Story: Wreck Me (Sita & Rama)

Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep...

Sita struggled to open her eyes. As she blinked away the blur, she saw a figure standing in the doorway. "Rama?" She croaked. 

"Hi honey, you're finally awake. We were so worried. How do you feel?"

She stared blankly at the older man, now hovering over her. "Where am I?" She looked around the clean white room and down at the wires and IV in her right arm. 

"You've been in a car accident, darling. You're in the hospital until you've made a full recovery." The man explained.

Sita began to panic. "Where is Rama? Was he in the accident too? Is he okay?"

"Rama?" The man looked at her, concerned.

"Yes. My husband, Rama. Where is he?" She asked frantically.

"Sweetheart, you and Rama haven't been together in a year."

She shook her head. "No. That can't be- I was just... tell me where he is! Who are you?!"

The man brushed her hair from her face. "Honey, I am your father. Do you not remember me?"

*Two days earlier*

Sita was running late for school as usual. She had spilled her coffee all over herself right before walking out the door. It was the first day of her senior year, so she had to look exceptional for this day. Plus, this would be the first time she's seen Rama in months. She didn't want to make him miss her. I mean they had agreed it was best to go their separate ways for senior year... but it hadn't been easy to just let go. 

She walked into her first class, ten minutes late, and grabbed a seat near the back. 

"Nice of you to join us Miss Sita!" Mrs. Berry said.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Berry, it won't happen again!"

She went through the day, class to class. Seeing friends here and there. She had already run into Lakshamana. He stopped and asked how her summer was and if she was ready to graduate in just one short school year. She had missed him. But mostly Rama. Even though she acted at ease about their decision to go separate ways, she longed for his embrace. Finally the lunch hour crept around, when she was sure she would finally see Rama. She turned the corner to the cafeteria and there he was. His perfect shaggy dark hair had gotten longer since she had seen him last. And he must have been out in the sun plenty this summer judging by the golden brown color of his skin. He was sitting at a table with his brother and their friends, Ravana, his sister Soorpanaka, and the five Pandava brothers: Yudhisthira, Bhima, Nakula, Sahadeva and Arjuna. Sita was so busy studying him that she hadn't realized she wasn't even walking anywhere. 

"Hey! How was your summer girl?" Draupadi swung her arm over Sita's shoulders.

Sita jumped. "Oh! Hi. Sorry, did you say something to me?"

Drapadia laughed. "Yes. Welcome back, I asked how your summer was? Are you alright?" Draupadi followed Sita's gaze over to Rama. "Oh. You all are still on that break thing?"

"...Yeah, we are. It's just what's best for now." Sita sighed.

"Well, c'mon. It isn't nice to stare." Draupadia grabbed Sita's hand and drug her over to the boys. "Heeeeyyyyy!" She said, in her usual bubbly tone.

Rama looked up and met Sita's gaze. He smiled and stood up, wrapping his arms around her, embracing Draupadi next. "How are you girls? Sit down! Eat with us."

They sat and spent the rest of the lunch hour with the crew but Sita wasn't being her normal self. It felt weird to her to have to act just as Rama's friend and she really wasn't sure what that even looked like. 

That night Draupadi texted Sita, inviting her to her back to school party at her house. Draupadi's parents were out of town, so she was going all out. Sita didn't feel like doing much that night. She promised Draupadi she would come away, though, because she was her best friend and all. Sita was assigned to buy desserts and ice for the drinks. She left an hour before the party started to go and run the errands and help Draupadi finish setting up. 

She was stopped at a red light. And then it turned green, so she went. Someone coming from the right of her decided to run a red light. She saw lights right before everything went sideways and then black. The next thing she saw was an older man standing over her, lying in a hospital bed. And the only person she could remember was Rama. 

*Present Time*

Her face fell. "No. I only remember Rama. Can you please get him for me?" She begged her father.

Just as she said those words, Rama ran around the corner. "Sita! What in the world? I didn't know until today. I would have come earlier. I am so sorry!" He knelt at her side, grabbing her hand. 

Tears began to fill her eyes. "Rama, I am scared. I think I may have lost most of my memory. I awoke and all I could remember was you. And this man-" 

"Your father. You don't remember him?" Rama interjected. 

