Story: Liquid Trust

The lake inspiration

(source: wikipedia)

A young couple sat on the floor of their studio apartment with eyes full of boredom. It was a Sunday afternoon and the two lovers spent their weekend the same way they usually do. Netflix, takeout Chinese food, and abnormal amounts of sleep dominated their Friday and Saturday hours. Paul was a studio art major whose wit did not match his immense artistic talent. Michelle was studying psychology which was greatly inspired by the fact that she had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. The two had been dating since their senior year of high school and they were now entering their junior year of college. They attended the same university where Paul was given a full ride for his art and Michelle obsessively followed. She was absolutely infatuated with him. Her mental disorder would occasionally cause her to go into periods where she did not trust him and thought he might be acting unfaithful. Paul would always stay strong as he was dedicated and even though she could be a little much, he loved her. Michelle was itching for activity as staying inside for long periods made her slightly uncomfortable.

"Paul, I really want to go out and do something," Michelle said abruptly. 

"What did you have in mind?" Paul replied.

"You know that forest about a mile south of our complex?"

"I think so."

"Let's go explore it!"

Paul eagerly agreed and the couple decided to walk to the forest as they both preferred walking over mechanical transportation. Once they arrived, they immediately made their way into woods. Paul, being an artist, was amazed at the pure beauty of the forest. He was mentally capturing inspiration for potential art pieces. Michelle, on the other hand, was busy taking pictures with her phone to post on Instagram. 

"Let's go deeper!" Michelle yelled.

She grabbed Paul's hand and the couple traveled farther into the woods. The two continued their same actions with Paul's mental notes and Michelle's photo chaos. It was beginning to get dark and Paul looked at Michelle with concern. 

"I think we should go back. We've been here for a few hours. I also really need something to drink."

"Fine."

The couple agreed that it might be smarter to completely travel through the forest rather than backtrack as they would reach the street at a faster rate. The wooded area was only a mile long and they both figured they were more than half way through it. They walked and suddenly came across a small body of water.

"I'm getting a drink. I can't wait any longer."

Paul walked down to the edge of the water and formed his hands into a makeshift bowl.

"Paul, no!"

"It's just water, Michelle."

"You don't know what's in there. Please, don't drink it. If you love me and trust me, you won't take a drink of that water."

"Michelle, you're being ridiculous."

Paul reached out his hands and placed them into the water. He drank a few portions and then walked back up to where Michelle was standing. She was sobbing. He was about to ask what was wrong, but then he felt a stinging in his chest. His vision became fuzzy until his body completely shut down and he collapsed to the ground.

"Paul, you idiot!"

Paul's life left his body. Michelle began to cry hysterically as she knew exactly what had happened. She had gone to the forest the day prior and completely contaminated the water with a toxin that would kill any living thing. It was a trial for her boyfriend. She led him there to test his love and trust for her. She requested that Paul not drink if he loved and trusted her. Since Paul drank, he obviously had none of this for her. She was so hurt. She walked over to the water and took a drink of the water herself. Michelle walked over to Paul's corpse and curled up beside him to meet death.

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Author's note: This story is very loosely based off the reading as compared to my other stories. I used the idea of the Pandavas and their own test they had by the lake. They were thirsty so they decided to drink at the lake. When told not to, they disobeyed and drank anyway. This resulted in their temporary death. I decided to completely dissociate from the epic and try and create my own story with my own characters while somewhat referring to aspects from the Mahabharata. This creation of my own story was inspired from reading the stories of others in this course. A fair share of students in this class have used certain situational pieces from the epic and morphed them into a modern-day scenario. This is where my story took place as I used two college-aged kids living in their own apartment. The setting is clearly modern as pointed out by my reference to Instagram. I also would like to explain why the murder occurred. Michelle's actions were explained due to her mental condition which caused her to act illogically and reluctantly murder her boyfriend. Knowing my fair share about mental illness, I know there are delusions and hallucinations associated with schizophrenia. These misfortunes cause paranoia which are more than likely to trigger erratic behavior. 

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Bibliography: Narayan's Mahabharata

Link to this reading guide

Reading Notes: Part D of Narayan's Mahabharata

Bhima after killing Duhshasana

(source: tostrength)

There is a certain sadness to this opening of the reading simply because the Pandavas are still very hesitant about this upcoming war. Eventually, they realize that is it practically unavoidable and there best option is to engage so there are not at a disadvantage.

Death is everywhere. It's odd to read about these characters being killed off one by one after reading about them for such a long time. I understand that this was bound to happen, but there seems to be much more death than that of the Ramayana.

Continuing a small comparison to the Ramayana on the topic of deaths, it seems like there is much more violence in this epic. The deaths are overly violent which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's definitely a change of pace from the previous reading.

Bhima sort of lost me after his murder of Duhshasana. The death didn't bother me but the actions that followed seemed a little extreme. It didn't necessarily disgust me, but I guess I was just caught off guard with the violence post-death.

After reading the end of the war, I was really impressed with the suspense that was created and successfully carried out in a way that should satisfy the reader. There was so much going on during the battle that my levels of engagement were top-notch.

Dragging in another comparison from the Ramayana, it seems like life after the war in this epic was just as chaotic after the war. There seemed to be somewhat a sense of peace after the great battle in the Ramayana. In the Mahabharata, many deaths followed which was interesting.

Overall, I definitely think this was a lesser favorite of mine. I had a little harder of a time keeping up with the characters as well as the family ties in this epic. It was not as clear-cut as the Ramayana. However, I did enjoy the epic as there always seemed to be tension which is my preference in reading.

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Bibliography: Narayan's Mahabharata

Link to this reading guide

Reading Notes: Part C of Narayan's Mahabharata

Bhima killing Kichaka 

(source: pinterest) 

I thought the entire situation involving Duryodhana was excellent. It was a pure joy to read simply because I love reading about subject matters that involve the art of backfire. The entire ordeal was amusing because Duryodhana was so desperate for his act of belittlement that he absolutely gets destroyed in the process. The icing on the cake was the method of his freedom.

The lake portion might have been my favorite up to date simply because it was outrageous. I didn't expect the siblings to be killed simply because I thought if they were to die, it would be in the hands of their enemy family members. Their resurrection was shocking as well but ultimately I'm happy it happened as a more progressive indication of more variety in their deaths.

I reminded somewhat of a scene from Harry Potter  when the siblings were visually altered after their resurrection from the death in the lake. This was to use as a tool to aid them. Harry was also given this so he would not be recognized by the death eaters.

Bhima has a moment in this section of reading that was particularly needed. He still remains my favorite character and he completely confirmed this fact based on his actions. His murder of Kichaka as a punishment of rape was utterly heroic and I commend him.

Excitement is starting to grow as a reader based on the anticipations of war. It was really easy for me to visualize the scene at the wedding where it was known that the war was on the brink of the horizon. The recruitment of allies really forces those to choose a side.

I was somewhat surprised to see the Pandavas be so keen on keeping the peace. At the end of the last section, the recruitment of weapons of weapons seemed to allude that they were ready for war. It is somewhat warming to see that they would rather there be no bloodshed.

There is a sense of suspense as this epic is about to conclude. I'm really hoping that there will be lives spared but I'm afraid there is going to be events that involve a plethora of deaths. I'm not sure I'm prepared to read the conclusion of this story.

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Bibliography: Narayan's Mahabharata

Link to this reading guide