Week 5 Story: Home
Sita sat in her hut and remembered walking leisurely through the farming fields in her old town. Her parents told her she was found in the furrow of a plowed field. Since she has always felt a certain kinship with the farmers and their land. The wind would always seem to carry her on until she reached a large rock in the middle of the forest. Moss had grown up the sides and turquoise cracks split across the surface like a cracked egg. The rock was shaped like an open hand, welcoming her home. There, she would sit for hours, bathing in the stillness; she had no idea where she was when she found this rock but knew that the place she sat was sacred.
I will always bring you home Sita, but first, you must reconcile yourself with your past, said the deep vibrations within Mother Earth.
"I have been banished Mother; there is no way for me to do this," replied Sita.
Dear one, no father could resist the words of their only sons. Use the unbreakable bond.
"My sons are so precious to me; how will I let them go even if I know they will return," Sita asked.
Attachment is your first test Sita. You must let attachment go in order to reconcile with your past. Every day my trees are cut and my children die in the wild. My streams are muddied and beautiful flowers become dried up leaves. But my dear, in this decay, sprouts appear. Creatures are born and mothers are made. Yet, do you see me react?
So Sita sent her sons to meet with Rama many times; eventually, she was invited to come. Sita walked through the forest with her sons to reach the castle. Her thin fragile body ached with wear; she was all used up and knew this...but she was not a pitiful or sorrowful creature to behold. Sita had lived in hardship, but she had also lived in peace. She had known true love.
They expect you to be sad my dear, but I feel your peace. It is time for you to come back to me, for you have lived a full life.
Sita heard this call from Mother Earth and knew it was her time. They had arrived at the royal house. Through the great doors, she saw Rama sitting on his majestic golden throne and smiled. His presence always made her smile.
Then, with a great surge of wind, like the gusts from her childhood, a great hand of rock rose from the ground and cupped Sita in its warm embrace. Beneath her fingers, Sita felt the cool surface of turquoise and the sponginess of moss. This was her childhood rock.
You have arrived my child. You are home.
Authors Note: This story is based on the last scene from The Divine Archer by F. J. Gould. After being suspected of adultery and banished from the royal house of her husband Rama, Sita had two sons by herself in the forest. Eventually, those sons went to visit Rama until Rama found out they were his sons. Then, he invited Sita to come to the palace as well. At the end of the story, Sita walked up to the palace and caught sight of Rama on his throne. Then, a throne emerged from the ground and sank back into the earth, sinking Sita into the ground. My goal was to focus on the relationship between Sita and mother earth as a character; I wanted to show how this relationship had created peace for Sita. This way, her disappearing into the earth is a happy ending rather than a sad one.
I will always bring you home Sita, but first, you must reconcile yourself with your past, said the deep vibrations within Mother Earth.
"I have been banished Mother; there is no way for me to do this," replied Sita.
Dear one, no father could resist the words of their only sons. Use the unbreakable bond.
"My sons are so precious to me; how will I let them go even if I know they will return," Sita asked.
Attachment is your first test Sita. You must let attachment go in order to reconcile with your past. Every day my trees are cut and my children die in the wild. My streams are muddied and beautiful flowers become dried up leaves. But my dear, in this decay, sprouts appear. Creatures are born and mothers are made. Yet, do you see me react?
So Sita sent her sons to meet with Rama many times; eventually, she was invited to come. Sita walked through the forest with her sons to reach the castle. Her thin fragile body ached with wear; she was all used up and knew this...but she was not a pitiful or sorrowful creature to behold. Sita had lived in hardship, but she had also lived in peace. She had known true love.
They expect you to be sad my dear, but I feel your peace. It is time for you to come back to me, for you have lived a full life.
Sita heard this call from Mother Earth and knew it was her time. They had arrived at the royal house. Through the great doors, she saw Rama sitting on his majestic golden throne and smiled. His presence always made her smile.
Then, with a great surge of wind, like the gusts from her childhood, a great hand of rock rose from the ground and cupped Sita in its warm embrace. Beneath her fingers, Sita felt the cool surface of turquoise and the sponginess of moss. This was her childhood rock.
You have arrived my child. You are home.
Authors Note: This story is based on the last scene from The Divine Archer by F. J. Gould. After being suspected of adultery and banished from the royal house of her husband Rama, Sita had two sons by herself in the forest. Eventually, those sons went to visit Rama until Rama found out they were his sons. Then, he invited Sita to come to the palace as well. At the end of the story, Sita walked up to the palace and caught sight of Rama on his throne. Then, a throne emerged from the ground and sank back into the earth, sinking Sita into the ground. My goal was to focus on the relationship between Sita and mother earth as a character; I wanted to show how this relationship had created peace for Sita. This way, her disappearing into the earth is a happy ending rather than a sad one.
Amazonite Rock on Pixnio
Hi Jessica, I thought this was an awesome story. I got some major Pocahontas (Grandmother Willow) vibes with the dialogue between Mother Earth and Sita. Great job developing that character and giving context to why Sita was swallowed by the earth. You did a great job using imagery to paint your story. Good luck this semester and I look forward to reading more!
ReplyDeleteHey Jessica, I really loved how you made your own character of Mother Earth. I also felt that by adding this character, you were really about to highlight the main character in the piece, Sita, by showing a little more of her deeper, inner feelings. By adding this, you were able to create a new point of view! I am curious, for some reason, on how the voice of Mother Earth sounds.... does she sound like a human with an actual voice, or does Sita just hear her in her mind? Can others hear Mother Earth, or does Sita have a special connection like no other? I wonder if there is some way that you could shift the character of Mother Earth to other parts of the story, whether that be where the other characters hear her, or even if she was a sort of outer narration. Great job, I look forward to reading more!
ReplyDeleteJessica, I love how you set the scene with language that really emphasizes the environment in this story. Your choice of words shows that nature is central to the beauty of Sita's setting because it shows how different life would be for Sita and those on earth if Mother Earth did not carry on her duties of sustaining life. I really love how you use descriptive words instead of using a lot of different words to describe things, making this story very easy to read through without sacrificing detail. Your story made me realize how important my writing style and the visual organization of my story and paragraphs makes a difference in how many people will decide to take the time to read my story.
ReplyDeleteHi Jessica! I like your truly creative and original story! I like the fact that the story is written in concise and easy-to-read style. The plot and characters are truly rich as well. Your story is full of imagery and visual details. Wow.. This is a powerful message: “
ReplyDeleteYou have arrived my child. You are home. “ Thank you for a great story!