Week 5 Storytelling: The Dream

The red sky (Source)

Dear Rama,

My stay with Grandfather has been very pleasant. I wish you and the family were here to enjoy time with him, too. Last night I had the strangest dream. It's left me a little shaken, to be honest. You've always been able to give me sound advice. Maybe you can make something of it!

I was walking along the ocean shore. The sun was setting, tinting the sky red and orange. The soft waves were lapping at my feet, and I felt completely at ease. I stood, facing the ocean, and closed my eyes. I felt the water pool around my ankles and then retreat with the tide. I waited for it to come back, but felt nothing. I opened my eyes and water was rising up into the sky. As if it were raining upside down, the water going from the ocean into the clouds. I watched on and in seconds it was gone. The ocean was gone. All I could see for miles out was rock and mud. Fish and plants lay dead without their source of life.

Terrified, I ran home to tell father what had happened. As I approached Ayodhya, I noticed no fires were lit in any homes. The sun remained near the horizon but would not set, casting long shadows. The sky seemed red and angry. The air was so still and dry. I could hear the elephants cry loudly, their bellows cracking through the air like thunder. I looked around to try and help the ailing animals, but could not find them. All that could be heard were their painful laments. I slowly began to walk up the palace steps and felt something beneath my feet. I looked down and saw shattered pieces of something. I bent to get a closer look and realized the cause of the elephants' cries. Their tusks, big and sturdy, had fallen and shattered into thousands of pieces.

I ran up the palace steps hoping, needing to find anybody. Though I climbed and climbed, they did not seem to end. Finally I reached the top of the stairs and was high in the sky. The tall tower crumbling beneath me. Frantic, I tried climbing higher until I reached the very top. The sun finally began to dip below the horizon. Below me the earth burned with red light. The moon appeared in the high night sky. Its face resembled my mother's. 

"Help me! Please!" I cried out to it, afraid I might fall.

"Jump onto me,  and I will keep you safe," it replied.

Just as the last step fell to the Earth, I reach up and grabbed the moon. I pulled myself up into its curve. I felt cool sweat on my forehead, but began to calm. Only moments later, the moon and I began to fall. Smoke and sun glared up at us from the ground and I screamed. I called out for you, Rama, but you were not there. Just before I hit the ground, I woke up.

I don't know if it means anything at all or if it's just a silly dream, but I cannot help but feel uneasy about it. What do you think, Rama? Please respond speedily, as your words will calm me. I see three horseman with the Ayodhya flag coming up to grandfather's palace. Perhaps they have a message for me!

I miss you, dear brother. Give my love to father and the rest.

Love,

Bharata

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Author's Note: This story was adapted from William Buck's "Ramayana." In the chapter titled 'Bharata Returns,' Buck mentions that right before the horsemen arrive to give him news of his father's death, Bharata awakens from a bad dream in which he sees the ocean dry, the moon fall, his father's elephants' tusks shatter, the fires of Ayodhya go out and smoking rising from the Kosala hills. I included all of the elements into my story and expanded upon each one, telling a detailed account of the whole dream. 

I decided to expand on this part of the story because I believe dreams can be a really fascinating way to see view our lives. Sometimes, they are meaningless. Other times, dreams can be an outlet for our subconscious. In storytelling, dreams can also be a great way to either foreshadow or express a character's feelings in a more descriptive way. Bharata is an interesting character in that he is offered a kingdom, and yet can see that Rama is truly meant to rule. He feels anger towards his mother and loyalty towards Rama and his father. I wanted to expand on Bharata's role and allow him to have a kind of adventure of his own (even if it is only in a dream). It is obvious in the Buck's story that he does not want to rule, and hopefully my story conveys that he really doesn't even have the ability to rule. He is always asking for help or seeking someone else.  

Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.