"No. You are the only one. I was so afraid, he told me we were no longer together. I didn't think you would come." Tears began to soak her face. 

Rama crawled into the hospital bed with her. "I am here now and that's all that matters. Don't worry, we will make it through this."

Sita drifted to sleep, in Rama's arms. She spent the next six month regaining her strength and memory, but Rama never left her side. It was fate that they belonged together and they vowed never again to separate from on another.

A/N

I've always wanted to write a story about someone who lost their memory after a car crash. I know there are already books and movies about this but it's always fascinated me. Especially when love is involved. I sort of tied it to another story of mine, or tried to, Draupadi's Party and Kunti's Hundred Questions. The party found in that story was the party Sita was headed to when she got in a wreck. I would like to revise this a lot and give it some more twists but this is just the rough draft. I kind of thought "the skies the limit" with this one since it was my last story. So I made a few of the main characters from the epics friends in this story. I thought that would be interesting. I hope you enjoyed it!

Bibliography: Narayan's Ramayana 

Story Planning: The Brave Little Bear

I am considering writing a story off of "The Brave Little Bowman" story. I may include a hunter in my story and have him be the antagonist. It will start with a family of bears in the woods and all their woodland friends. I could also incorporate parts of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears". So there would be Papa Bear, Momma bear and Baby bear in my story. I could have Papa bear get caught in the hunter's trap and then baby bear has to rise to the occasion and save Papa while protecting Momma. 

The bears will be a family of grizzlies. Baby bear's best friends will be a fawn and a young hawk. I want to use a hawk so that he can use his flight to help Baby bear save Papa bear and the other animals in the forest. I'd like to start out my story with how the three became friends. I think it would be cute to write about the young hawk learning to fly, the fawn learning to run and Baby bear learning how to climb a tree. This will explain the bond they have with one another and lead up to them helping Baby bear. 

I don't want the hunter to be killed in my story but rather just scared off. I think it would be interesting to have Baby bear not be able to roar. Maybe this is something Baby bear is very self conscious of. And then I could have Baby bear's roar scare off the hunter and all the animals will be so happy for him finding his roar finally. At this point I am just spouting off ideas but I guess that's what brainstorming is. I want to make this story a combination of a few of the Jataka tales I've read this week. 

Bibliography: More Jataka Tales 1922 by Ellen C. Babbitt 

(Baby Bear)

The Sea Turtle and the Whale

The Barrier Reef is home to many vibrant families. They all have specific jobs in their community. Each species is so diverse from the other. They usually only mingle with those like them. It's common to find two clown fish cracking jokes with one another. As well as two clams polishing pearls together. But cross-species mingling is not acceptable. 

Ruth, a scrawny year-old humpback whale, never feels connected with her fellow humpbacks. Everyone else her age is twice her size. And on top of that, her sight isn't very strong. She's constantly bumping into large rocks, the reef, and other humpbacks. The others always make fun of her. Joking about her size, "I think you were meant to be a dolphin," one cackles. "Or maybe a mole? Since you can't see a thing!" another adds. Ruth spends most of her time alone, swimming the same route she does day after day. She has it memorized so that she won't embarrass herself by running into things. It's a wide open ocean. It shouldn't be that hard to avoid obstacles. But when an obstacle the size of a silver dollar comes swimming at you full speed, there's really not much one can do!

THUD.

"Ow... what in the world was that?" Ruth rubs the tip of her nose. She looks around trying to figure out what had just hit her. There's a small green object lying on the floor of the ocean. She swims down next to it, inches away.

"Please, don't eat me! I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was swimming!" a little voice croaks from the being lying on the floor.

"I'm not going to eat you, silly! I just can't see very well. Are you a sea turtle?"

"Oh. Yes, I am. My name is Eugene."

"Nice to meet you, Eugene, I'm Ruth!"

"I've never met a humpback. Y'all are even bigger up close." Eugene's eyes widen as she gets up and dusts herself off. "That was quite the collision, nearly knocked me out!"

"And I have never met a sea turtle. You are so tiny, I didn't even see you coming! How did you miss me?" Ruth asks.

"Well, I was playing tag with my friends and I must have wandered off a bit far. I was looking back to see if anyone was chasing me and BAM, I ran into a wall. Or, so I thought. And the next thing I remember was this creature with huge eyes staring at me!" Eugene explains. 

