The Princes of Ayodhya-The Ramayan Through Short Stories

Adoption, Asmaka, and an Angry Adhisesha

Monkeys were guzzling water at how spicy Lakshman's story was becoming, but Lakshman himself showed no signs of being affected as they ran around with steam blowing out of their ears and mouths puffed with air. "Shall I stop?" he asked confusedly.

"NO!" Angad roared, beating his chest like a mad woman-monkey. "CONTINUE! ALL OF YOU MONKEYS, SIT DOWN AND LET HIM CONTINUE!" Everyone sat down, albeit with bottles of water, adn eagerly leaned in to hear what Lakshman had to say next.

Flashback

"WHAT?!" Urmila shrieked, but Mandavi quickly slapped a hand on her mouth, watching the situation play out, knowing exactly what was happening. "You're adop-mmff?!"

"Um, vut you look the zame." Zubair wondered, with a thick German accent. "I had the intelligence that you all ver tvins." he glanced between the two of them, eyes comically narrowed as Bharat winced. 

Shatrughan's eyes popped and he swallowed hard. "No no! No! Yeah, we found my doppelganger. Maa Sumitra chose him out of the thousands of foster royal boys because he looked exactly like me, you see? We adopted him from, um-" Shatrughan swallowed, eyes squinting as if he was really thinking. "He's from the Asmaka Kingdom, you see? And that's how they greet people there, shredding, skin ripping, and blood gushing and all. Not that they actually go through with their promise, of course. So, don't be offended."

Bharat nodded to back Shatrughan up. "Yes, yes, it's true. Haven't you noticed, none of us have his eyes. Well, none of us have each other's eyes either, but that's besides the point! The real point is that Lakshman is adopted!" he cleared his throat convincingly. 

"So, who is SiRA?" Zubair asked. 

"SiRa means, my life!" Shatrughan quickly made up. "He speaks Asmaka..n! Asmakan!" He looked around, confusedly. "Ah, yes. Asmakan! That's totally a language that I very much did not make up! He doesn't want you to ruin his life." Shatrughan paused. 

"Oh, can y'all teach me Asmakan then?" Zubair asked, his voice heavy Southern American. 

"Uh noooo!" Shaturghan laughed, at this point, practically leaning on poor Lakshman's shoulder as the rest of the family watched beadily. "It's actually a very sensitive topic! He gets very emotional when we talk about his homeland." Shatrughan glanced uneasily at the impassive and hard-faced Lakshman. "Uh-trust me, he does. That's why we didn't tell any of you. He would have an-um-a breakdown-" Now even Shatrughan was having a hard time believing his own words. 

"ARRE!" Urmila cried, hands on her hips angrily as Shatrughan backed up cautiously. "You were supposed to tell me! We wouldn't have minded! But noo, you all and your stupid secrets! What's next, he's killed ten thousand rakshasas?"

Present

"Wait," Angad. "Don't tell me that it's"

"It's about to get spicier!" Neel agreed, gulping down bowls of yogurt as Jal milked a random cow that had wandered in, searching for stories, who mooed in agreement. 

Flashback

"Ah yes," Lakshman continued. "I remember in the Akkukar-"

"Asmaka-" Shatrughan hissed. 

"Asmukarafraga Kingdom," Lakshman continued. "Children at age infancy are taught how to kill rakshasas. It's a sport. They pitch children and their pet rakshasas against each other. And I of course, remember this, even though I was adopted when I was a baby, because my memory is impeccable and cannot be questioned."