The following story is based off of the Twenty-Two Goblins: The Three Lovers translated by Arthur Ryder (Source)
I chose to loosely base my story on the story of the three lovers, but I changed the ending to something a little darker. In the original tale, the young girl comes back to life.
The Brahman stepped out onto the balcony and spread his arms to the heavens. He was the happiest man alive. The Brahman's first daughter, Coral, had just been born in the middle of spring. She looked just like his lovely wife, and they could not wait to watch her grow up into a beautiful woman.
Years later Coral had indeed grown into a beautiful woman and many young men were vying for her affection. Three in particular had distinguished themselves as the favorites to win her heart.
The three young men continually showered her with gifts and flowers to finally win her heart.
During a particularly cold winter, Coral became very sick and eventually died. Her mother and father were devastated that their lovely little girl was taken from them.
The three young men were also devastated and mourned for months.
When the leaves began to fall, the young men each decided to try and find out how to get the beautiful young girl back.
One decided to move into the woods and live by himself. One chose to become a monk and moved to a local monastery. And the last one chose to travel the world in search of different brahman that might have cures to bring back the dead.
As the last young man traveled the world, he came upon brahman after brahman that did not have the answers that he was seeking. However, just before he was going to head back home, he was eating in a brahman's house and he found his answer.
The brahman's family invited the young man over for dinner, and as they were eating the brahman's baby son began crying. No matter what the mother and father would do, the child would not stop crying. The mother then got up and through the child into the fire. The young man sat aghast and did not know what to say when the brahman told him to not worry because he could easily bring the child back to life. As the brahman worked to bring the child back to life, the young man took detailed notes to take back to his love and bring her back to life.
The young man made the long journey back home and went to the girl's gravesite where he did exactly as the brahman had done, but to no avail. The young girl could not be brought back to life.
A Wise Old Man (Source)
Hi Tatum!
ReplyDeleteI also chose the Twenty-Two Goblins stories as my reading for the week so I'm pretty familiar with what story you rewrote! I really enjoyed how you nearly stuck to the original story because this one was one of my favorites! I liked that one of the men fought so dearly for his Coral that he went as far as to search all across the land for another Brahman. I definitely wonder though why the other two men essentially gave up on the girl and didn't try to find answers? Is it because they didn't love her as much as the last man? I really enjoyed the ending because it's very realistic and dark which I feel like doesn't always happen in these types of stories so It definitely added some depth to it! What if, to make the story have even more of a twist to it, the last man goes a bit crazy over losing Coral and not being able to bring her back? What if he goes mad and decides to join her instead when his first plan doesn't work? I know that sounds dark but it's definitely just an Idea!(: Anyways, great job Tatum!
Hey Tatum! I had never heard of this story, but I really enjoyed your retelling, so maybe I should check out the original! While I can not say much on your story compared to the original, I enjoy your writing style and use of detail. You could maybe change up the vibe of the story a bit by adding dialogue, but good job!!
ReplyDeleteHi Tatumn,
ReplyDeleteI too had never heard of this story but I love the version you told. I was clinging to every word and the dark ending made me even more intrigued. I love the way you were able to retell the story, using details to put the reader into the story. I look forward to reading more of your work.
Hi Tatum,
ReplyDeleteLoved the story and I had never heard of it before. I thought it was very unfortunate that the girl could not be brought back to life but that just the process of life. I really liked how you wrote this story and will use some of your writing techniques in my own personal writing. Great story!