"Well, I am sorry about that. I would have gotten out of your way had I seen you!"

They are both laughing at this point. And from this day on they are inseparable. With Eugene by Ruth's side, Ruth is able to venture out to parts of the sea she has never seen. Eugene is always the eyes of the duo and if they come upon any potential threats, Ruth is big enough to protect the both of them. But others cannot understand why a humpback and a sea turtle would want to be friends with one another. I mean, it is truly unheard of. 

"Glad you finally found someone to take pity on you, Ruth." A girl humpback named Calliope taunts Ruth about her new found friendship. "Looks like a match made in heaven!"

Eugene just cannot hold her tongue. She swims up to Calliope, and shaking her fin in the giant mammal's face says, "You can't understand true friendship till you learn to love someone who couldn't be more different from you. How shallow of you to hate on our friendship. It's possible that our relationship is the deepest one in the ocean. Living the way you do, you may never find a friendship like ours." And with that she turns to Ruth. "C'mon, we don't need to waste time with whales who have nothing interesting to say."

Ruth and Eugene's friendship only grew stronger over time. Their husbands became great friends as well, and their children, and their children's children. To this day they still swim the same route they always have. They are the one reason sea creatures all intermingle now. Diversity is what makes the sea so rich and in embracing it they unlocked a door of endless love and happiness. 

Author's Note:
After reading Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt last week I was inspired to write a story with cute animals in it. Each Jataka tale always has a lesson in it. I wanted to choose a lesson very important to me. That's why my lesson is to accept others no matter how different they may be from you. I love the diversity in our world and can't understand why more of us can't learn to embrace it! Without diversity, the world would be a pretty boring place. I wanted to use a sea turtle and  a humpback because they are such different creatures. My humpback, Ruth, was modeled after a character from Finding Dory. And my sea turtle, Eugene, was modeled after Squirt from Finding Nemo! I feel like these days many are in need of this lesson. We are all too caught up in our own ways to try to accept anyone else. All I ever see on the news anymore is violence and more violence. And it all centers around the same issue, people not seeing eye to eye. I hope that one day we can overcome all of this adversity and learn to love one another despite our diversity. 

(Great Barrier Reef)

Bibliography: Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt

Story Planning: The Sea Turtle and The Dolphin

This week I chose to focus on a few of the Jataka Tales. I really enjoyed reading these. Since they were written for children they were simple and easy to comprehend. Each involved a different set of animals and each taught a lesson about life. I feel like using the Jataka Tales as a guideline for my story could be very helpful. Maybe I could choose a specific life lesson and then pick my animals accordingly. I want to challenge myself to pick an animal that wasn't already used i the Jataka Tales. 

For this next story I want to challenge myself also to focus more on punctuation. I have been struggling with it in previous weeks. I also want to become better at editing my own stories. I think skill is extremely important to a writer. 

I think I would like to use a sea turtle as one of my animals in my story. Maybe a sea turtle and a dolphin? Or maybe a whale? I think setting my story in the sea would make for a ton of vibrant imagery. Maybe it could give it a Finding Nemo kind of feel. 

For the lesson maybe I could focus on "follow your passion". Not sure what the passions will be for the dolphin and sea turtle yet but I'm sure I can come up with something really cute. I love being able to personify these creatures. Stories always seem to be more intriguing when talking animals are involved. 

I am eager to write this story because I feel like I can really dig deep into my imagination. I'm excited to develop a unique, feel-good story. I also feel like I can pack more emotion into this story which I always love. I primarily write poetry in my free time so emotion is usually what I use to propel myself. 

(Finding Nemo)

Bibliography:
Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt

Sita's Rebellion

(Rama, Sita, Lava and Kusa)

The gossip was always high here, but Rama and Sita were the talk of the town. Since Rama is the one in power, he and Sita had eyes on them at all times. When they were out amongst their people the whispers echoed around them. Not to mention the eyes that darted their way. It's like people had nothing better to do. 

"I'm not like Rama.  I won't take back someone who's slept in another man's house."

"Sita is definitely impure if she spent any amount of time with Ravana. How does Rama even look at her?"

