The Chase

Rama had grown exhausted by chasing something that seemed so out of his reach. The dragonfly zoomed in front of his face and spun around his head. Rama swatted at the bug furiously and quickly. The dragonfly continued to taunt Rama as he flew away, forcing Rama to collect himself for another physical run after this creature.

Rama was tired of chasing. He was tired of all that he had been doing that seemed to have no end in sight and no reward.

"Why am I even chasing this silly bug?" Rama wondered aloud as his feet grew heavy, scooting along the earth.

The dragonfly was actually Maricha, and he was truly giving Rama a run for his money in this form. Although the bug was visibly fluttering in Rama's face, his small and quick body made him nearly impossible to catch. Which is exactly why he chose this form. He could already tell that he was breaking Rama down, watching him barely be able to walk anymore, let alone try to catch him. 

Rama was chasing Maricha with a bow and arrow, which simply made Maricha laugh. This was too easy of a task for Maricha. Maricha thought he should have perhaps picked an animal that was easier for Rama to catch, like a buffalo or an elephant, or maybe even a humpback whale. 

"How would Rama catch something so tiny with a weapon so large?" Maricha wondered as he zoomed around Rama and then away from him once again. He felt smart for picking such a hard animal to catch, while he was in this form.

Rama grew exhausted and stopped, while loosening the grip on his bow. His head that was usually high and proud now hung looking down at the bow and arrow that he grasped in his hands. 

"He finally gave up," Maricha thought, holding back his laughter as he zoomed and landed on the ground, a few yards in front of Rama. 

However, he was wrong. The lack of motivation and negative thoughts that had been swirling in Rama's head were pushed out the window by the thought of Sita. To see her again was all he needed to make these impossible tasks worth the effort. Rama picked up the bow slowly and attempted to make one last shot with the final arrow he had. 

As Rama pierced the dragonfly, it screamed out, but in Rama's voice. 

This sharp sound of distress from what seemed to be Rama rang in Sita's ears. She alerted Lakshmana of what she thought had happened to Rama. However, Lakshmana ignored her saying that Rama was untouchable by these rakshasas. This immediately sent a rush of anger through Sita, because she knew Rama and she knew his voice. 

Sita knew what she heard and did not understand why Lakshamana was being so ignorant of the fact that she blatantly heard Rama in pain. She accused Lakshamana of being cold. 

"You simply do not understand that I cannot live without Rama. He is my everything and I know what I heard, even if you did not hear the same thing as me," Sita said through tears. Sita knew what she heard and did not care what anyone else thought. Rama meant everything to her and she was going to make sure that he was safe.

"Dragonfly"
Source: Wikimedia

Author's Note: The original story of The Chase revolves around Rama chasing after a golden deer, who is actually the rakshasa, Maricha. I have overall altered the story by changing the deer to a dragonfly, creating more suspense and a harder chase. Rama is chasing this deer through the forest and attempting to capture it. Maricha is able to imitate Rama's voice in order to greatly anger him and confuse him, as Rama is attempting to hit the deer with an arrow. However, he is able to kill the animal and reveal what is truly happening. When Sita heard the voice of who she thought was Rama, she was able to get the assistance of Lakshmana to assist her. This is where Lakshmana and Sita argue about the significance of Rama in their lives and how he needs protection. Lakshmana tries to explain to Sita that Rama cannot be harmed by rakshasas, but Sita does not believe him. Sita ends with telling of how she cannot live without Rama. Through my own interpretation of the story, I have given Sita more of a voice than she had in the original story. I give Sita the chance to speak out against Lakshmana when he denies that the screaming that they heard was Rama. This emphasizes the feelings Rama has for Sita, and his significance to her.

Bibliography: "The Chase" by Donald Mackenzie from the Ramayana Online: Public Domain Edition