Week 10 Story: Labors of Sadness
Labors of Sadness
Ghandari shivered with terror. She ran her hands along her newborn "son," a lifeless, putrid pile of flesh. It didn't move. It didn't breathe. All it did was sour and stink and remind Ghandari of everything she had been promised. She was supposed to have one hundred sons! One hundred beautiful, strong, perfect sons...... and after many months of arduous labor, all she has is a mound of putrid flesh.
Ghandari removed her hand from the mound and took a few steps away. She couldn't see the mound, for she had forgone her sight, but she had no wish to.
"Ghandari....." began Vyasa.
Ghandari put up a hand to stop him. She did not want to hear what he had to say, for he had betrayed her. He'd promised her one hundred sons, and after two years of labor, all she had to show for it was a gross lump of flesh that wasn't even alive. It made her sick to think about.
She began to pace. She had to get rid of the mass. She wanted no part of it. It would be easiest to just get rid of it and never have to think about it again.
"Vyasa. Take the mound and leave it in the forest to rot. I never wish to be in its presence again."
Vyasa stepped towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "My lady, I implore you to reconsider. I believe there is still something we can do....."
"I said get rid of it." Ghandari's voice turned low and serious, giving Vyasa a slight chill. He sighed and took his hand away.
"As you wish."
Vyasa and a servant quickly wrapped the flesh in a large cloth and carried it out of the room. Ghandari didn't bother to wonder where they were taking it to where she asked or not. All she cared about was that the smell had left the room and she would never have to think about it again.
Ghandari stood and made her way back into her room, tears beginning to stream down her face. Why had she been promised such greatness? Such grandeur? Vyasa had betrayed her, and she would never forgive him. Hatred had planted a seed in her heart, and it was never to be removed.
She never did have any children.
Author's Note: I realize this is very dark, but I really wanted to take a sharp turn from what I usually do for my stories. In the original, Vyasa takes the mound and chops it into one hundred pieces, and then places them into vases filled with oil. After two more years, they are opened and they turn into children. I wanted to take a more serious turn and see what would happen if Ghandari had actually gotten rid of the mound, giving up the opportunity to have 100 sons.
Bibliography. "Mahabharata, Karmic Revolution." Epified TV. 2015. Source: Karmic Revolution
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Blind Girl by Nachtblut on DeviantArt. Source: DeviantArt
Ghandari shivered with terror. She ran her hands along her newborn "son," a lifeless, putrid pile of flesh. It didn't move. It didn't breathe. All it did was sour and stink and remind Ghandari of everything she had been promised. She was supposed to have one hundred sons! One hundred beautiful, strong, perfect sons...... and after many months of arduous labor, all she has is a mound of putrid flesh.
Ghandari removed her hand from the mound and took a few steps away. She couldn't see the mound, for she had forgone her sight, but she had no wish to.
"Ghandari....." began Vyasa.
Ghandari put up a hand to stop him. She did not want to hear what he had to say, for he had betrayed her. He'd promised her one hundred sons, and after two years of labor, all she had to show for it was a gross lump of flesh that wasn't even alive. It made her sick to think about.
She began to pace. She had to get rid of the mass. She wanted no part of it. It would be easiest to just get rid of it and never have to think about it again.
"Vyasa. Take the mound and leave it in the forest to rot. I never wish to be in its presence again."
Vyasa stepped towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "My lady, I implore you to reconsider. I believe there is still something we can do....."
"I said get rid of it." Ghandari's voice turned low and serious, giving Vyasa a slight chill. He sighed and took his hand away.
"As you wish."
Vyasa and a servant quickly wrapped the flesh in a large cloth and carried it out of the room. Ghandari didn't bother to wonder where they were taking it to where she asked or not. All she cared about was that the smell had left the room and she would never have to think about it again.
Ghandari stood and made her way back into her room, tears beginning to stream down her face. Why had she been promised such greatness? Such grandeur? Vyasa had betrayed her, and she would never forgive him. Hatred had planted a seed in her heart, and it was never to be removed.
She never did have any children.
Author's Note: I realize this is very dark, but I really wanted to take a sharp turn from what I usually do for my stories. In the original, Vyasa takes the mound and chops it into one hundred pieces, and then places them into vases filled with oil. After two more years, they are opened and they turn into children. I wanted to take a more serious turn and see what would happen if Ghandari had actually gotten rid of the mound, giving up the opportunity to have 100 sons.
Bibliography. "Mahabharata, Karmic Revolution." Epified TV. 2015. Source: Karmic Revolution
Blind Girl by Nachtblut on DeviantArt. Source: DeviantArt
Haley,
ReplyDeleteYour story is so well done! It flowed incredibly well, which made me reading quite fast to learn all that I could from it. Your dialogue gives such good insight on who your characters are. You also write great descriptions of the characters and the scene. Awesome job!
Hey Haley.
ReplyDeleteI think it was an interesting idea to write about what would happen if she turned away from the lump of flesh. I think it is sad that she decided to never have children after that and decided that she decided to live a life of hatred and not forgive Vyasa. All in all, it was a really good story even if it was dark. Keep up the good work.
Hi, Haley!
ReplyDeleteI actually wrote about this same topic, too, a few weeks back. It was something that really stood out to me as a shocking, horrific origin of the Kauravas. Poor Gandhari... I do like the twist of Gandhari choosing to just get rid of the pile of flesh instead of knowingly let Vyasa turn it into the one hundred children she was promised. It makes me wonder if the destruction of the war between what would have been the Kauravas and Pandavas would have been completed avoided, or if the seed of rage sown in Gandhari's heart results in something just as destructive. Great job!
Hey Haley,
ReplyDeleteI have read you other stories before and I really like the similar theme's that I have been seeing of animations. This was a nice twist to the story of Gandhari not having 100 childrens by getting rid of the flesh, but I though it was sad to see her live rest of her life in hatred and sadness. I think so many things would not have happened if Kauravas were not born as they make up the half of the Mahabharata. Overall, good gob on writing the story.
Hi Haley!
ReplyDeleteWow, I really liked this story. The tone of it was so bitter and strange and creepy, but in the best possible way. You really made Ghandari's disgust and anger shine through. It had such a dark ending, but that fit so perfectly with the tone that you set. As I was reading it, I kept feeling that when she finally got the hundred sons it would fit strangely with her earlier thoughts. I was stuck on that incongruity until I got to the end. So creative and very well done!
Haley,
ReplyDeleteThis is a really cool story but you did a really nice job of developing your theme and tone of the writing. The set up of the story really added to the overall feel of the story and I think that is great. I also really like the dialogue that you used in your writing as it added a much more personal feel.