"I don't care if Sita has "proven" her purity to Rama. I don't buy it."

It's like no one had heard of grace! No one had heard of love! The accusations don't bother Sita one bit. She knew she was pure. Rama, however, couldn't shake feeling guilty for taking her back.

Sita and Rama were celebrating their exciting news, Sita's pregnancy, but Rama just wasn't acting like himself. 

He kissed his wife. "Let's go on a trip to celebrate!"

"But we just got here? You already want to leave?" she asked. 

"Yes, pack your bags!" Rama said in the most enthusiastic tone. Sita smiled at her husband and rushed to their room to gather her things. 

"Lakshamana, my subjects think less of me for accepting Sita after being with Ravana. I cannot rule without their support. Take Sita with you to the forest and leave her." Sita returned in record time. She had her bags in her hand and was ready to go.

"I have a few things to address here. You and Lakshamana go ahead and head to the forest! I'll catch up with you two in a bit," Rama said as they were leaving.

Sita, thinking she, Lakshamana, and Rama are just going for a day in the forest, happily accompanied Lakshamana. She loved the peace and quiet of the forest. It's always been one of the best escapes from everyday life and after her time with Ravana, she needed this!

They arrive in the forest and Sita soon realized this isn't a day trip. Lakshamana explained Rama's wishes to Sita and she fell to her knees sobbing.

"Why, Rama, why? I have proven my purity to you and yet you still question me? I will spend all my days loving you, I will never love another man but you. Oh, please Lakshamana, take me back with you!"

Lakshamana shook his head at Sita. "I am sorry. I have to honor my brothers wishes."

In the days that passed, Sita doesn't move an inch. She just cried and cried and cried, every single day. One day she met Valmiki. Luckily for her, she doesn't have to live in exile alone. Soon she had two beautiful twin boys, Lava and Kusa, to raise. Valmiki taught them of their father, and they learned to love him. Meanwhile, Sita grew stronger and stronger. Rama abandoned her at the worst time. He wasn't even there for the birth of their sons! How could he? 

One day, while Lava and Kusa are singing a song about Rama, Rama hears them and becomes curious. He learns it is his son's voices from the forest. He was eager to finally meet his sons so he left to bring them home with him.

 Rama arrives and falls in love immediately at the sight of his two sons. 

"Sita, our sons, they are perfect! You have done such a wonderful job raising them. It is time you and the boys come back home with me." 

Sita stares at him blankly. 

"Father, Father, we have heard so much about you! Have you finally come for us? We wish to be strong like you one day!" The boys were running circles around Rama, excited to meet their famously strong dad. 

"I have told the boys this day would come. I told them I would support their decision either way," Sita said.

Rama looks at her puzzled. "What do you mean, "their decision"?"

Sita looks him dead in the eyes, confident in her decision. "I am not coming home with you, Rama."

Rama's mouth drops in shock. "I knew eventually you wouldn't be able to lie any longer."

"What are you talking about, Rama? Is this about my purity again? "She begins to raise her voice.

"Yes, Sita. How can it be that Ravana never laid a hand on you?"

"You won't ever believe me Rama. This is why I can no longer be your wife. I have never loved another man as I've loved you and not once have you ever had my back!" Sita is now screaming through her tears.

"So be it, I don't need you to rule," Rama's pride yells back at Sita.

She wipes her tears from her face. "Boys, what have you decided?"

Lava and Kusha look up at their mother, then over to their father, then back to their mother. 

Lava speaks first. "We both want to know our father. But our loyalty is to you, mother. You have raised us to be who we are today. So we have decided to stay with you. We could not leave your side." 

Sita kneels down and hugs her boys. "I am so proud of the both of you."

Rama is standing there, astounded. He came to bring back his family and will be leaving alone. He could never have foreseen this. 

"Thank you, Rama, for coming back for us. But it looks like we are perfectly happy here in the forest."

Rama ruled for twenty more years while Sita, Lava and Kusha spent their days in the forest. The day finally came for Rama to step down. Lava would be the heir to the throne. He ruled with Sita and Kusa by his side. And the very first thing Sita did with her acquired power was banish Rama to the forest. 

Rama lived out his days alone, surrounded by trees and wilderness in the forest. While the family he created lived a life of luxury and happiness without him.

