery to get my attention, which is always a wise move, talking about how I fly so high and so strongly. He continued to request that I tell his wife that he will not be coming home. She does not know that he will never return to her, and he is afraid that she will fret and be angry. He was much more concerned that she will be concerned, than that he was hanging there impaled and close to death. He then told me the locations of his jewels and cloth, so that his wife can find them and have a little wealth to compensate for the loss of him. No sooner than he had said that, he gave a final wail and died.”

Kama pauses and lets the silence hang. Rati sits in her chair, looking horrified. She finally sets her tea down and says, “My love, that was an awful story! Why do you take credit for that? And what influence did you have in it besides hearing his dying wish?”

“Hang on there, dear,” Kama soothes. “The point is, the story began with me shooting him with my arrow! The arrow had flown so straight and so strongly that it pierced him all the way through, filling him with one of the deepest loves to ever exist. So you see, even when he was close to death and in immense pain, he did not think of himself or how his life was coming to an end! Filled with love, he only worried about his cherished wife, wanting her to know that he would not return but still desiring that she be happy, thus revealing where his wealth was hidden. I, of course, delivered the message to his wife; I would never deny a dying wish.

Staying in the form of the crow, I visited his wife and let her know how her husband met his untimely demise, along with the location of his valuables hidden throughout their home. I expected her to collapse in tears and mourn her lost love, but instead she sounded absolutely annoyed. She exclaimed, 'That fool! He never could do anything right. He even had the nerve to die before bringing me the eyeliner I asked for.' I was shocked; she didn't care for him nearly at all! But she found the treasures and was at peace, and I winged away, comforted by the knowledge that the man's dying wish for his love was fulfilled.

So there you have it! A strong love that never died…er, even though he did. And in retrospect, I conclude I should have shot her with my arrow as well, though that oversight saved her heart some suffering. Love and selfishness are rarely compatible, you know.”

Rati sighs and shakes her head. “I suppose. But how about something a little more uplifting for the next story please, my love?”

Kama chuckles and says, “Of course, my dear. But it is important to remember that love does not always end in happiness. The next tale does, however. Do you need a fresh cup of tea? This one will take a little longer to tell.”

Author’s Note: This story was based off an old Buddhist story from The Jataka, a sacred text. This story was called Kama-Vilapa-Jakata, and was only about the impaled man’s appeal to the crow to bring the message to his wife as he died. I inserted Kama in there as the crow, so he could have a bird’s-eye (pun absolutely intended) view of his work and the consequences of that love. The impaled man was very clearly motivated by extreme love for his wife, so it was fairly easy to insert Kama’s narrative in there. His beloved wife (who got him killed) was explained and properly villified in another Jataka story, the Puppharatta Jataka. It is definitely not the most uplifting of love stories, as Rati points out, but (as Kama responds) not all love stories are happy ones. This one could have been a little dry just written up, so I included a little back and forth between Kama and Rati to add interest and break up the chunks of dialogue. Also, I’ve decided in writing that I like having Rati call Kama “my love,” because (as mentioned in the story,) “kama” literally means “love”… and I love a good play on words. I also tried to include a segue to next story, to keep forward progress and build intrigue for the next page…I’m not sure if that translated well or seemed too much like a cliffhanger (or not enough like one), but feel free to let me know.

Bibliography: The Jakata, Vol II, translated by WHD Rouse (link)