Storytelling Week 2: The Tale of Roman and Sophia

Roman was an adventurous lad, with the presence of authority and an intoxicating charm that could turn any sour mood into a much more pleasant mood.  Needless to say, he and his brother Lance were inseparable, and very much alike. Both were on a study abroad trip in Barcelona and had just arrived to soak in the splendor and rich history of this Spanish city.

An aerial view of Madrid
Source: Pixabay

As they were traveling to their hotel, they noticed the city abuzz with excitement, everyone dressed in their Sunday best, with colorful paper decorations along the walls of the buildings. Children were out in the streets with colorful ribbons and Spanish flags, waving them around in the most delighted manner. This was a very big environmental change from their hometown of New York City, where sometimes you wouldn't find the happiest of people on the streets, and just the big city environment in general. They were informed that the running of the bulls was that very day and the royal Spanish family would be coming to attend. "Well, what do you know? We came just in the nick of time to catch the excitement!" Roman exclaimed. They walked down the decently crowded street when suddenly he ran into a girl. Their eyes met, and it was as if the world around them had completely come to a stop. It was as if she had become the center of his universe, and nothing else but them mattered. But in that split second, she was hurried away before he could even utter an apology. Not to long after Roman was also rushed by his brother to get to their hotel so they could leave their luggage and join the festivities.

The girl who Roman bumped into in the street was none other than Sophia, the King's second daughter. She liked to wander the city without drawing too much attention to herself, dressing in clothes that wouldn't give away her status. Right after that encounter, she rushed back to her hotel before anyone could suspect that she'd been gone to long. Once there, she was not in her right state of mind. The ladies in charge of handling her could not for the life of them figure out why she was in such a downright awful mood. Nothing seemed to please her, and every attempt to do so failed miserably. Letizia, her governess and close friend since she was small, asked her what was wrong, and she was met with incoherent answers. It wasn't until they were alone that Sophia sighed and spoke with such tenderness of the perfect stranger she had just met while out on her stroll. "It's as if he stole a part of me, nana, what can I ever do? It's as if in that split second he stole my heart and with that my ease. He bewitched me with those smoldering eyes and I will never be able to take this dagger out of my heart. He is probably gone for good and I don't even know his name...."

With this she began to weep, and Letizia knew not what to do but exit quietly from Sophia's room and excuse her from the festivities with her parents. 

All throughout the day Roman was not all there, his mind lingering on that beautiful girl he encountered on that busy cobblestone street. Lance did nothing but question his lack of interaction. Surely, his brother would be more enthused being in such a grand city, and at such a festive time none the less! But he walked the streets in an absentminded manner, almost as if in a serene trance. Not sure what to do, Lance just shook his head and carried on with their trek to their final destination. Once at the venue where the run would begin, he saw the royal family assembled in a balcony dressed in their finest garments. Surely such fine clothing could only belong to royalty. The jewels in their crowns and tiaras glinting in the Spanish sunlight caused a beautiful array of tiny reflective sports to dance on the walls surrounding them with the tiniest movement.

King Felipe was eager to find a young man who was worthy of the hand of his second daughter Sophia. Royal bloodlines didn't matter to this king. All that mattered was the man that he was and his moral fiber.He will admit that he was a jealous father and nothing was ever good enough for his youngest. He'd had many a prince come from all over Europe asking for her hand and he found none with that spark to hand her over to. He had passed over many proposals that would secure strong alliances with Spain, yet none ever showed the true capacity to become a husband to his daughter. Many thought that with the king being as picky as he was, Spain would not see another royal wedding for quite a long time. 

Running of the Bulls
Wikimedia

As the event began and Roman saw the bulls race down the cobblestone streets, his heart stopped --he saw a young girl race out in front of the oncoming stampede, small enough to sneak past the barriers to retrieve her rogue puppy. With no thinking on his behalf, and to the horror of the crowd, Roman thrust himself over the barrier and snatched up the little girl, outrunning the oncoming stampede and right into an open alleyway. Finally they were both safe. His heart was beating so fast it was likely to burst out of his chest. He waited for the stampede to pass to return the crying child to the safety of her parents' embrace. Lance stood waiting for him and greeted him with an exasperated look on his face, the anxiety apparent on his chiseled features. The crowd on the other hand, welcomed him with cheers and applause. There were many hands patting him on the back as we walked towards his brother. 

After this, a man came to fetch Roman, and with Lance accompanying him he was presented to King Felipe in a private room. And with a smile, he asked Roman about himself, from his origin to what he was doing in Madrid. After a few minutes, he sent for his youngest daughter.

"Roman, there's someone I'd like you to meet...."

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Authors Note:

I don't even know I managed to get the jumble of ideas I had in my head into a coherent succession of sentences to be honest. I really loved the tale of how Rama met his wife Sita and the romance behind it. The 'love at first sight' aspect, I mean. I know I left it at a cliffhanger, but if we know the original tale, then we know how it all ends, right? I hope so. Well, I tried to give it a very modern twist. I guess that's the beauty of writing; everything is a figment of your imagination when it comes to storytelling. Anything is possible!
I thought it would be cool to incorporate the Pamplona bull run since I set this version of the story in Spain, considering it's a big event and important to the culture. It involves a great amount of festivities, similar to the scene in which Rama first entered Mithila, with its bright colors and the streets alive with the hustle and bustle of cheerful inhabitants. Overall, I chose this story because for this week's reading, this particular portion stood out to me, and as I mentioned before, it's a true romantic tale, even similar to something along the lines of Romeo and Juliet. It's not the same, but a great love story all the same. 

"The Wedding" by R.K. Narayan, from The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic (2006). eBook.  

Narayan's Ramayana Reading Guide