Author's Note:

As I'm sure many of us were, I was tired of Rama not trusting Sita. She was kidnapped by a scary man. Please tell me how any of that was her fault? He questioned her purity over and over again and no matter what she did, it was simply never enough for him. I thought it was CRAZY that he banished Sita to the forest simply because his subject didn't approve of his decision to take Sita back. If the love he felt for Sita was real, he would have chosen her over being the ruler. In this story I wanted to empower Sita to break free from Rama.  I wanted Rama to suffer in the same way he made Sita suffer. And while he may not have shown his pain, you know that watching his family walk away from him crushed him. I also loved the picture I chose because it shows the boys loving on Sita and Rama just in the background almost waving "bye". It was too perfect for my story!

Bibliography: 

Bibliography: 

Sita Sings the Blues 2008

Nina Paley

Story Planning: Sita's Rebellion

I thought this week I would try the new story planning option. I really like this idea because sometimes I feel I haven't really developed my story fully when I write it. Here I will brainstorm some ideas for my story this week. 

I would really like to write about when Rama chooses to banish Sita the forest. I think it's crazy that Rama treats Sita in this manner. All she has ever been is loyal to him and he has shown no loyalty to her. Here are my two ideas.

1. Rama does not banish Sita to the forest. 

Maybe Rama could just choose to rule with Sita by his side and not worry what society might think of him. Another idea would be to actually have Rama step down from the thrown in order to be with Sita. I would really like to see some sacrifices being made on Rama's part for Sita. If he was really so in love with her he shouldn't have to worry how society views him, even though he is king. 

2. Rama still banishes Sita but she doesn't come back with him from the forest. I could have Sita fall out of love with Rama. When Rama comes to the forest to retrieve Sita and his two sons I would still have her prove her purity to Rama but she will not be going home with him. In my opinion Sita has done so much for Rama and always thought the world of him but Rama more than once has questioned Sita's integrity. I think it's time to be able to see Sita stand up for herself. Maybe I could even split up the brothers. Maybe one will want leave with Rama and one will wish to stay in the forest with his mother Sita. 

Of course, I always like happy endings, but life doesn't always work out that way. I think it would be interesting to give the story a twist that the readers don't expect. And who knows, the more I think about it maybe I will have Sita cheat on Rama. That could get pretty interesting. 

(Rama and Sita)

Bibliography:

Sita Sings the Blues 2008

Nina Paley

Story: Vyasa and The Shy Girl

Vyasa was quiet in school. He always stood on the outskirts, watching. Most everyone, especially the girls, were repulsed by him. He didn't dress well and may have skipped a shower or two in his day. But he did have one friend, well, if you can call her that. They didn't talk but they were always together. Both outcasts, they had that one thing in common. Vyasa didn't even know her name, but he never minded her company. She sat with him every day at lunch. They ate in silence while all the other high schoolers chatted away about the latest gossip. No one ever really paid the two any mind, and that was a-okay with them.

There was a school winter dance and since it was his senior yea, his parents forced him to go. Vyasa was relieved to see his friends face when he walked into the school. They greeted each other with a smile, no words. For the entirety of the night they were wallflowers. Watching their classmates dance and catching the occasional corner make-out sesh. You could say they were more of chaperones than students at this point. After a night full of punch, terrible music and more grinding than they cared to see, the dance was finally over. Afterwards, Vyasa finally spoke to his friend. 

"My names Vyasa, what's your name?"

"I'm Suri." She said quietly. 

They smiled at one another then got into their separate cars and went home.

The next day at lunch Suri asked "Did you have fun last night?"

"I mean, it was okay. At least it was entertaining. Did you?"

"Oh it was definitely not boring. But I'm glad I didn't have to stand against that wall alone." She looked up from her sandwich and smiled. 

"Yeah, it was nice to have some company. It always is." Vyasa smiled back at her. 

For the next couple weeks they began talking more and more. Slowly, they began to open up to one another. Vyasa had never really had many friends because he had never learned how to interact with others. He was forced to be on his own at a very young age. The isolation he experienced in his past had turned him into an extreme introvert. But he was finally learning what it was like to enjoy another human being. One day he finally asked her on a date to a drive in movie theater and of course, she said yes. 

