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It was a dark, gloomy day in the town of Caro. However, this did not stop a hopeless fisherman from going to the local river and casting his rod. Sam, the town's worst fisherman, visited the river every day in hopes he would finally receive some luck. Day after day Sam would return home in disappointment and have no fish to take with him as a reward for his patience. As Sam approached his usual spot by the river, he noticed a young woman wearing a large hood standing across the way. The woman seemed to not notice Sam's presence, so he continued to mind his own business. This did not last long. The woman took off her hood and Sam was astonished by the beauty he saw with his eyes. He bolted from his spot and hid so he could bask in her beauty. Her hair was long and beautiful. Her eyes were the color of the deep ocean. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Sam is not a very graceful human being so the woman noticed him right away as he scurried to hide behind a rock. The woman took off quickly without saying a word. Sam was so awestruck by the woman's beauty he completely forgot about his fishing endeavors and vowed to return to the river in hopes to see her again. Sam returned home and slept a happier man. The next day Sam returned to the river and did not see the woman. He was devastated. Sam thought he scared her away, or possibly came off as a creep because he was staring at her from behind a rock. Sam cast his hook in the river in hopes to get his mind off of her. After a few minutes of sitting and no nibbles, he heard a voice from behind him.
"Um.. Hi."
Sam quickly sprang to his feet, and to his surprise it was the beautiful woman from yesterday.
"Oh... Hello! I saw you yesterday and couldn't help but notice... you.. have.. pretty..nose.. very.. uhh.."
"Hahaha. Well..thanks?"
Sam is also awful with women.
Sam eventually found out the girl's name was Lisa. They talked for hours by the river. They were really hitting it off. One topic after another, they loved talking to each other. So, they decided to meet at the same place every day to see each other. After a couple of years, Sam and Lisa decided to get married. However, there was one condition to the relationship that did not sit right with Sam. In order for them to be together, Sam could never ask Lisa what she was doing at the river the first day he saw her. He agreed to the terms in hopes she would eventually tell him herself.
After months of marriage, Sam could not take the curiosity any longer. He asked Lisa why she was at the river that day. Her answer shocked him. She was there to end her life. Her family had recently disowned her, and she had no friends to converse with about her issues. Sam was the first person that seemed like he actually cared for her. Her life was miserable.Lisa was so ashamed of the past, she vanished without telling Sam where she was going. After this heartbreak, Sam waited by the river every day and night in hopes the love of his life would return.
Days passed and Sam was beginning to lose hope. The river was a lonely place without his former lover. The sound of the water running reminded him of the day he was blessed to meet her. One night, Lisa finally returned in an attempt to end her life once more. She was wearing the same large hood as the first day Sam saw her. Sam called out her name and she turned away in shame. He voiced his love for her and how he would never judge her for how she feels. He said he would always be there for her no matter what the circumstance. Lisa, finally receiving the loving attention she needed, had a change of heart. She returned to Sam and the two were reunited again. As they were talking and expressing their love for one another, there was a sound Sam had never heard before. It was the sound of his fishing pole hitting the rack he braced it on. He grabbed the pole as quickly as he could.
Sam had finally caught a fish.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
My story is loosely based on the story of King Shantanu and his wife. In the original story, the king falls in love with a river goddess and asks her to marry him. However, the only requirement to them getting married is that the king could never question her decisions. I decided to make my story similar to that, but instead of a river goddess, I decided to make her a woman whose beauty is incomparable. Also, instead of having her decisions be the deciding factor of the marriage, I made the reason she was at the river be the deciding factor. In the original story the river goddess kills the children of the king. In my version I left this detail out, but I incorporated a suicide with Lisa. I thought it would still have the same dramatic effect that the death of the king's children did. Lastly, in the original story the river goddess leaves Shantanu and never returns. However, I like happy endings so I decided that Lisa would return and they would live happily ever after. I also thought the fish was just a neat thing to add due to the main setting being a river.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mahabharata: Karmic Revolution Part A - Epified TV
