Sita: The Fiery Flame

|| Kishkindha ||

Sugreev could barely stand straight, let alone crouch low enough to drink the pristine water from the river. He looked down and locked eyes with his own reflection and sighed deeply,  'Who is that? Is this me? Is this what I've become?'

The events of the past few months were a blur to him, he only remembered the key moments that struck a deep chord in him evoking feelings he'd never known to exist. Sugreev was a simple Vaanar, brother to the Great King of Kishkindha, he'd enjoyed every pleasure known to mankind; he'd enjoyed all the riches that this great land had to offer, the great company of friends, a caring brother... a cold shiver ran down his spine at the thought of his brother, Vaali.

Caring brother! What an incredulous way to address the Vaanar who'd unfairly ousted his own brother from the kingdom, stolen his beloved wife and never heard a word of what Sugreev had to say about the whole misfortune that had come to be.

Son of Indra, Vaali, the greatest Vaanar to have grazed Earth and yet, Sugreev was unable, even now, to comprehend how the mighty Vaali had practically lost his mind that day, as he stood facing the then king Sugreev in their palace. 

Sugreev shot up from the throne the moment he had seen him. In front of him, in the middle of their court, stood a humungous form. His body tattered with scar that still bore dried blood, his clothes flaked with blood so thoroughly that Sugreev feared the stench would spread across the whole of Kishkindha! But there he stood, his beloved brother Vaali,  the very Vaanar whom he'd presumed dead many weeks ago! He could still feel his heart shatter once again as he stood at the mouth of the cave, his brother's bloodcurdling cry still echoing like a ghost and how he'd seen the stream of blood rush out of the cave moments later... he'd made the hardest decision of his life then, 

'If mighty Vaali had been defeated by the demon, then I stand no chance against him... my only option to protect our kingdom from that treacherous creature is to seal this very cave...'

And so he had done it, he'd sealed the cave with a boulder so massive not even wind could escape past it. With a heart laden with sorrow at the loss of his brother and a mind swimming with questions as to how he'd face the kingdom with the terrible news of their King's death, he'd somehow managed to make it back home. From that day, he'd taken it upon himself to lead Kishkindha just as Vaali once did, with righteousness and bravery. 

But now, here he was in flesh, the dead king of Kishkindha, panting heavily in front of him, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Sugreev... with disgust. 

Sugreev had taken one step towards Vaali, ready to embrace his brother, ready to lay down the crown and return what truly belonged to the true king of Vaanars, but before he could utter a word the mighty Vaali had pounced upon him. 

He was sure the Vaanars who were present in the court had never seen such a fight ensue in their lives, it was so gory that even now, when he thought back, he could feel Vaali's merciless punches land on him with such tenacity that he had fully believed he would die that day, before he even got to rejoice the return of his brother.

Sugreev managed to survive that day by a hair's breath and fled the palace. He understood why Vaali was so furious; to him it would've looked as though Sugreev had wanted him dead and to return home just to find that same brother on the throne of your kingdom? Yes, of course Sugreev knew where that wrath had stemmed from. So he told himself, no matter... brother would come back to his senses soon and I shall meet him and explain everything. It wasn't new this, his brother had been blind with rage a number of times in their childhood but he'd always been able to come back to his senses later and reconciled with Sugreev... So Sugreev had hoped that would be the case this time as well.