Vyasa drove a truck so he loaded the bed with pillows and blankets and even remembered to bring snacks along! He was really getting the hang of this whole social life thing. From the start of the movie Vyasa had been eyeing Suri's hand. He wanted so bad to reach for it, but how? He had never done anything like this before. Finally halfway through he did it. He intertwined his fingers between hers and was surprised at how much better it made him feel. Suri laid her head on his shoulder and they stayed like this for the rest of the movie. 

"Thanks so much for coming with me tonight Suri, it was a lot of fun." Vyasa said as he was saying goodbye to her on her doorstep. 

"Of course. You know, I always enjoy your company." She stood up on her tippy toes and kissed his cheek, "Get home safe Vyasa, I'll see you tomorrow."

Vyasa was on cloud nine. He had never felt this way. All he had known was the feeling of rejection. No girl had ever shown anything but disgust for him. But Suri, she adored him. When his head hit the pillow that night it was full of sweet dreams and his stomach was teeming with butterflies. There really was someone out there for everyone. 

Author's Note:

This week I suffered from major writer's-block. I don't like this story that much. I wanted to write something about Vyasa and the three women who bared his sons, but I decided to focus mostly on Vyasa and the servant girl. She was the only one out of the three who happily welcomes Vyasa. The other two were terrified of him, due to his appearance but the servant girl accepted him completely. I thought this made for a sweet story. Although I feel I veered too far from the original story-line. I don't know, my brain is mush and hopefully next week I can write a better story! 

Bibliography: The Mahabharata: Karmic Revolution by Epified TV (India)

Story: Draupadi's Party and Kunti's Hundred Questions

"Make sure you're home by midnight," Kunti yelled at the five as they were leaving the house. 

"Always mom!" Yudhisthira yelled back. 

She thought they were going to a school fundraiser at a bowling alley but that couldn't be farther from the truth. Actually, Draupadi, the most popular girl in school, was having a party. It just happened that the five were all infatuated with her, each as convinced as the next that they had a chance with her. 

When they drove up on the house it was already packed, high school kids everywhere with their Solo cups in hand. Music was blaring from inside and someone was puking under a tree in front of the house. They walked through the door to people mingling everywhere. Draupadi instantly greeted them, "Hey guys! I'm so glad you all were able to make it. C'mon, let's get you some punch!" She shoved them towards the kitchen. 

Once they had their trusty Solo cups, they were ready to enjoy the party. They started to make their way around the house, stopping to talk to the people they knew. They were pretty well known at their school. Since all of them were highly athletic and good-looking every girl swooned over them. After downing the first three cups of punch you could say they were all feeling pretty good. It had reached that point in the night where everyone either loved everyone or wanted to fight everyone. A few jocks got into a fist fight and the boys had to separate them and call them rides home. Slowly, the party was coming to an end. 

At some point they had lost sight of Bhima but were all too intoxicated to really worry much about it. Soon enough, he reappeared wearing a giant smile on his face. Next, Arjuna vanished... the other four too busy dancing and enjoying the music to care. After Arjuna returned, suddenly Nakula was gone, and then Sahadeva, and then Yudhisthira. All were beaming once they returned. But no one asked what was going on, again a bit too wasted to care. 

Somewhere around four am Yudhisthira remembered to check his phone. He had fifteen missed calls and eight voicemails from their mother. His eyes widened as he stumbled over to Bhima... 

"Bh-hiima, Bhima... it'sss four am, we gotta go mom's so mad," he stuttered. 

Bhima laughed. "Calm down, Yud. You're too uptight. It's fine."

"No, no... really we hav-v-ve to go," he began to tug at Bhima's arm. 

"Let me drive you all home." Draupadi appeared, somehow completely sober.

The boy's faces instantly lit up and they agreed to let her drive them home. Once they got home they all thanked Draupadi for the great night and arranged a time to get their car tomorrow. She watched to make sure they got in alright, and then went back home to tend to the rest of her hammered guests and attempt to clean up some of the mess.

They walked through the door to find Kunti sitting at the dining room table, fuming. She raised her eyebrows, looked at the clock, then back at the boys. 

"So, five am is now the same as midnight? Would anyone care to explain your logic behind this?" 

The boys stood there silent.

