Week 3 Story: Rama and Sita, The Starcrossed Lovers

*NOTE* This story is now on my portfolio, which can be found here.

Rama and his brother Lakshmana wandered from the wilderness filled with beasts into a bustling city filled with vegetable markets, corner shops, and many interesting looking people. As they made their way from the city's opening gate toward the town's square, they noticed more and more people in fancier garments with silly looking hats. 

"What town might this peculiar place be?" asked Rama.

"Why, it must be Verona." Lakshmana answered as they passed what looked to be a large amphitheater. A man on the stage looked solemn, making large gestures and speaking loud verses.

Rama and Lakshmana continued on. They went into shops, walked around the plaza, and stumbled into a few bars, making friends and seeing pretty women along the way.

Night finally came and they had made their last stop in a pub not too far from an inn they planned on staying in. Lakshmana spoke to a few travelers from Rome at the bar, while Rama listened to a woman play the fiddle. Throughout the night, fair women had come up to Rama and declared how dark and mysterious he looked sitting alone and looking serene. Some offered to accompany him back to his room, but he politely declined and said he'd be on his way soon.

After some time, Rama became fidgety. He told his brother he'd meet him back at the inn, and wandered out into the moonlit night.

He walked down cobblestoned streets, passing by dimly lit stores and homes. Cats pounced after scurrying mice, and dogs barked in the distance. He was watching two cats run after each other when his eyes fell on a large stoned archway.

He slowly entered through it, thinking it may be a back alley but didn't want to accidentally stumble into someone's home. Rama heard the slightest tinkling noise, and his eyes brushed over a shimmering figure.

Sita, hair up but strands around her beautiful face, sat in maroon silks petting a white furry cat while it drank milk out of a golden saucer. Sita heard Rama's footsteps approach, and looked up at him with her dark eyes.

Rama gazed at her with immediate adoration. He had never seen such a vision.

"Sita! It's late, my dear. Come in, come in." A woman's voice bellowed from the nearby house. Sita stood up, still looking at Rama. She gave a small polite smile that made her eyes twinkle, and she flowed like a dream into the house where the woman's voice had come from.

Rama breathed for what felt like the first time since he stumbled upon her. He walked back through the stoned archway and to the cobbled street, all while smiling to himself. He looked up at the crescent moon and said a loud, "Sita. No one, not even the moon, is quite as fair as you."

As Sita readied for bed, she peered out her window at the moon. She walked out onto her balcony and asked, "Oh, Mother Bhavani, is this throb in my heart what I think it ought to be?" A sudden gust of wind blew, and the rose garden below shook. Rose petals sprang into the air, dancing in the moonlight and ending on Sita's balcony. She picked up a rose petal and held it to her chest, smiling.

     (Rama and Sita, surrounded by Hanuman and Rama's three brothers. Wikipedia Commons)

***AUTHOR'S NOTE***

Rama and Lakshmana wonder the city where Sita and her family is from. They go to markets, sports, and streams. Toward the end of their day they go and pick flowers and end up in the king's beautiful garden. Sita also happened to be wondering the garden with her maids. One of the maids spots Rama and Lakshmana and tell Sita of the beautiful youths. Rama hears Sita's bangles, and looks up stating that "I know of a surety that there comes hither a lady whom I shall love beyond all things else in the world." The maids tell Sita it is time to go, and they leave. On the way home, Sita enters the house of Bhavani and asks if what it is her heart wants. Flowers from Bhavani's hands fall to the ground, and Sita knows that is a sign. When I first read this story, I knew that I wanted to create it like when Romeo and Juliet first meet, or at least have that same Italian feel. I love romance and think that Rama and Sita's story is a perfect romance story. 

Bibliography: Sita - from PDE Namayana, Original story told by F.J Gould in The Divine Archer