Fleeting Moments-Ramayan Oneshots

Festivities

And what a grand entirety it was! Shatrughan was in heaven on Earth. Flower garlands lined the walls of the buildings and houses, and fallen petals dusted the dirt paths and streets. Large banners with popping yellows and blinding oranges hung on market stalls, and people crowded food shops and flower shops excitedly. The pleasant background noise of conversation, jollyful and excited, rumbled in his ears, and Shatrughan felt ready to sleep.

Much to Ram's aghast, Lakshman had already fallen asleep, leaning lazily on the balcony railing. "Lakshman!" he hissed, smacking his arm lightly. "Wake up! How could you possibly fall asleep? There's so many things to see, so many things to do!" he shook his head angrily waving his hands as Lakshman jumped up. "I will not have you falling asleep again!" Lakshman simply groaned.

"There's absolutely nothing to do here, bhaiyya! No monsters or villains to defeat, no food to eat! There's no tasks to complete or firewood to lift or building to do!There's not even a bed so I can get in my hours of sleep. It's exhausting. I'm tired."

Ram rolled his eyes and quickly blocked Bharat from charging at Lakshman for disrespecting his perfect artistic universe. "Alright, alright, stop fighting!" he laughed, forgiving Lakshman immediately for falling asleep. "Let's go to the kitchens. Come on. We're all happy there, aren't we? We'll grab a bite to eat, and then we can tour the city. Oh cheer up, Bharat. Come on! Mahashivratri is not a day to be sad."

Bharat sighed solemnly and nodded as if it was a great pain for him, and they walked towards the kitchens. Much to their surprise (and excitement), the kitchens were filled with food. Ladoos upon ladoos stacked on top of each other. Syrup filled the jalebis, intricately swirled, and immediately grabbing the attention of Shatrughan, who reached over eagerly. Even the grumpy Bharat found something to make him happy with the picture perfectness of everything. "Who did all of this?" Ram wondered.

A cook bowed a little bit, face flushed from embarrassment and all the heat from the cooking, no one could tell. "S-sire, p-prince, it was done on the order of Rani Sumitra." He quickly fled, legs moving, as the brothers turned in confusion to stare at his back. Ram nodded, a bit befuddled, before turning back as Shatrughan beamed.

"I love you, mother! Never doubted you!" He blew an imaginary kiss into the air, and took a large bite of his sweet, face alight with exciting joy before it immediately paled. He began to cough, as his amber eyes started to cloud with a seeming haze. His trembling hands shot up to catch hold of anything as his legs gave out under him, and he started to fall. Ram quickly dashed forward and caught him.

Without thinking, Bharat lunged forward, his hands shaking with a slight tremor. Ram was cradling Shatrughan, mumbling inaudible words, and looking up at someone pleadingly. What was that he said? Bharat? Who was Bharat? Lakshman shook his shoulders, his eyes wide and urgent. Shatrughan continued to lie on the ground, unresponsive, and the seconds flew by like a vulture on the clock that ticked incessantly in Bharat's brain.

Whispers reached out and grasped at him. What were they saying? Was it something important? Bharat finally managed to force words out of himself. "Thump his back..." he gasped, waving his hands unhelpfully. "Chest compressions. Back thump....chest compressions." Ram walked over and sat Bharat down, sprinkling some water on his face and waving a hand hopefully in front of his face. Somewhere, Bharat thought that he could hear his name being spoken and he blinked again.

Suddenly, the world changed. Black and white, it had been before, and suddenly, color flashed into his eyes again. Bharat blinked, over and over again, and felt like he was breathing again. Color. He worked with color. Not being able to see it was disconcerting. His eyes darted again towards Shatrughan's form as he coughed up the sweet. "Ouch!" Shatrughan snapped in his teasing, sing-songy voice, and Bharat fell back into his brother's arms. "You didn't have to hit my back that hard!"