"Tell me, Bhima, why is it you smell like alcohol?"

Bhima stared blankly at Kunti. 

"Fine, go to your room, now. What about you, Nakula, what went on tonight?"

Nakula didn't say a word, and just shook his head. 

"Get in bed," she scolded him. "Who's next? Sahadeva, ah... who were you actually with tonight?"

Sahadeva mumbled, "Just kids from school... that's all."

She dismissed him. "Arjuna, my sweet boy... which bowling alley were you at tonight?" 

Arjuna said nothing, scared of his mother's wrath.

He was sent to bed as well. She stopped at Yudhisthira, always the responsible one of the boys, and said, "Yud, this is so unlike you. Tell me, why did you boys decide to lie to me tonight?"

Yudhisthira trembled before her. "Mom, I tried to get them to leave... they were having so much fun and they-"

"Having so much fun bowling? So, this bowling alley serves alcohol to underaged kids do they? Well, I think that's illegal. And where is your car?"

"We were at Draupadi's, she had a party, I'm sorry that we lied. She drove us home and our car is parked at her house."

Kunti shook her head in disappointment. "You're grounded, just like your brothers. I can't believe the disrespect I was given tonight. Unbelievable!" And with that, Yudhisthira headed upstairs.

"Did you tell her?" Bhima asked. 

"Yeah, what was I supposed to do? We come home looking like crap and smelling like alcohol at five am. Clearly we weren't at a bowling alley."

"Gah, man... why do you always have to be such a momma's boy?" Arjuna complained. 

"Well, even though this night didn't end well... it was so worth it," Nakula smiled.

"What are you talking about?" Sahadeva asked.

"I made out with Draupadi. She told me I was the best kisser she'd ever met," he boasted.

The brothers all looked around at each other, stunned. 

"Yeah, I knew y'all would be jealous. I told you she was into me!" Nakula said.

"...Did we all make out with Draupadi tonight?" Yud asked.

They all nodded. They had been played, and now they were grounded. 

"Mom always told us to share with each other. At least we obeyed her once tonight!" Bhima joked.

High school, what a time to be alive. 

Author's note:
After reading the "Hundred Questions" chapter in the Mahabharata it reminded me of how mothers are always notorious for all their questions. If you don't remember that chapter, it's the chapter where Yuhishthira's father is asking the boys questions in the form of a deadly yaksha. They are all so thirsty that they don't take time to answer the questions before they drink and all but Yudhisthira die. Because Yudhisthira obeys and answers the questions he is able to live and is then able to bring his brothers back to life. I'm sure we can all relate to a time when our mothers had to know everything about our lives! My mother is still like that, and truly I don't mind. I've always said that if I went missing she would have no trouble finding me because she knows so much! I wanted to write a story on that but I thought it would also be fun to add in Draupadi. I thought the part of the epic involving Draupadi was so interesting and somewhat hilarious. Since they had to all share her as a wife in the epic, per their mother's wishes, I thought it would be funny if they all had to share her here as well. Of course it's in a bit different way, but I still wanted to incorporate it. I honestly think this is one of my best stories thus far. I was surprised at how easily the two parts molded together. I've found that making the epics more modern is an easy and efficient way to turn them into your own. I had a lot of fun writing this story and I hope it made you all laugh! 

Bibliography: Narayan's Mahabharata 

(The boys and Draupadi)

Week 5 Story: Adelaide

(Red Wine)

It was a Friday night, so of course Joe and his friends planned to go out on the town. Joe's family was very wealthy- owning many oil wells across the country. So Joe always picked up the tab for everyone. They walked into their usual spot on Friday nights - the Cosmopolitan - and grabbed some seats at the bar. The bartender, Frank, was already making Joe's whiskey on the rocks when he walked in. Joe was a regular there so all the staff knew him. 

"How's it going, buddy?" the bartender asked as he set down his drink in front of him. Joe took a sip of his whiskey and smiled. 

"Pretty good, man, just glad Friday's finally here." He was looking out the windows at the Oklahoma skyline when someone caught his eye.  

A beautiful woman, alone at the end of the bar sipping the last drop out of a huge glass of red wine. He asked the bartender what she was drinking and bought her another. Frank set the wine down in front of the woman. 

