The Princes of Ayodhya-The Ramayan Through Short Stories

Arrival of the Peacebreaker

It was a lovely, dewey, sunny morning, when the roof caved in. Sita was busy in the kitchen, and Ram and Lakshman outside, either tending to their bows, or practicing their archery. Suddenly, a loud noise echoed, and both turned around nimbly, only to see their durable and grass thatched roof cave in front of them. Ram felt his heart hammering loudly as he paused for a second, the loud sound still ringing in his ears.

"SITA!" Ram cried out loud harshly, running into the hut and throwing planks of wood and grass aside. There were crushed pots, filled with spices and berries, containers full of food were knocked over, lids opened, and a large keg of drinking water was flowing on the ground freely, but Ram just pawed through everything carelessly so that he could see his wife. Her body wasn't anywhere, though.

"Bhaiyya?" Ram heard a voice, and turned around, tears flowing out of his eyes. Angry tears. Solemn tears. Somber tears. It had been thirteen years since they had left Ayodhya. They had barely a year left to go, only a little less, in fact. How was it that Sita was lost in their final months of hardship? "Bhaiyya?" he heard the call again, and stepped outside, face directed towards the ground. "Bhabhi escaped."

Ram looked up, dragging his eyes from the ground immediately, only to see Sita's concerned face. "I managed to run out as I heard a rumble from the roof," she cried as Ram bound forward and lifted her up into the air, squeezing her tightly. "I'm alright, I'm alright." she murmured, rubbing his back soothingly. "Aw, don't cry." She wiped away his tears and smiled at him toothily.

"I thought you were gone," Ram whispered. "Only a few more months left in this forest, Sitae, and I thought that you were gone! I was cursing my luck-and-and-I was cursing my luck that you had to go through so much, and you couldn't even catch one last glimpse of Ayodhya, or the throne. I felt like killing myself! It wouldn't have been worth going back without you." He hugged her tightly again.

Meanwhile, Lakshman was examining the roof, peering up at it from the ground as he set down his bow on the porch, giving the lovers their space. "Mmm, I'll have to fix that. The cottage isn't safe with a half collapsed roof." He shook his head and rolled his eyes. "That's two times now. I wonder about the quality of roof planks here. Perhaps the wood I'm using is a bit more flimsy than I thought it would be..." he trailed off and sighed.

"Well, do you need anything?" Ram asked tentatively. Lakshman shook his head, grabbed a ladder that Sita and Ram had made for him out of logs and twine (which he had practically jumped up and down from excitement while receiving), and set it next to the roof. "Alright, you can work on the thatching, Sita and I will be outside." He sent a nod towards his brother. It was best to leave each to their own.

As the sun rose out of the shadows of the dawn, the planks were set again, and Sita was cleared to go inside. While she had practically fainted at all of the broken pots and spilled food, and the inside of the hut was a little flooded, Ram had walked in, and Sita immediately stopped her lamenting in order to push him out. "What kind of wife would I be," she began. "If I forced my husband to walk through his flooded home! Let me."

Lakshman worked on the thatching, sitting on the roof under the beating rays of golden sun, and finally the hut was unflooded and Sita began to work on remolding some of the pots and gathering the berries and fruits that were still salvageable off of the dirt floors. Ram was outside, stringing his bow, occasionally looking up uneasily at the roof and exhaling in alarm every time his brother moved. None of the three knew of the trouble that was, most literally, approaching them with interest.

But trouble there was, and in a large amount too. In fact, trouble arrived in the form of Ravan, King of Lanka's sister, Surpanakha. Not that the three of them had never seen Ravan's accomplices and friends before, no they had seen Agnihotri, ruler of Mahisthami, and many of Ravan's demons the brothers had defeated, and in fact, they had seen the grand king of the island nation at Sita's Swayamvar itself!