Week 14 Story: Eye of the Beholder
Eye of the Beholder
I looked in horror at my eye on the ground right in front of me. It all seemed like a blur.
I was told I would be happy here in heaven.
Not two seconds after I'd arrived, my step-mom gouged out my eye, and my father only stood and cried.
He made me a friend from his tears, but what good would a friend do me with my eye ripped out of my head? I was not some dog who needed guidance.
I continued to stare at the eye with what sight I had left, trembling. I could hear my father and step-mother speaking harshly to each other behind me, but I could not make out what they were saying for the blood rushing through my head.
I needed to get out.
I pulled myself up off the floor and carried myself to the exit. My father called after me, but I did not turn around. I forced myself out the door and down to earth.
I stormed across the ocean, furious. What a lousy lot I'd been cast. My family hated me and my father was a coward. Did no one understand me? Didn't anyone realize who I was??
I continued my rampage across the ocean until I reached a small cottage at the edge of the water. I decided to take a look inside.
It was filled with people, most notably an old man. He was surrounded by his six sons, all strong, handsome men. The old man looked content with his home and his family, smiling as he sat in his chair and listened to his sons' stories.
Who was he to be so happy?
Without thinking, I crashed through his cottage and stood before him in all of my splendor.
"You! Old man! Do you know who I am?"
The man frowned and shook his head.
"I know not. However, I am Chand. Pleased to meet you."
I fumed in anger. Was he mocking me?
"I am Padma, daughter of the god Mahadeo, which makes me a goddess. I command you to worship me."
The old man continued to frown, and he shook his head.
"I'm afraid I've never heard of you, so I do not believe you. I do not worship imposters."
My eye burned with a rage I'd never felt before.
"So be it."
At that moment, I sent six snakes into his home to bite his sons, killing them instantly. The man was shocked, as it had happened so fast. He looked horrified, and yet he still refused to worship me. Thus began the long and dreadful chase I took up after him. I followed him across oceans and sunk his ships, I starved him on an island, I made him hallucinate, I even convinced my friends to be reborn as his son and son's wife to try and coax him, but nothing worked. Finally, on his new son's wedding night, I vowed that I would send one last snake that would kill his last and only son. This time, I could see the fear in his eyes. However, he still shook his head.
That night, I sent the snake into his son's bedroom to kill him.
His wife made awful screaming throughout the night, and she personally put his body onto a raft and came in search of me. She begged for her husband's life back, as Chand had promised to worship me the moment I did.
And so I brought him back to life.
I thought I would be happy.
I thought I would finally feel the love and devotion I had been missing once the old man got on his knees to pray to me.
And yet, even as others followed his lead and bowed down to me, I felt empty. No matter how many people looked up to me and prayed, I could never feel whole.
The pain never goes away.
Author's Note: When I first read the story, I was a bit annoyed with Padma's character because I thought it was ridiculous to beg someone to worship you. After thinking about it though, I realized she was probably holding in a lot of anger. Her mother ran away from her, and her step mother ripped out her eye in jealousy. After this, she finds a man and asks him to worship her, and he continually refuses. She kills all of his children, sinks his boat, and then kills his final son on his wedding night (who she orchestrated to be born in the first place). Thinking back on how both female figures in her life treated her, I thought she probably has a right to be angry, so I wanted to zero in on her pain and anger during her big part of the story.
Bibliography: "Sacred Tales of India." D.N. Neogi. 1916. Source: Sacred Tales of India
Giggles by HTF on ZeroChan
I looked in horror at my eye on the ground right in front of me. It all seemed like a blur.
I was told I would be happy here in heaven.
Not two seconds after I'd arrived, my step-mom gouged out my eye, and my father only stood and cried.
He made me a friend from his tears, but what good would a friend do me with my eye ripped out of my head? I was not some dog who needed guidance.
I continued to stare at the eye with what sight I had left, trembling. I could hear my father and step-mother speaking harshly to each other behind me, but I could not make out what they were saying for the blood rushing through my head.
I needed to get out.
I pulled myself up off the floor and carried myself to the exit. My father called after me, but I did not turn around. I forced myself out the door and down to earth.
I stormed across the ocean, furious. What a lousy lot I'd been cast. My family hated me and my father was a coward. Did no one understand me? Didn't anyone realize who I was??
I continued my rampage across the ocean until I reached a small cottage at the edge of the water. I decided to take a look inside.
It was filled with people, most notably an old man. He was surrounded by his six sons, all strong, handsome men. The old man looked content with his home and his family, smiling as he sat in his chair and listened to his sons' stories.
Who was he to be so happy?
Without thinking, I crashed through his cottage and stood before him in all of my splendor.
"You! Old man! Do you know who I am?"
The man frowned and shook his head.
"I know not. However, I am Chand. Pleased to meet you."
I fumed in anger. Was he mocking me?
"I am Padma, daughter of the god Mahadeo, which makes me a goddess. I command you to worship me."
The old man continued to frown, and he shook his head.
"I'm afraid I've never heard of you, so I do not believe you. I do not worship imposters."
My eye burned with a rage I'd never felt before.
"So be it."
At that moment, I sent six snakes into his home to bite his sons, killing them instantly. The man was shocked, as it had happened so fast. He looked horrified, and yet he still refused to worship me. Thus began the long and dreadful chase I took up after him. I followed him across oceans and sunk his ships, I starved him on an island, I made him hallucinate, I even convinced my friends to be reborn as his son and son's wife to try and coax him, but nothing worked. Finally, on his new son's wedding night, I vowed that I would send one last snake that would kill his last and only son. This time, I could see the fear in his eyes. However, he still shook his head.
That night, I sent the snake into his son's bedroom to kill him.
His wife made awful screaming throughout the night, and she personally put his body onto a raft and came in search of me. She begged for her husband's life back, as Chand had promised to worship me the moment I did.
And so I brought him back to life.
I thought I would be happy.
I thought I would finally feel the love and devotion I had been missing once the old man got on his knees to pray to me.
And yet, even as others followed his lead and bowed down to me, I felt empty. No matter how many people looked up to me and prayed, I could never feel whole.
The pain never goes away.
Author's Note: When I first read the story, I was a bit annoyed with Padma's character because I thought it was ridiculous to beg someone to worship you. After thinking about it though, I realized she was probably holding in a lot of anger. Her mother ran away from her, and her step mother ripped out her eye in jealousy. After this, she finds a man and asks him to worship her, and he continually refuses. She kills all of his children, sinks his boat, and then kills his final son on his wedding night (who she orchestrated to be born in the first place). Thinking back on how both female figures in her life treated her, I thought she probably has a right to be angry, so I wanted to zero in on her pain and anger during her big part of the story.
Bibliography: "Sacred Tales of India." D.N. Neogi. 1916. Source: Sacred Tales of India
Giggles by HTF on ZeroChan
Hi Haley,
ReplyDeleteI really liked the story you wrote here. It was very neat and flowed easily all together. My favorite part of this one was probably the characters you chose. I thought you did a nice job of developing the plot around them, and it played well throughout the whole story. Seems like you've done a great job this semester, keep up the good work!
Haley,
ReplyDeleteI really like how you wrote this story as I thought it was a great read. It was very easy to follow along and like how you used a lot of dialogue in your writing. This was one thing I did not do a very good job of with my writings. I think it added a much more personal feel to your writing and that is great.