The Princes of Ayodhya-The Ramayan Through Short Stories

A Prelude to the Ultimatum

When the Nightmares Started Instrumental

In the great tale of the Ramayan, Ram had seemed to value two things over his own life. First, his dharma. Second, his family. Ram's dharma seeped into his every action. It was an inherent part of him-a part that he could never let go of or leave behind anywhere. But family. Family was the central thing stolen away from Ram, the only thing which he could ever lack. Whatever perfection he had achieved in morality and character was flawed in the presence of family.

Indeed, when one achieves enlightenment, follows dharma to an extent that is unquestionably above everyone else, then from their peak, from where they look down upon the world with a greater knowledge of character and divinity, they see the people they unknowingly left behind, the loved ones that were stolen from them on the path to dharma, slowly drifting away.

-----O-----

"I'm so excited for Ram bhaiyya to come home," Mandavi said, eyes sparkling. "See? I even learned how to make sweets. So much has changed in these fourteen years, but at least he shall come back, and everything will be normal again." Shrutakirti smiled weakly at her, before turning around to gaze at Shatrughan, even as servants paced down the halls with mountains of flower petals and rangoli powder.

Shatrughan could never sleep anymore. Just as Bharat often overslept these days in order to avoid the pain of living life, every day, Shatrughan refused to sleep. Somewhere in him, he wished deeply that there was some heroic reason behind this. He wished that he couldn't sleep out of worry for Ram bhaiyya, Sita bhabhi, and Lakshman. He wished that it was concern for the kingdom. He wished that it was concern for his family.

But it was none of those. Shatrughan could never sleep anymore out of fear. Fear was like a crippling disease for him. It blackened his happiest thoughts and threw him back into melancholy whenever the light seemed close enough to reach. Most days, Shrutakirti had to slowly stroke his hair, sing to him, rock him like a baby for his eyes to even close, lest they remain wide open throughout the night.

But what was his fear? Nightmares. "It's so stupid," he told Bharat, rubbing his eyes. "I'm scared of something that doesn't even exist! Nightmares. I'm like a little child now, crying for my mother because in one of my dreams a monster creeped up on me and scared me out of my fantasies. I'm always like a little kid. That's why nobody thinks I should be on the throne. Not the people. Not my family. Not even I think so!"

"Gosh I'm such a coward," he sniffled. Bharat stayed silent, playing with his fingers in his hands. Shatrughan waited for a second. Then he looked up, wiping away his tears before Bharat could. "No." he said, his voice suddenly stronger. "I am not a coward, bhaiyya! Because while the idea of fearing nightmares may be silly, the fear itself is not!" Bharat still said nothing, so Shatrughan continued.

"I see Ram bhaiyya and Ravan. I see them in their final battle. But Ram bhaiyya is slowly withering. It's as if someone took his brain and replaced it with something else. He looked like Ram bhaiyya, sounded like Ram bhaiyya, but he wasn't Ram bhaiyya. Ravan killed him in the end. And then I saw Sita bhabhi and Lakshman running onto the battlefield. Ravan killed Lakshman, and pulled Sita bhabhi away."

Shatrughan sat up, jaw clenching, shrugging off the hand Bharat had placed on his shoulder. It swung limply back to its owner's side. "Won't you say something?" he asked Bharat coldly. "Something. Anything. Ram bhaiyya won't die. Ravan won't kill Ram bhaiyya. Sita bhabhi will be returned back to us safe and sound. Ram bhaiyya will prevail in this like he has done with every other thing."

Bharat remained silent. Shatrughan didn't seem to care anymore. "I've never had dreams like this before. For all the times Ram bhaiyya has fought in battles and engaged in wars, I have never had nightmares like this. Where I truly believe everything I see. Something has changed."