Week 4 Story

   

Image information: Sampati talking to the monkeys and bears, Image credit: IndiaNetzone

         As a bird, I could travel anywhere. The world was my oyster. From around the world, it has been said that birds have plunged and dived into the ocean, reaching beyond limits and breaking bounds! Although my nest maybe small compared to the rest of the world, but my home is the whole universe.
Up in the Himalaya, I used to live with my brother Jatayu as well as other large birds. Our nests made of stone, were barely holding together because of the number of birds that would huddle together at night. I always slept by my brothers side. Sometimes, I could even hear his heart beat, as I’m sure he could’ve heard mine beating along with his.
One day, Jatayu and I decided to race through Indra’s world. Side-by-side we flew. For one moment there, everything felt right, like nothing bad could happen. We soared through the sky with the fierce sun looking straight at us. All of a sudden, I heard Jatayu calling out to me. I looked back, and there he was falling through the sky. My brother had fainted and tumbled through the air!
I couldn’t believe it with my own eyes. I quickly gathered speed and outstretched my wings to shield him from the cruel sun. Yet, before I could realize what was happening, I could smell my wings burning from the flames of the wild sun. Clutching onto my brother, we plummeted onto the summit of Mount Vindhya.
All I could smell was the burning flesh of my wings. I remembered just lying there unconscious, with searing pain surrounding my entire body. When I recovered, I woke learning that my eyesight was dimmed and I had no wings. I don’t think I was ever so devastated. I thought that I was going to die. However, life was good to me. I knew it wasn’t my time to go, so I held myself up and dragged my half-burned body down the slope and back home.
         As I sat there telling my story to the monkeys and bears, I did not want them to feel pity for me. I, for one, was proud that I was able to save my brother from falling to his death. Although I lost my wings in the process, at least it was’t my brother that I had lost.
          Living patiently without my wings, I never thought the day where I’d hear of my brother’s passing. With that being said, I do hope that noble Rama is able to find his queen. However, I do ask that you carry me to the shores of Varuna’s world, where I may celebrate the ceremony of lustrous waters in honor of my deceased brother.

Authors note: In the original story “Sampati and Jatayu,” I felt like Sampati was not able to recognize his own strength and beauty after receiving all those burns from saving his brother. He believed that as a bird, you were born to fly. Furthermore, after losing his wings, it seems as though he had lost a part of himself. In the story that I chose to wrote, I wanted to change Sampati’s view of himself. I wanted for Sampati to realize his own strength and courage when he decided to rescue his brother.