At
First Sight
By: Ashley
Johnson
Dear
diary,
Do you
believe in fate?
I feel so
ill right now. My
head is throbbing, my legs are weak, and my
eyes can't seem to focus. I haven't felt like this since I had the
measles back when I was twelve years old and Papa made me stay with him
in his chambers so he could keep an eye on me. He didn't trust the
nurse maids to watch over his sick little girl, so he insisted that he
take care of me himself. Yes, I think that was the last time I felt
like this. However, this isn't quite the same. I actually can't quite
place my finger on the feeling.
I don't
really know what's
wrong with me. I don't really know why I
feel like this. I don't have a fever and no one else around the palace
has been sick recently. It could possibly be related to something that
happened earlier today, but surely not. That would be silly. Papa
always said I had a strange imagination.
...Okay,
diary, although I
know this is totally unrelated to anything,
I'll
go ahead and tell
you. It's nothing really, but I might as well explain. Today around
noontime, I was standing on the balcony just looking out over the
kingdom. This isn't so strange because sometimes when I'm lonely, the
bustling of the town cheers me up. So today was really just like any
other day except for today, I saw this..... man.
This man
wasn't like other
men. Oh, diary, I remember everything about
him. Every detail. I could recite to you exactly how he appeared to me,
but it all wouldn't matter. It all wouldn't matter because it was his
eyes that gripped me. You see, I was just standing there, obliviously
staring towards nothingness, when suddenly I was gazing into this man's
eyes.
Outwardly,
his eyes were dark,
so dark that they were beautiful. They
looked as if they went on for miles and miles into the most sacred of
places. My eyes could not leave his; beyond my control, they were
fixed. Besides their beauty and their apparent control over my own
eyes, his eyes seemed to tell a story. Perhaps story isn't quite the
right word, but again, I can't quite place my finger on the feeling.
Through
his eyes I knew that
he was a good man. I knew he was genuine,
honest, loyal, brave, and kind. I could continue with the adjectives,
but I swear to you, I knew all of this only through his gaze. Not only
did I know exactly who he was,
but I also knew that he was mine...
Now, I
know I sound a bit
crazy, diary, believe me, I know. But I have
never been so sure of something in my entire life. I know somehow that
man
is my fate.
Author's
Note:
I
thought the story of
Sita and Rama first seeing one another
would be a wonderful way to begin Sita's diary. Besides the fact that
we know Sita sprang from the earth and was discovered by Janaka, this
is the first time Sita appears in the Narayan's version of the
Ramayana. In Narayan's version, this scene is more completely described
as he conveys that Sita was playing with her "companions" on the
balcony instead of gazing across town. He also explains that Sita and
Rama are incarnations of the gods Vishnu and Lakshmi. Also, Narayan
includes the fact that Rama is accompanied by his brother, Lakshmana,
and by Viswamithra as they walk through the kingdom.. In Sita's first
diary entry, I wanted the story of her seeing Rama from her balcony to
come off as somewhat vague. I would like the readers to learn more
about Sita (her personality, her voice, her style) as they read through
her diary. In essence, this first story should just act as a glimpse
into Sita without revealing much.
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Bibliography
Narayan, R. K. Ramayana.
Vision Books Pvt Ltd. New York, 1972. Pages 34-35.
