The Princes of Ayodhya-The Ramayan Through Short Stories

Character Drabbles-Part 6

A/N-I do this for lakshmila4ardi, who said she wanted a Part 6 for some reason? Jeez, these Character Drabbles are so fun! Besides, I'm not quite ready to kill off Trishira and the rest of them, so here you go! One more thing. These drabbles always end up deep (as they are meant to be), so the next couple chapters I will try to make them light and airy!

Nal "The Builder"

If Nal was a god, he would be Lord Brahma. Well, that was a little pompous, sure, but it was true. He created things. He nurtured ingredients such as metal, wood, and iron, and molded them into something new. This was his speciality, making something new, for the universe was always wanting of something, anything, and builders like him would always be in demand. He would always have to continue building, and if anything, that kept him content.

When had he first recognized this talent for building, for nurturing and expanding? Well, it all started when he was five years old and had just met Neel. They had decided to make a stage play, a nice little stage play for his younger sister, Jal to watch and clap at, (the useless girl), and what they needed was a palace. Nal and Neel knew Angad, the prince of Kishkindha, lived in palace, and so they were about to walk down the pathway to the giant looming structure at the end of the dusty road when Nal suddenly halted. "Do you think Raja Vali would be very happy if we accidentally broke something? What if we ruined a family heirloom?"
Neel, being the clumsy, yet optimistic idiot that he was, shook his head and crossed his arms proudly. "I won't break anything, Nal!" He waved his arms around as if to confirm it, and knocked over a brass pot. It clattered on the floor like a cowbell, and they stared at it as it rolled around on the marble floor, before Neel picked it up, staring at the floor. "No scratches!" He declared excitedly. "It didn't make any scratches!"
"What if that were a glass vase?" Nal shrieked, grasping at wisps of his hair as he grabbed the pot quickly from Neel and placed it on the table counter delicately. "No, what we need to do is make a palace right here," he paused, suddenly struck with a flash of inspiration. "Wait here, Neel." And with that, he ran off to gather mud and water excitedly, leaving a confused Neel in the middle of the hallway, frozen.

What had been an expedition to just gather materials became an hour. And then another. Finally Neel unfroze, straightening his limbs with a groan, and decided that he would go off on a search for Nal, the mysterious and currently-probably-kidnapped friend of his. But lo and behold! Neel found a castle fit for a prince in their front courtyard, and behind it, fixing a crack in the dried mud with a red clay mixture, stood a very focused Nal.

Nal soon discovered that he could build more than palaces. He could build swings and vases and weapons. He could build bridges. For the first time, as he set that rock down, as it floated in the water, he felt as if he was coming to some good use. He was doing something to the world, he was helping someone great. Prabhu Shri Ram would be the goal of his life, his devotion, his reason! For some reason, this man he had met only months ago had struck a deeper cord in his soul than any other being he had ever met.

-----O-----

Nal soon realized that he could build things greater than out of his hands. He could nurture other things, he could bend and twist things like emotions, friendship, relationships, love. The second he saw his best friend, akin to a brother, glancing at Jal, he knew what it was. It was something more than the friendly teasing which they both troubled and traumatized with every day. Could it be that-

"He likes her!" Nal declared in an excited, ecstatic, and somewhat confused whisper to Hanuman, who leaned in, raising an eyebrow. Confused, because, well, he couldn't understand why such a good, optimistic, handsome, and eligible monkey as Neel would possibly like his sister. "Watch how he looks at her, watch and learn Hanuman! Neel likes Jal, and you know what, I think she's finally proven herself to be a decent sister and not just a pain in the neck and competition!" he cleared his throat slowly, folding and twisting his hands together for a moment, before stepping forward. "You've never been so genius and smart before, Jal!" he shouted. "You know, for a moment, I thought that even with us not being twins, I had stolen your brains!" he glanced at her quickly.