Week 6 Story: Ten is the Loneliest Number
Ten is the Loneliest Number
Ravana pouted in his throne. It was the seventeenth day since he'd brought Sita into his world, and she still seemed just as upset about it as when he brought her. At first he'd kept her in his palace with him, but she screamed and cried almost all day every day "I want to go home!" and "Your ten heads are ugly!" and such, so he finally moved her into his glorious garden. The garden was filled with gorgeous flora and fauna, so he was sure she'd love it. It must have subdued her somewhat (or else she was just tired of screaming) because by day seven, she was calm. She spent her days wandering his endless gardens, and he spent his days watching her do so.
Each day he tried to woo her by bringing her lovely gifts and baked goods, but to no avail. She always refused his gifts, but she at least ate the treats (unbeknownst to most, Ravana is an excellent baker. He just has few to share with). He'd brought her stuffed monkeys, gorgeous jewelry, new clothing, and a Katy Perry CD he'd found in a space-time rift, but none of them impressed her. Given, the stuffed monkeys were actual monkeys that had been stuffed.....and the jewelry was macaroni art he'd made when he was a wee asura......and the clothes were just old rugs he'd repurposed......and to his knowledge, he didn't own a CD player, so he had no idea how she would listen to the CD.......but it's the thought that counts!
His ten heads looked out the window again. Sita was strolling through the rows of marigolds. That seemed to be her favorite section, as he'd look up and see her there at least once a day. He sighed, hearing it echo across his heads. If only there's something I could do to win her over..... He placed one of his chins into his hand and twirled his hair. Perhaps he should give up? None of his gifts had worked so far......where was he going wrong? He continued to watch Sita gracefully walk among the plants, stroking the petals lightly......
Ravana suddenly jumped up. Of course!! Why hadn't he thought of it before? He grabbed his coat and waited for Sita to leave the garden. As soon as he saw her walking back towards her hut under the tree, he ran out the door and headed straight for the marigolds, prepared to make the largest and most beautiful flower crown he could possibly put together. How hard could it be?
Ravana almost skipped his way into the garden, ten smiles plastered across his faces.
Author's Note: In the Ramayana, Ravana kidnaps Sita because he is "in love" with her (also he wants to get revenge on Rama, but that's besides the point). We don't get to hear much about her time with him except for the facts that she is kept under a tree in a garden, and is tormented by the other women. Ravana cannot touch her without permission, so she is sort of just kept like a trophy. You are meant to see Ravana as a heartless, evil asura who is simply lusting after Sita. I wanted to give him a little more depth, and perhaps give him some sympathy. He is much more relatable in this story, which is what I was going for.
Bibliography. "Ramayana" by R.K. Narayan. Source: Narayan's Ramayana
Image by nisachar on DeviantArt. Source: DeviantArt
Image from Sita Sings the Blues. Source: Wikia
Ravana pouted in his throne. It was the seventeenth day since he'd brought Sita into his world, and she still seemed just as upset about it as when he brought her. At first he'd kept her in his palace with him, but she screamed and cried almost all day every day "I want to go home!" and "Your ten heads are ugly!" and such, so he finally moved her into his glorious garden. The garden was filled with gorgeous flora and fauna, so he was sure she'd love it. It must have subdued her somewhat (or else she was just tired of screaming) because by day seven, she was calm. She spent her days wandering his endless gardens, and he spent his days watching her do so.
Each day he tried to woo her by bringing her lovely gifts and baked goods, but to no avail. She always refused his gifts, but she at least ate the treats (unbeknownst to most, Ravana is an excellent baker. He just has few to share with). He'd brought her stuffed monkeys, gorgeous jewelry, new clothing, and a Katy Perry CD he'd found in a space-time rift, but none of them impressed her. Given, the stuffed monkeys were actual monkeys that had been stuffed.....and the jewelry was macaroni art he'd made when he was a wee asura......and the clothes were just old rugs he'd repurposed......and to his knowledge, he didn't own a CD player, so he had no idea how she would listen to the CD.......but it's the thought that counts!
His ten heads looked out the window again. Sita was strolling through the rows of marigolds. That seemed to be her favorite section, as he'd look up and see her there at least once a day. He sighed, hearing it echo across his heads. If only there's something I could do to win her over..... He placed one of his chins into his hand and twirled his hair. Perhaps he should give up? None of his gifts had worked so far......where was he going wrong? He continued to watch Sita gracefully walk among the plants, stroking the petals lightly......
Ravana suddenly jumped up. Of course!! Why hadn't he thought of it before? He grabbed his coat and waited for Sita to leave the garden. As soon as he saw her walking back towards her hut under the tree, he ran out the door and headed straight for the marigolds, prepared to make the largest and most beautiful flower crown he could possibly put together. How hard could it be?
Ravana almost skipped his way into the garden, ten smiles plastered across his faces.
Author's Note: In the Ramayana, Ravana kidnaps Sita because he is "in love" with her (also he wants to get revenge on Rama, but that's besides the point). We don't get to hear much about her time with him except for the facts that she is kept under a tree in a garden, and is tormented by the other women. Ravana cannot touch her without permission, so she is sort of just kept like a trophy. You are meant to see Ravana as a heartless, evil asura who is simply lusting after Sita. I wanted to give him a little more depth, and perhaps give him some sympathy. He is much more relatable in this story, which is what I was going for.
Bibliography. "Ramayana" by R.K. Narayan. Source: Narayan's Ramayana
Image by nisachar on DeviantArt. Source: DeviantArt
Image from Sita Sings the Blues. Source: Wikia
Hey Haley! I think this story is super interesting! You're right, we don't see much of the time when Ravana actually had Sita; we see before and after, and in between when Rama is planning out how to attack and get his wife back, but we don't see what happens with Sita. I like that you gave Ravana a more sympathetic and nicer personality instead of a demonic one. I really loved this story and the title fits really well with it. Good luck with the rest of the stories!
ReplyDeleteHey Haley! You did a great job writing this story. I was such an interesting read. As I was reading the epic, I did notice that there wasn't that much written about Sita when she was imprisoned. It is always nice to see the parts that are not emphasized in the original. Also, it was great to see that Ravana wasn't just a two dimensional bad guy and he had depth. Good job!
ReplyDeleteHaley,
ReplyDeleteGreat job wring this story as I loved the title of it. I think a good title is so crucial to the story as it sets the expectation early. With a good title you can really draw your readers in a and provide them with a great story. I love the story of Rama and Sita and actually did my whole project on them. I think you did a good job of making this your own story and made it a fun read. Great job!