Sita Cries a River
Sita waited by the window every night, looking out at the stars above. She wondered how long it would take Rama to get there. She knew he was coming for her and she just had to be patient. Every night she would get down on her knees and cry and pray to her husband. She was loyal to him and only him. If she could not be reunited with him she prayed that she would die. Life was not worth living without him.
Ravana watched Sita from the other room, anger rising up at the sight of her yet again weeping for Rama. What did she see in that blue guy anyways? There was nothing special about him! He was always going on about ethics and doing the right thing. Didn't it get boring? Besides, Rama would never love Sita the way he could. If only she gave him a chance. Angrily, he stormed into her room.
"Why are you praying to that man again? Is he a God? Can't you see that he's not coming for you? Even if he was, he's not going to take you back! He cares more about what his people think than you." Ravana ranted. He was sick of pining over a woman who wouldn't even give him a second glance.
"You're wrong, I'm pure! Rama will believe me and if he doesn't then I don't deserve to live!" Sita yelled between tears.
"Sita we both know if I wanted to I could take you by force but I love you too much to ever hurt you. You deserve someone who will put you before everything else." Ravana was desperate. Why could't she see how much he loved her. True he'd kidnapped her but that was because he had to be with her. He felt like he was saving her from a life of monotony and loneliness. With him she could be the queen and truly shine like she was meant to.
He was so in love with her that it drove him mad. Every time he heard her call out Rama's name he could feel his heart break all over again. With the sadness, his anger grew until he couldn't take it anymore. If he couldn't have her life wasn't worth living. He was going to kill Rama or die trying.
Author's note: The Ramayana is heavily biased towards Rama as the good character and while I agree with that I thought it would be interesting to get inside Ravana's head. The narrators in Sita Sings the Blues talk about how Ravana could have forced himself on Sita but chose not to and I felt like that should be acknowledged. I also agreed with how it seemed like Sita was more invested in her relationship with Rama than he was.
Ravana watched Sita from the other room, anger rising up at the sight of her yet again weeping for Rama. What did she see in that blue guy anyways? There was nothing special about him! He was always going on about ethics and doing the right thing. Didn't it get boring? Besides, Rama would never love Sita the way he could. If only she gave him a chance. Angrily, he stormed into her room.
"Why are you praying to that man again? Is he a God? Can't you see that he's not coming for you? Even if he was, he's not going to take you back! He cares more about what his people think than you." Ravana ranted. He was sick of pining over a woman who wouldn't even give him a second glance.
"You're wrong, I'm pure! Rama will believe me and if he doesn't then I don't deserve to live!" Sita yelled between tears.
"Sita we both know if I wanted to I could take you by force but I love you too much to ever hurt you. You deserve someone who will put you before everything else." Ravana was desperate. Why could't she see how much he loved her. True he'd kidnapped her but that was because he had to be with her. He felt like he was saving her from a life of monotony and loneliness. With him she could be the queen and truly shine like she was meant to.
He was so in love with her that it drove him mad. Every time he heard her call out Rama's name he could feel his heart break all over again. With the sadness, his anger grew until he couldn't take it anymore. If he couldn't have her life wasn't worth living. He was going to kill Rama or die trying.
Author's note: The Ramayana is heavily biased towards Rama as the good character and while I agree with that I thought it would be interesting to get inside Ravana's head. The narrators in Sita Sings the Blues talk about how Ravana could have forced himself on Sita but chose not to and I felt like that should be acknowledged. I also agreed with how it seemed like Sita was more invested in her relationship with Rama than he was.
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| Sita Crying for Ram |
Hi Joanna, I really enjoyed your story and how it focused on Ravan more than the typical Rama central stories. I think it would interesting if you expanded a little more on Ravana and how he came to love Sita they way he has. What was it about Sita he was so desperate to have? How did he fall in love so quickly with a girl he kidnapped because his sister told him to? I think it is cool how you can take these stories and turn the characters into your own and give them almost a different identity.
ReplyDeleteHi Joanna,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your take on the story! I'm not gonna lie - I did laugh when Ravana said "What does she see in that blue guy anyways?" Hilarious. I also had the though that Sita was more invested in their relationship that Rama was, and I really think you did that idea justice by showing how much Sita prayed and how dramatic she was in wanting to show Rama that she was pure and loyal to him, and only him. There were quite a few spelling and grammar errors, so if you ever revise your story, just look out for those little bitty mistakes, but other than that great job on your story!
Hey Joanna! I just want to say, I really enjoyed reading this story. The spin you put on Ravana’s character made me see his entire character in a different light. What if he really did love Sita, and she wasn’t just a trophy he saught to improve his status in the Kingdom? You took a part of the story that seemed selfish and cold, and made it seem almost genuinely romantic. In any story, Ravana should understand that Sita doesn’t owe him her love but after reading your story, I felt like I understood his posessiveness as more of a wanting to protect her from someone who made her feel like she wasn’t worth being loved (if not by him, Rama). Your story was also comical (the blue guy comment), and I also really liked that about your piece.
ReplyDeleteHi Joanna!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your story!! I love the creative spin you took with it! I especially with Ravana! I liked that you expanded more on Ravana than the original story! I like that you made Ravana fall in love with Sits which would make more sense but I am glad you took this route with the story! Overall, great work! I am excited to read more of your stories and your project as well!