"Oh, I didn't order another. I was just going to ask for my tab!" 

He smiled. "The gentleman down there bought you another"- he nodded to Joe. 

Joe smiled at her and got up from his seat to talk to her. "Hi, I'm Joe. I couldn't help but buy a beautiful girl like you a drink! What's your name?" 

She smiled shyly. "Well, you're very kind to do so! I was actually about to head home soon, but I guess now I must stay at least to finish this wine. My name is Adelaide." She took a sip of her wine, glancing up at him with her giant emerald eyes. 

They talked and drank the whole night and he ordered an Uber for the both of them. They ended up spending the night in his loft. I'm sure you can guess how that went. The next morning she was still there sleeping next to him. This was a regular occurrence for Joe but never had he ever felt this way towards a woman. He even decided to make her breakfast.

A few weeks passed. They were still consistently spending time with one another. One evening she sat down at his table for dinner. Adelaide had been acting a bit odd. He poured her her favorite glass of red wine and she just stared at it the entire dinner. 

Finally Joe asked, "Not feeling the wine tonight?" 

She looked up from her plate, which was still full of food, and said, "I'm pregnant." 

Joe set down his utensils and tried to hide the shock from his face. "Oh. Okay, that's okay... Uhh well we can make a doctor's appointment tomorrow and we-" 

"It's okay, we don't have to keep it. I know it's not the time right now," she said. 

"No, Adelaide, I want this baby. I want you. We can have this family. I know that it's so soon, but I'm sure if you are." 

She  gave him a weak smile. "It just so scary. I feel like we just met... because well, we did." Joe reassured her that everything would work out and that he loved her no matter how little time they had spent together. 

***

Two months after that Adelaide and Joe got married and nine months from then their son was born. He was so strong and handsome. They named him Maddox and he was perfect in every way. After a couple days they were able to bring Maddox home and get him settled. Joe was puzzled when none of Adelaide's family had showed up to witness the birth of Maddox and when he inquired about it Adelaide just brushed it under the rug and said she just hadn't talked to her family in years. Joe didn't think much of this but for some reason he had felt uneasy about not knowing that part of her life. So he began to do some research. He found no one under her name. Which he found extremely strange. So he hired someone to look into her life further. Turns out Adelaide was not even her name. Her name was Heather. She was born in Germany and had spent time in jail there. In fact she was serving a death sentence when she escaped. They never found her, since she fled to the US incognito. But why? Why was she serving a death sentence? The investigator pulled out her record and showed him. She was charged for the death of seven infants. Joe's mouth dropped and he began to hyperventilate. He told Adelaide he had a work meeting and would be home late this evening meaning she was still home alone with Maddox. Before the investigator could utter another word Joe was out the door and on his way home. He didn't know how he would handle the situation but he knew he had to get Maddox away from her. 

He walked in the garage door and Adelaide greeted him with a kiss. He faked a smile. "Where's my boy?" 

"Asleep in his crib!" Joe rushed to his room with Adelaide following behind him. 

"Honey, what's wrong? Don't wake him. I just got him to sleep!" 

He grabbed Maddox and held him against his chest, his eyes wet with tears. 

"Would you like to tell me who you really are, Heather?" 

Adelaide's face fell, as she began to back away from Joe. She shook her head and ran. She took nothing with her and never returned again. That was the last Joe or anyone saw of her. 

Author's note:

I thought the story about Santanu (Joe) and Ganga (Adelaide/Heather) who drowned all seven of her children and kept the eighth was extremely disturbing but also intriguing. I thought it would be interesting to write a murder mystery kind of story modeled after the Mahabharata. I'm sure you can tell by reading some of my other stories that I really like to try to modernize these stories. I feel like it makes it easier to understand them and remember the details of the story if I can make it more relatable to my life today. I would really like to have been able to elaborate more on this story but I'm trying to do better at staying within the word count requirements! I think maybe I may end up writing another part to this. It ends kind of abruptly but that makes it more of a cliffhanger that way. I think keeping stories short and sweet definitely makes them better but I also feel like I had to speed through this story. This isn't my typical style of story so it allowed me to test my horizons a bit. I'm eager to start revising this story. I hope you all enjoyed the story! 

Bibliography: Narayan's Mahabharata