CURRENT STORY IS AT MY PORTFOLIO: Tales from a Mythological Presence
( Love Ensnared; Source: Wiki; Statue by Edmonia Lewis)
Setting: Cupid sitting on a Banyan tree so that no mortals can see him when he doesn't want to be seen. He is sipping a mango lassi and looking over King Janaka's garden, which is his favorite place away from home.
Cupid's/ Eros' thoughts: Mother told me not to come here. Apparently I am easily caught up in the pageantry of the kingdoms here in India. You see, Aphrodite is my mother, some call her Venus, and she is the Goddess of Love. I'm Cupid, her most beloved son and mother has existed longer than I have. So, according to her, she apparently knows more than I do, predominately in the way of love, or so she tells me.
I sit here, drinking some mango lassi in India. More specifically, sitting in King Janaka's garden and I see three enchanting individuals. I suppose that they are royalty due to their dress, but at first I am not exactly sure who they are. You know, it is said that most royalty are avatars of different Hindu gods. Isn't that so cool?? As I get closer, I notice power radiating off of two individuals out of the three and it is STRONG. The third has a little power, but not as much as the other male and the female. I continue to get closer and as I do, I hear the names Rama and Sita.
"I have heard those names before, but where?" Cupid whispers to himself.
He shrugs, "Eh, doesn't matter."
Cupid pulls out an arrow and nocks it. Aiming at Rama first, he shoots and hits him a little below the heart. Cupid turns and nocks another arrow, now aiming at Sita. She is hit in the thigh. He had made sure that he timed it well so that the two would not see anyone else, besides who they were with, before seeing each other. When the two see each other, Cupid sees an explosion of power between the two.
Cupid: "Mother is going to killllllll me."
Cupid doesn't stay long after that, but he does know that what he just did would lead to war and to heartbreak. He knew that even though it may not end this way, two individuals with that amount of power could never last and, in the end, are lonely and sad. Cupid had used his strongest arrow and so it could not be undone by Cupid or even Aphrodite. With that thought in mind, Cupid flies away and goes back to his mother, where he tries to forget where India even is located.
Author's Note: I based my story off of my love for Greek/Roman mythology and thought that it would be fun to have a story where a god or goddess from that area would get involved with Rama and Sita. I mainly based my story off of the public domain version of how Rama and Sita met, which is number eight: Sita by Gould. Their source is The Divine Archer by F. J. Gould. I wanted to take and have their love at first sight be caused by something that could not be changed. Also, I don't necessarily like the ending because of how Sita is treated so I wanted to make it where it wasn't a love that she could control, but Rama wasn't broken of his control at the end, he just had a greater sense of duty than of love.
Bibliography:
Sita by Gould
The Divine Archer by F. J. Gould
Wikipedia
Hi Corona, I enjoyed reading your story Cupid the idiot! I appreciate the valentines day themed story blog haha. I also appreciate your creative title for the story! I was a little confused why in your story cupid shot Rama in the chest and shot Sita in the thigh. I thought cupid was supposed to shoot people in their butts? Shooting them anywhere I guess works, it is just a story. I feel bad for cupid though he was just trying to make two people fall in love! Hope his mother doesn't punish him too much!
ReplyDeleteHey Corona,
ReplyDeleteAwesome story! I read the title and laughed. I have read and learned about the Greek and Roman gods so it made it even more entertaining that Cupid's mom was Aphrodite. I thought it was so interesting that cupid, a god(? or non-human being) himself could sense the power of the two. It was also funny that he knew they were avatars of gods which made me think are the two gods (Greek and Indian) different in this story? Else, he would know that this happens and they come to Earth and who they are. There is so much here and you can continue this theme on even more. Great work!
Hi Corona! Great story I liked your combination of 2 myths into one. That was a great idea! It was very creative and clever and I kind of wish I had thought of it myself! I like how you show how powerful their love was going to be by adding the backstory of Cupid. Also it was hilarious when Cupid thought about his mom being mad at him. I have for sure had that thought before!
ReplyDeleteThis story is so fitting for Valentines day. I did not even think about using elements of what is going on in the real world and mixing them with the material in this class to write a story. Maybe I should try this. I love the bits of humor you added to the story. Your story was fun, light-hearted, and an overall joy to read.
ReplyDeleteHey Corona! I love the idea of combining Greek/Roman mythology with the stories from the Indian Epics. I find the overlap of different cultures to be extremely fascinating, and you have done a great job meshing the two worlds in this story. I was a little unclear on what exactly the "explosion of power" was; you might try being a tad bit more specific in order to help clarify the scene and how Rama and Sita's relationship begins to develop. Great job!
ReplyDelete