Week 5 Story: The Story of Sita

"Rama's great, Rama's good, Rama does what Rama should," Sita hummed softly to herself, as she dipped her brush into her paint and pulled it smoothly across the canvas, which was turning into a brilliant landscape of the garden she was surrounded by.

Sita's Landscape, Garden with Path

The walls of her cabin held many such canvases, for she had been living in exile in the grounds by Ravana's castle for several years now. A lot of the paintings were of various landscapes--the gardens she was currently in, the view from the castle where she grew up, and the forest she had lived in with Rama before her capture. Then there were the portraits--her best friends from home, and her family, but most were of Rama. His face was so handsome, filled with an inner peace and confidence none of her suitors had held before. And now, since it had been so long since she'd seen him, the paintings were all she had to go by to really remember the details of his features.

"Sita! Is it time to start cooking dinner yet?" a cheerful voice rang out, interrupting Sita's concentration.

"Absolutely, be right there!" she called back.

The girl who called out to Sita was named Maria, and she was one of the maidens Ravana had ordered to spend time in the garden with Sita and keep her company. Over the years, the two of them, as well as a few others, had become fast friends. They often enjoyed cooking together--it was a hobby Sita had picked up, and they loved picking fresh fruits and vegetables from the garden, and combining the spices in just the right way to draw out the best flavors. As a princess, she had always had people cook for her, but now Sita had the time and independence to do more for herself, and she found an immense satisfaction in cooking.

As the girls cooked, they also kept up a constant chatter, the current topic of conversation a common one.

"But what if he isn't coming?" Maria asked. "Or, what if when he comes, he isn't as perfect as you remember?"

"He'll come," Sita assured her. "And even if he's changed, he's still my Rama, and my love for him burns as brightly as the stars in the heavens. I will love him as perfectly as I am able, and I'm confident that that love will be reciprocated, either in this life or in another."

Maria and Sita didn't realize that was the last time they'd have that conversation, because the very next day, frantic action began at Ravana's castle, and the girls quickly heard rumors that Rama was coming!

The next week passed in a blur. They were sheltered from most of the battle in the garden, but the skies were dark with shadows; giant purple raksashas and monkeys flying overhead, and so many thousands of arrows. The cries of battle faded to the background to Sita though, who sang a joyous tune: "My oh my/ me oh me/ Guess I'm havin company/ Who's that knocking at my door?"

Finally, Sita saw her first glance of Rama in almost twelve years. His face had thinned out, and he had numerous cuts and scrapes from the battle, but his arms looked as strong as she always remembered when they were wrapped around her, and the confidence in his demeanor was impossible to miss. All she wanted to do was run into his embrace, but something stopped her.

"Hiya," she said shyly, with a smile at Rama.

When his eyes met hers, she let out a little gasp. They were as piercingly blue as she remembered, but there was a darkness in there, a distrust that she had never seen before. For the first time, she was scared by the love of her life.

That was why she wasn't entirely surprised when Rama said to her, "I have done my duty in freeing you, but you have lived with another man for twelve years now. You are the most beautiful woman in the world- how could he have resisted you? The thought of you with someone else tortures me, and I can't see you without thinking about it."

Sita's heart broke a little bit. Oh, if only he could have seen her all these years, with only the flowers and her maidens for company! If only he had seen the way she rejected Ravana's advances again and again, if only his faith in true love matched hers. If only there was a way to show him.

Then it hit her, what she had said to Maria: "My love for him burns so brightly." Of course! She would use fire to show him how strong she had been all these years. She immediately had Rama's men (well, monkeys) build a pyre, 10 feet tall with flames that leapt into the night sky. She walked confidently into it, knowing nothing could touch the inner purity of her love for Rama.

As the fire god carried her safely out of the flames, Sita looked at Rama. The darkness was still there, but it was muted now, and his face was lit up in a smile. She knew that their trials were far from over, but at least now they would be able to tackle them together. Wouldn't they?

Sita Enters the Flames

Author's Note: Watching "Sita Sings the Blues" by Nina Patel made me want to also put the focus of the story on Sita. What I don't think the video accomplished, however, was making Sita more multi-dimensional than just a lovesick woman who thinks only of Rama. I retold the scene of Sita and Rama's reunion, but I focused first on building Sita's personality, showing her love of Rama integrated into her interests and hobbies that she's developed on her own, and friends she's made. I kept her devotion to him, but really tried to help the reader get to know Sita, and maybe feel more sympathetic for her plight, because otherwise, I feel like it can be easy to just get frustrated at the situation and say, "Why doesn't she stick up for herself? Why doesn't she leave him?" especially knowing what happens later on in the plot. I tried to bring details from the movie into my story as well, such as the songs Sita sings.