Week 11 Storytelling Post: We are Still Family

The sun glinted off the shiny red finish of Danny's new convertible as he pulled up to the curb. His hair was slicked back with enough gel to make his hair almost as shiny as the car and as he slid his designer sunglasses onto his head, his hair did not move an inch. Hopping out of his car, he approached the group of brothers who, until now, had been minding their own business as they packed up their campsite for the day.

"So, if it's not the great Pandavas," he said, leaning against their camper. "I just thought I'd come pay a visit to my favorite cousins! How do you like my new car? It's the latest model."

His cocky smile was infuriating and Benny took a step forward. Before he could do anything, however, his brother, Young, stopped him with an outstretched arm. 

"Ah, Danny, it's great to see you! It has been so long," Young said, smiling at his cousin. "It has been, what? Almost twelve years since we last spoke. Truly too long."

At his cousins words, Danny's smile faltered. He stuttered, "Ye-yes I believe it has been that long."

As his eyes moved over his cousins, though-their tattered clothes, their dirty hair, their old, beat-up trailer- his confidence returned.

"Seems like you guys are having a little bit of a hard time," he mocked. "It's too bad my father had to write you out of his will. Of course, I tried to convince him not to, but you know my father!"

His words made the brothers tense because of course this was not true. Danny, being jealous of the love his father felt for his cousins, had begged his father to kick them out of the house and write them out of his will. Being unable to deny his spoiled son anything, he had done so.

Being the calmest of the brothers, Young spoke yet again. "Of course we do not blame you, Danny. You were as helpless as we were in the situation. And, as you can see, we are quite happy! Thank you for paying us a visit."

This, too, surprised Danny. "Well, I-I was in the neighborhood. Th-thought I'd show you my new car," he stammered, before finding his voice once more. "Besides, I'm busy. I have important things to get done. A meeting. I gotta go!"

And with that, Danny hopped back into his car and took off down the road.

Image of a red Corvette convertible found on Wikimedia Commons

****

The Pandavas piled into their camper and set out along the highway. In the distance, they saw the bright, flashing blue and red lights of a police car. As they approached, they also noticed the bright-red shiny paint of their cousins new car.

The closer they got, the more dire the situation seemed. There were at least three officers out of their vehicles, one had drawn their gun, and the other two were pinning Danny to the ground.

Young pulled the vehicle to the side of the road. "Everyone stay in the camper. I'm going to help Danny," he said as he opened the door.

"Hey, Greg, Darcy, Val," Young said as he approached the group. "What seems to be the problem?"

The police visibly relaxed as Young approached. Greg lowered his weapon and Darcy and Val relaxed their hold on Danny, who remained on the ground in handcuffs. 

"This punk was going 50 over the posted speed limit," Val said. "And when I pulled him over, he refused to show any licence and registration. Then he ran for it and trespassed on private property."

Young glanced at his cousin before he spoke. "I am truly sorry for my cousins behavior. He is not a danger to anyone but himself and if you could release him, my brothers and I would greatly appreciate it."

Val grimaced at Danny before shrugging her shoulders. "You know I'd do anything for the Pandavas," she said, bending down to unlock Danny's cuffs. "Now, don't let us catch you doing anything like that again!"

****

As the police returned to their vehicles, Danny approached Young. "Thanks for getting me out of that," he mumbled, staring at his feet. "I-I appreciate it."

Young placed a hand on his shoulder. "No matter what, we are family."

Author's Notes

This week I wanted to write about the story where Duryodhana goes to show off his power and his wealth while the Pandavas are in exile, but he just ended up humiliating himself by being captured. I thought this was a really interesting story and I loved how Duryodhana ended up having to thank the Pandavas for saving him. In this story, I really wanted to place the setting in a rural, small, American town. Young is Yudishthira, Danny is Duryodhana, and Greg, Darcy, and Val are the Ghandarvas that captured Duryodhana in the original text. The original story from which I created this story is from Narayan's the Mahabharata. 

Week 11 Reading Diary B: The Mahabharata

1. Krishna tries to stop the war from happening by appealing to Dhritarashtra. He refuses to stop Duryodhana. Duryodhana wants to capture Krishna as a prisoner, but Dhritarashtra does not allow it. 

2. Karna learns that he is the son of Kunthi and Surya, but he owes a lot to Duryodhana. His loyalty makes it impossible for him to switch sides in the coming war. Kunthi tries to convince him not to fight and to join the Pandavas, but he refuses. He says that he will only kill Arjuna, though.

3. The battle begins and it lasts for 18 days. 

4. Amba has returned as a warrior named Shikhandin. She has returned to kill Bhishma, but he recognizes that he used to be a woman so he will not fight her. This leads to him being distracted and Arjuna shoots him. He lays on a bed of arrows for the rest of the battle. Karna joins the battle.

5. Arjuna's son is trapped in a lotus formation when Arjuna is drawn away from battle. He dies and Arjuna is angered and seeks revenge. He vows to kill Jayadartha by sundown the next day. Jayadartha hides and Arjuna uses his discus to fake sunset. Jayadartha comes out and Arjuna kills him. 

6. Karna uses his weapon that is only able to be used once to kill Ghatotkacha. He was saving it for use on Arjuna but, due to a curse, he forgot this and used it to kill Bhima's son. 

7. Arjuna kills Karna after his wheel becomes stuck in the mud. It is due to another curse he received. 

8. Bhima fulfills his vow to break Duryodhana's thigh and he kills him. 

Bhima kills Duryodhana found on Wikimedia Commons

Week 11 Reading Diary A: Narayan's The Mahabharata

1. Dhritarashtra learned of Arjuna's weapon acquisitions and began worrying for Duryodhana's well-being, but also the well-being of the Pandavas. He is always caught between the two. Duryodhana wants to end them once and for all since they now know their location.

2. Duryodhana decided to go humiliate the Pandavas by setting up a splendid camp across the river from them. He tried to summon them, but his soldiers could not cross the river. The people who would not allow them to cross got in a fight with Duryodhana and his soldiers and Duryodhana was eventually captured. It was Indra's doing, to teach him a lesson and Bhima and Arjuna went and freed him. 

3. The Pandavas, one by one, approached a pond that warned them not to drink until the questions were answered. Each one died. Yudhishtira approached and answered the questions first, saddened by the deaths of his brothers. He was given the choice to revive one of his brothers and chose Nakula so that both mothers would still have a living son. The pond was happy with this answer and let all of them live. They also received the blessing of being unrecognizable. 

Photo of a pond found on Wikimedia Commons

4. The Pandavas came up with secret false identities for their final year of exile.

5. Duryodhana discovered the secret identities of the Pandavas and tried to work out a plan to expose them before the time was up so their exile would be extended another 13 years.