The Princes of Ayodhya-The Ramayan Through Short Stories

The Shakti Saga Part 8-Will to Live

Chapter Song: Darkhaast from Shivaay

Hanuman was flying as fast as he could, but some things were slow in happening. Even divine things. Nothing dared to slow him down. The wind stopped blowing towards the north, instead moving the opposite direction diligently in order to aid Hanuman. All the stars in the night sky stopped sparkling in order to remove distractions, and the moon, though tired of keeping his overdue shift, shone brighter to illuminate the pathway.

Hanuman flew and flew and flew. He flew this way and that. So he got a little confused sometimes. How was he supposed to know that apparently the way to Lanka wasn't the straight way back? Apparently, the birds in the air hadn't really gotten the Hanuman 1st class Priority mail memo, and they all clouded up the airways.

Hanuman wrestled his way through thousands of bird colonies, a couple of mid-air nests, and even an occasional shopping mall, but eventually ended at a dead end. A wall of clouds blocked his way, and god knew, clouds didn't form that quickly, which meant that he was quite lost. "God," he muttered. "Please get me out of this navigational mess. This is not the time for some lighthearted humor, because Lakshman bhaiyya's heart is slowly growing light on the battlefield. Light, of blood that is."

He kicked the clouds angrily, and they immediately parted. Without another word, Hanuman struck a pose and started flying again. He flew and flew. He did literally nothing but fly. His hair flew. His fur flew. His tail flew. But most importantly: the mountain flew. He thought the expanse of land was never ending, and so grew more sizes till the very limits of expansion stopped him because Hanuman would probably break the earth in half or start some global winds if he grew any more.

To Hanuman (the huge version), seconds meant hours, and hours meant Lakshman bhaiyya dead. It was a simple math equation in his mind. Lakshman Bhaiyya+Herbs=Life. But subtracting herbs from both sides meant Death. He almost related to Lakshman bhaiyya in this situation. Algebra 1 from primary school seemed to prove its worth during the worst times.

----O----

And seconds to desolate Ram meant days. He knew, just knew that Hanuman was surely flying as fast as he could. But couldn't he go just a little faster? Why couldn't the God of Wind simply transport him there? Ram didn't know. But he did know that he'd be wrong to doubt the Gods, who had already done so much for him. So he waited, and watched, waiting for a flying monkey and the promised herbs.

But the sun, bitter ol' Suraj Babu (of Pocket G), felt a little interested to know what was going on. He couldn't see much of what was going on during the nighttime, and wished to see the spectacle of Lord Vishnu's grief for himself. Get in on the Wattpad action. He was a sucker for a good tv show. Darn him if he didn't want to follow the recommendation of the monkey that almost ate him! Where was the victim support counsel when he needed it?

The tentative rays started to peek from around the mountain. Hanuman, focused on flying, could not notice nor spare time. Ram glanced wildly towards the warm yellow that seeped like honey into the pitch of the night. The sun. "Sushenji," Sugriv began warily. "When did you say that time would run out?"

Sushen cleared his throat. "When sunlight first touched his face. Dawn." Angad screeched, and almost flew into the air to give Suraj a good talking to himself, before Nal and Neel, through collective efforts, managed to grab him by the tail and pull him out of the sky before an imminent death by angry-Suraj-engulfing-you (The threat is real- I had a cousin who succumbed to the disease).

There wasn't much to do around the camp. Some of the religious vanars and Jal prayed furiously, lighting wooden candles and gathering around sand-idols of Gods, bowing their heads down. One monkey diligently made a mark on a piece of wood every time a minute passed. Soon, he had to get a new piece of wood, and as soon as Ram caught sight of this, he pressed Lakshman closer to himself, muttering encouragements in his ear.