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| Does she burn? mirror spectrum |
She stood from him at a distance.
"...Rama" Her voice was broken. A volitile cocktail of distress, disbelief, desire. What was this? Surely the trees would melt away, the people would volatile from image, and from her deep sleep she would awake.
Certainly so.
Yet there they stood.
Facing Rama, grasping for dissolve within his eyes. He moved towards her, slowly. Her right hand shoved in front of her chest. Power surged within, deep from her core. Volumes of adrenaline pumped through her bones as pheromone seeped from her pores. "And do not call me gentle." She stepped forward as her voice broke. "Dare you to call upon me with such language? Such disgrace? Rama," she pleaded, "look at me. Cast away your certainty volatile doubts and you will see through the things you think you know. " Searching desperately within his eyes, Sita saw nothing. Not a flick of remorse, not a dash of empathy. Rama's gaze laid just above her left shoulder. She turned fiercely, extending her arms towards the woods, radiating a justified desperation. "Did the trees tell you, oh great hero?" Her mock echoed through the distance, it vibrated the lake, the flowers sunk inside of their petals. "This slander carried by the wind? Did the rains moisten your brain now eaten by mealworm? Look at me."
Nothing.
Sound cut from the scene.
Like a sturdy oak caught in a storm, Sita dropped to her knees. The earth shook beneath as her voice shattered the silence and erupted into heavy sobs. No one dared to breath, no wind dared to gust the surface.
"Do not call me renounced."
Hyperventilating, core crunched, her beautiful face pressed into the grass and dirt and earth. A moment of silence for a woman broken by the cruel course of fate.
Suddenly all went silent with the exception of her labored breath. Sita's internal dialog argued with her erratic emotions, pleading the will to resurrect from darkness and to find an ounce of courage in this gift of love the Gods had awarded her.
Wiping her face before surfacing the harden stares of all that stood presently, Sita slowly rose to her knees. With a heavy breath and a voice that sounded unlike her own,
"Send me to the fire."
She announced calmly, as if her confidence was solid and secure. But the truth remained questioned. If Rama could turn on her unusually and publicly, what confirmed that she would remained unscathed by the flames? The truth she knew within him was dismantled.
"Sita," Rama's eyes were red with empathy. Before he could question her judgement, Sita was standing solid within the confirmation of her statement. "I am well furnished with longanimity. You shall not change my mind." Rama sighed heavily, and she knew his heart was broken, too. "Rama," she promised, "I will not forsake you. You will not be forsworn." Suddenly the wind picked up the end of her words as she circumambulated her husband.
"Inasmuch as my heart has never turned from Rama, do thou, O Fire, all men's witness, guard me; since Rama casts me away as strained, who in sooth am stainless, do thou be my refuge."*
The sound of her spell serenaded the crowd. A small flicker of light and then, as if by magic, a flame split the ground and roared. The onlookers gasped and stepped back, creating greater distance from the two crossed lovers.
For a moment, the fire felt almost inviting. Warmth caressed Sita's back as she faced Rama. They breathed together. A small bead a sweat began to form on the nape of Sita's neck.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story comes from Sita Tested in the Ramayana. She is reunited with Rama, but he assumes of her to have been unfaithful. I wanted to retell this story because I was shocked when reading Rama and Sita. When Rama destroys her in front of so many onlookers she breaks beneath the pressure. I feel like I've definitely been in situations "similar" to this. I think we all have. When we're telling the truth and are accused of lying, it feels like nothing can make things right.
*denotes taken directly from the text
^I wanted to use the Ramayana's text directly for her "spell binding" moment. I thought it was especially powerful and I didn't want to change it.
SOURCE-
Ramayana- Sita Tested
""Did the trees tell you, oh great hero?" Her mock echoed through the distance, it vibrated the lake, the flowers sunk inside of their petals. "This slander carried by the wind? Did the rains moisten your brain now eaten by mealworm? Look at me."
ReplyDeleteThis is SUCH a powerful line, did you write it or was it taken from the text? I just melted when I read it because it was so good! Yeah, mealworm brain Rama! Ugh!
Just like you, I was absolutely stunned when Rama betrayed Sita by accusing her of being impure -- how can he not know her heart? Yet, he fell to the pressure of those around him in assuming that she could not have abstained from Ravana, and so he demanded that she be tested again. I think that the picture that you chose to use for this story perfectly melded with the way that you chose to end the re-telling.... Did she burn? What a cliff hanger!
I love the way that you've written this, you can definitely see your theatre/actor training coming into play here, and I haven't read any other students' stories written in this form yet, so it was quite refreshing! Well done!
I loved your rewriting(word? Maybe not...) of this story! A lot of people have been redoing this section of the Ramayana and I really enjoy reading all of the different versions that people have been coming up with. You're writing is so powerful and dramatic. It makes this story so much more commanding. I thought that Sita gave in a little too easily in the original version, almost, so I really like that you gave us a look at the turmoil that was flashing through her mind. Great job!
ReplyDeleteWell, someone certainly changed their blog theme. I like it! You got me to learn a different word too, "circumambulated." Although my spellcheck seems to dislike it, you have Wikipedia and Oxford on your side, so you win. The story was great. It definitely left me wanting more. Good job ...again!
ReplyDeleteThis is so poetic! I love it! I can tell that you have experience writing plays because when I read this, I can see it happening on a stage. How awesome is that? This part of the Ramayana also resonated with me. How could Rama not believe her? If I was Sita, I would also get this pit in my stomach and as I'm not one to let a grudge go, I would never forget how he treated me!
ReplyDeleteCassandra! I really liked reading your most recent story so I decided to explore more! I loved your version of this story! My favorite thing about it were your word choices. Every sentence, especially where the characters spoke, held so much passion. You did a really great job bringing this scene to life, and I thought it was great how you went in depth at this scene.
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