It had been a few weeks since Padma had ventured up to the attic where her ancestor's diary lurked.  She had gotten caught up in school and family and had almost forgotten about it.  It wasn't until she had a moment of free time that she remembered the stories waiting for her to read.  She opened the diary and after skipping a few entries from the point where she had ended, she found one with an interesting title.
 
Fate Catching Up To Me
I had lived in pure bliss with my father for the better part of a decade and in that time we had grown to not only depend upon one another, but love each other as well.  Neither of us was ready for any kind of change to our lives, but who ever really is?  I had reached the age where many of my father's close advisers had agreed that it was time for me to marry.  Although my father agreed publicly, privately I knew he was tormented with the thought of me living in another man's home, as was I.  To please his advisers, he set up a challenge to any possible suitors who wished to win my heart.  My father let it be known that unless the man could string the bow of Shiva, I would remain unmarried.  I laughed at the idea because I knew that no mere mortal could accomplish this task and so I was pleased and assumed I would remain with my father for quite a while.

Image of Rama with Shiva's bow
 
Padma had heard about arranged marriages.  They were, after all, quite common in her culture.  What she was surprised about was how unwilling Sita's father had been to let his daughter go.  In her naivety, she had always assumed that Indian fathers were in a hurry to marry their daughters off to prospective husbands, but not Sita's.  She thought about it for a minute or two and came to the conclusion that Sita and her father had a very rare and close bond and neither of them would have felt comfortable parting after so little time together.
 
The months passed and many able-bodied suitors came and went, unable to complete the superhuman task.  I continued with my life with little worry that change was on the horizon.  One day, just an average day like all the rest, I was walking throughout the palace reading one of my favorite books when I had the sudden urge to read out on the balcony.  I wasn't sure why, perhaps it was a need for fresh air, but regardless I followed my instinct and headed for the balcony.  I wasn't two steps outside when a blinding light struck my face and I had to look down to hide from it.  It was then that my entire body froze in its tracks and my heart felt as if it were going to leap off the balcony without me.  My eyes had locked onto another's and I knew my life would never be the same.  It was as if time slowed down only for me because the next thing I knew everything had sped up around me and the mystery man was gone.  I was crushed that he had disappeared as quickly as he had appeared and I felt like there was nothing I could do.  I returned to my room for the evening and had a restless night of sleep.  I was awoken by my maidens with the news that I would be married.  I felt like my head, along with my emotions, were spinning.  One minute I was sure I would have lots of time with my father left, then the next I had fallen head over heels for a stranger, and now I was to be married to someone who didn't have my heart because it had left me only yesterday.  I immediately went to see my father and he was as shaken up as I was because we had both been so certain that no one would be able to complete the task.

Padma, laughing out loud, realized that her problems were minor in comparison to Sita's.  She only had to worry about essay deadlines and vacuuming the house while Sita's emotions had gone through a one-eighty in a matter of days.  Padma also wondered if she would ever feel as strongly for someone as Sita had for her mystery man.
 
The wedding would be in the next few days and while I was saddened by the fact that I would never see the stranger who had stolen my heart again, I could at least look forward to a quick end to the agony of waiting.  On the day of my wedding, my maidens dressed my from head to toe in the finest prints and jewels that I had ever seen.  I was escorted through the main hallway and as I turned the corner I nearly fell to my knees in shock.  The man standing next to my father, the man I was so apathetic about marrying, was none other than the man who had stolen my heart only a few days before.  All the fear and stress that had built up over those past few days left my body and was replaced with joy and love for the man standing before me.  While I was still sad to leave the loving household of my father, I knew that he would be happy for me when he knew how I felt.  The mysterious man's name was Rama, the human who had not only accomplished such a superhuman task, but had captured my heart as well.  I was told later on that our wedding was lavish and beautiful, but I barely remember any of that.  My eyes were solely focused on his during it all and I had a feeling they would remain that way for quite some time.  It seemed fate had a plan for me all along.

After closing the diary, Padma felt exhausted.  She had gone on a journey of emotions right along with Sita.  She had a lot on her mind and so she  headed back downstairs to clear her head and finish her homework.
image of Sita and Rama's wedding
~_________________________________________________~
Author's Note:  I chose to retell the story of Sita and Rama's meeting and eventual wedding with greater detail about her life leading up to those days.  In my first story I really talked in depth about the bond that Sita and her new father were forging and so in this story I wanted to continue that.  Because they had spent less time with each other compared to typical fathers and daughters (due to Sita coming into this world as a young girl), I showed how neither Sita nor her father were ready to leave each other.  I also played up the roller coaster of emotions Sita goes on because of her conflicting situations of not wanting to leave her father, seeing her soul mate, and then her thinking she was going to have to marry someone other than Rama.  Once again Padma finds her ancestor's diary entries fascinating and realizes her life isn't so tough!  I'm sure most people might have expected me to talk more in depth about Rama in this story, but the truth is my storybook is about Sita and the journey she goes on in her life.  Yes, he plays a role in it, but unlike the Ramayana, this story isn't all about him.  In fact, my storybook will begin and end with Sita being on her own so it makes sense not to go on and on about other characters!

Bibliography:
Narayan, R. K. (1972) The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic.
Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.
Wikipedia Page on Sita.

Image Information:
Rama with the bow of Shiva.  Wikipedia Hinduism Page
Sita & Rama's Wedding.  Exotic India Art
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