Storytelling Post Week 13: Karna

Karna tossed and turned in his sleep, worried about his future and his place in the world. Just as he was drifting into a more peacefull sleep, a cry from the other room woke him completely. He could hear the sounds of his brother crying muffled by the door between them. Tip-toeing to the door, he cracked it slightly and listened.

"Mama, he hit me!" he sobbed. "He hit me and so did his friends and I didn't do anything!"

The floor creaked as his mother quickly crossed the entryway to comfort her youngest son. The cries were once again muffled, but by his mother's shoulder this time.

"My dear, I am so sorry," she murmured. "Who was it? Who did this to you?"

As his younger brother listed the names of the children who beat him up, Karna's anger grew uncontrollably. He yanked on his shoes, grabbed a jacket, and brushed past his mother and brother on his way out the door. 

He stomped through the field towards the place he and his brothers played baseball on the weekends. When he reached the fence, he found the group his brother mentioned.

There were six of them in all. Karna's brother had not been a match for one of them, let alone six of them at once. Three of them darted off when they saw the fury in Karna's eyes, but the other three stayed, squaring up for a fight.

Karna flew at them, fists flailing as he attacked. Even though there were three of them, they were no match for Karna's righteous fury. 

He was not satisfied until each of them had run off, bruised and bleeding. Only then did he return home.

Not long had passed, maybe ten minutes, so his mother and brother were still in the entryway when he returned. A bag of frozen peas had been placed on the younger brother's eye where it was beginning to swell. 

"It's okay, baby brother," Karna said as he placed his hand on his brother's head. "They won't bother you again."

At his words, his mother turned to him with a concerned look in her eye. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Karna, what did you do?"

"I took care of it, mama," he said, walking towards his room. "I cannot allow people to hurt the innocent. Especially if they are my family."

He walked into his room, knowing he would be grounded. His mother would probably punish herself, too, but Karna could not help his actions. His anger at the boys who had attacked his brother could not be staunched. 

In the fairy tales his mother told him as a child, those who did the right thing always came out victorious, but the more Karna learned of the world, the less this seemed true. For now, though, he would do everything in his power to help those he cared for. He could help a little part of the world, and that was enough for now.

Image of Justice Scales found on Wikimedia Commons

Author's Notes

I have been reading Karna: The Unsung Hero of the Mahabharata this week (even though I haven't done a reading diary because it's been kind of hectic) and that's where this story comes from. Karna heard that a group of boys beat up his younger brother and so he goes out and beats the boys who did it. Not much changed in my story, but I wanted to write this one because Karna is such an intriguing character. He is going to be the star of my final "episode" of my storybook, but I do not have the room to include any of his childhood so I wanted to explore that in this story. He does have a temper, but it is usually when someone he cares for has been wronged and he is doing it to defend them. While just reading the Mahabharata, I was not very sympathetic to Karna, but now I definitely am. He wanted to do the right thing, but his loyalty to Duryodhana was his downfall. This is a very interesting take on his character and I would definitely recommend it.