The Princes of Ayodhya-The Ramayan Through Short Stories

I am Coming Along-Part 1

     Sniffling, Ram began to pack. All he needed was a bow and arrow, and he carefully set all of his jewelry, fine clothing, and crowns aside. All of his tiny trinkets and toys, he organized. Anything at all that could be considered royal, he set away. It was as if he was leaving a small part of him behind in the palace. Ram wiped his nose. Now he was just being stupid! Life could be wherever he went. Yes, the entire time he had spent on Earth had been a luxurious one, but perhaps these fourteen years were to balance that out.

Ram turned around, and held up a close-up portrait of Sita. Gods, she was so beautiful. And she would have to stay behind too. Tears were drawn to his eyes when he thought of how he would not be able to see her for fourteen years. Fourteen years?! It didn't sound so long when he said it, but when he thought about it in respect to Sita, it seemed like enough time to fill the pool of aging. Too long, that was way too long without his wife.

Shaking his head, Ram set the portrait on the nightstand, along with one of him next to it. There, now she could pretend that he was there with her every single night. Now she would at least be able to see his face, even if he could not see hers. Faintly, Ram wondered what he would do while he spent those long fourteen years in the forest. Were there some organized activities? Finger painting? Music making?

Ram laughed at his own stupid thoughts. Now he was beginning to sound like Shatrughan, so ridiculous! Shatrughan. Ram's smile disappeared. Shatrughan and Bharat. They would not be there to say goodbye. As far as they knew, they would return to a normal Ayodhya where Dasharath had never thought of a coronation in the first place. Where he was nothing more than a Yuvraj. Everything would be alright for them.

Ram peeked out the window curiously. Ayodhya was bare. No lights were lit. Nobody was outside. It was like a ghost town. No, Bharat, Shatrughan, Mandavi, and Shrutakirti, they would know that something had happened. This was not the Ayodhya they had come to know and love. This wasn't Ayodhya at all. Ram felt guilt and misery that he was causing his subjects pain. But something told him that what he was doing was right.

"Ram?" Ram jumped, and whirled around, slamming into the wall. There, right in front of him, was Sita, arms folded across her chest. "What are you doing, daydreaming! Come on! Start packing! We're leaving soon!" Ram rubbed the back of his head, feeling completely rattled, but as soon as the sentence registered in his mind, he frowned, turning towards his wife with his brows furrowed.

"We?" he asked. Sita looked at him incredulously, and everything clicked in his brain like a lock that Shatrughan had managed to pick. "Oh no, no, no. Sita, WE, are not doing anything." he cried in outrage, stepping back into the bed. "It's me that is going, no one else, least of all you, er-no offense of course. Nope, I am sorry, but Sita, you are not coming with me." he finished, taking a deep breath.

"Offense most certainly taken! Of course I'm coming with you! What do you expect me to do, stay here and just sit here like a useless human being while I know you are facing dangers alone, in that forest, which you are not used to? What kind of a stupid wife would I be if I let that happen, hanh? Do you really think so lowly of me? Do you? And what do you mean by "least of all, you", hanh?"

Ram stood up, crawling out of the tiny space Sita had pushed him into. "I mean, you are delicate, and fragile, and you could get hurt! I couldn't let you get hurt! In all of my conscience, it would be completely wrong! It would be against dharma to let a woman go into the forest when you could have stopped her! I can't let you go in after me! You are not coming with me, Sita, and that is most certainly final!"

Sita put her hands on her hips, and her mouth turned thin. "Oh, I most certainly am. I am NOT delicate or fragile, not when I have you with me. Or are you really that bad at defending that you can't even defend your wife? Look, Ram, I am coming with you, not because it is my duty to, but because I want to! I feel like it is necessary for a wife to constantly be there to support her husband! Whether you like it or not."