Monday, The
Fifth of October
Dear Hubby has just invited me
to go on his hunting trip with him! We leave Thursday morning! Oh, we’ll have
so much fun out in the woods with all the cute little creatures! I just love
bunnies and deer and…bunnies. What else lives in the forest? Oh, well. With
Dasaratha there, I don’t have to worry about anything attacking me! What should
I bring with me?
Saturday,
The Tenth of October
We’ve made it to the forest. Finally.
It really took way too long to get here. Who knew it would be so far from
civilization. The people here look wild. I don’t feel comfortable around them.
I wonder why Dasaratha gives them so much respect. He’s the only real king
here!
Tuesday, The
Thirteenth of October
The forest is terribly boring! There
are so few things to do and even fewer people to talk to! The food isn’t that
great, either. I miss my chef! One exciting thing did happen tonight, though.
We were at the camp settling down for the night, talking around the fire when a
deer barked in the bushes nearby. Hubby burst out in laughter. I asked him what
was so funny, but he just said that it “would be lost in translation.” Why does
he think I wouldn’t get it? I’m not that thick! It hurts that he would keep
such a secret from me!
Anyway, it still made no sense to me how he could understand the deer. So
I asked him about it. Jatayu the Vulture King taught him, he said. He had to
agree that he would never translate anything for anyone or teach them how to
translate, otherwise he’d die. I can’t believe that he would actually die.
Nobody promises anything against their life!
So I asked him to teach me. He wouldn’t. I asked several times in various
tones, but he kept saying how he couldn’t or he would die.
 |
| Fire Source |
Wednesday,
The Fourteenth of October
Last night in bed I couldn’t
stop thinking of what that deer might have said. It upset me very much that
Dasaratha wouldn’t tell me that one little joke. If he can’t share his secrets
with me, why should I share my secrets with him? Why should I trust him? If we
can’t trust each other with our secrets, what’s the point of us being married?
I expressed these concerns with him and I could see him change his mind. He
seemed upset as he verbally agreed to tell me. “Tomorrow, first thing in the
morning, I’ll tell you.”
He left the tent before me and I
could hear him mumbling something as he left. I’m not sure what it was. I didn’t
care! He was about to reveal his secret to me!
Several minutes later, when I was
still getting ready, I heard Hubby call to me from outside. “I am prepared to
tell you now!” he said. I walked out of the tent to find a large fire outside,
as if for a funeral. Everyone except Dear Hubby was glaring at me as if I was
the one keeping secrets from my spouse.
Then a sheep and a rooster came up making a racket. Dasaratha’s face
changed. “No, Kaikeyi, I will not tell you. I’m sorry, but I cannot give up my
life to make you happy. What would become of my kingdom or my family? It is
simply not worth it.”
At that moment I realized just how close to death my husband had been. He
wasn’t lying when he said he would die if he told. Now I feel terrible for
nearly killing him for the sake of a secret he has no authority to tell.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Author’s
Note: This story is inspired by William
Buck’s 1976 version of the Ramayana (pages 95 and 96). When I read this story I
thought to myself, “Wow. Kaikeyi is a really terrible person.” So I decided to
get into her mind a bit and kind of justify her terribleness.
Hi Gretchen, quick note: when you use images in a blog post (or in Google Sites webspages), you need to save the image and then upload it rather than just using the URL. As you can see here, some sites don't allow remote linking. Pixabay won't display the image that way; here's what I see:
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So if you can go to your image source, grab the image by saving it to your desktop, and then upload it to your blog post, we'll be able to see the image.
Hey, Gretchen! Wonderful story- I love the fun, informal tone that conveys Kaikeyi’s feelings and how she has emotions just long everyone else. But, I also appreciate that it conveyed a meaningful message as well about Kaikeyi and how she may have not been terrible all the time. Keep up the great work and I am looking forward to reading more of your posts throughout the semester.
ReplyDeleteGretchen, great job on this story! I think it serves to depict how insipid and spoiled Kaikeyi is, while simultaneously showing an accurate portrayal of what she, herself, may be thinking. I also like how her characterization is not one of someone who is evil or cruel, but merely someone who is unthinking and self-centered. I do not believe Kaikeyi means anyone any true harm, just that she wishes what is best for herself, and that message really came through in your story.
ReplyDeleteLike I said before, fantastic work!
I did my storytelling over this one too! I really liked the way you wrote this and the creativity you used! I like how we got to see more into Kaikeyi's mind and give her more of a personality instead of just thinking of her as a horrible character like I did! Great job!!
ReplyDeleteI did my storytelling as if Dasaratha were writing in a diary, so pretty similar!
ReplyDeleteI liked your story a lot, and it definitely brought Kaikeyi to a new light. Very creative and fun to read! Good job!
I really liked this storytelling post because I kind of skimmed through this part of the book and your spin on it made me understand it better. I too felt like Kaikeyi was a horrible person but I think you did an excellent job of getting into her thoughts through a diary type post and making her not seem so crazy. You create a greater depth to her character so good job!
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