Hanuman discreetly flew from tree to tree, through the Ashok Vatika, hidden in the thick branches, searching eagerly for Sita, the maiden whom he had arrived to save. Sadly, luck was not on his side, for the Ashok Vatika was full of trees and it was very hard to search through the filter of thick leaves and branches. "If only there was a little Maa Sita-tracker," Hanuman grumbled, resting atop the branch of an old willow tree. "That would have been much, much easier, now wouldn't it have?"

Hanuman hummed, looking back across the Indian Ocean, which was glaring brightly with the flares of the sun. He wondered what Prabhu Shri Ram, Bhrata Lakshman, and the rest of them, Yuvraj Angad, Jambavan, Nal and Neel, what were they doing? Were they anxiously waiting for him? Hanuman would have very much liked to shout that there was no need to be anxious, for he could defeat the most fierce of demons with the blessings of Prabhu Shri Ram. But alas, he felt that if he shouted to them, it would be the same as shouting to the rest of Lanka, and that wasn't exactly discreet, now was it?

Hanuman jumped again to another tree, and looked at the fruits, blanching as his stomach rumbled. Why was he so hungry? Hadn't he eaten just a few hours ago? Hanuman rubbed his stomach. "No, no. Stop. It would be wrong to indulge yourself when Maa Sita is still lamenting, wherever she is in this big garden." Hanuman muttered to himself as he turned around in circles (hoping that dizziness would distract him from hunger). "Temptation surrounds me like the devil."

-----O-----

Meanwhile, Ram was busy collecting water from a nearby river and remembering better times, when he knew that he would be able to walk back to Sita in the cottage, where he knew that he would be able to see her smile again. When he knew there was hope, stored in the body of his young wife. And with that, Ram walked back with the pot, only to face a simmering angry Lakshman with arms crossed across his chest, eyes blazing and jaw clenched. Ram hesitated, coming to a halt.

"W-What's wrong Lakshman?" Ram laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head sheepishly, knowing exactly what was wrong. Ah well. It wasn't terrible to play dumb. "Ha-ha. Ha..." he trailed off when Lakshman snatched the pot away and set it on the cave floor. "Hey! Some of the water fell! Now that was very, very bad, Lakshman! You shouldn't be so careless! There has to be a time when you are gentle."

He winced as Lakshman opened his mouth wide. "SIT DOWN BHAIYYA!" Ram did as he was told. "I told you, I am here to serve you." Lakshman wisely did not mention Sita, which he knew would make Ram descend into a new bout of forlorn reminiscing. "If I cannot serve you, then what is the point of me being here? You went to collect a pot of water! I'M supposed to do that, not you! How many times, bhaiyya, must I tell you that I want to do this stuff! It's no chore for me!" Lakshman took a deep breath. "And the vanars don't even know where Sita bhabhi is yet-and bhaiyya-"
But Ram interrupted, smiling broadly and standing up, shaking Lakshman's shoulders. "Oh, but they have! I can feel it, beating in my heart! Hanuman has found my Sita at last."
-----O-----

And Hanuman very much had. After hours of searching through the trees of the Ashok Vatika (for there were a lot of them, it wasn't Ravan's biggest garden by a small amount), Hanuman had finally found the lady that Prabhu Shri Ram pined for, the lady that Raja Sugriv made it his duty to locate and retrieve, the lady that Ravan lusted after so much that he had abducted her, the daughter of Raja Janak, the sister of Urmila, Mandavi, and Shrutakirti, and the objective of Hanuman's search. Or, more simply, Maa Sita.

She sat under a tree, the only mortal lady in Lanka. Her orange vanvasi sari, untorn and untouched, was wrapped around her thin frame. Her cheeks sunk in a little from lack of food and steadily increasing worry. Her hands were clasped together so tightly that her knuckles turned white and her eyes were closed shut, her mouth murmuring inaudible details. And yet, through all the hardship, Sita still radiated the calm serenity, the approachable friendliness, and the overwhelming generosity, that had first drawn Ram to her. It could be no one else.

As Hanuman perched on the tree above her, Sita continued to murmur to herself, and occasionally, Hanuman thought he could catch a word. "Ram...." Sita whispered, as if reminding herself a detail unforgotten. "Ram...you will come to reclaim me....end this city of Lanka...restore dharma...We will go back to Ayodhya...." Optimistic words, that filled her with a sense of certainty and finality. Raghav would come to take her away from Ravan. But till then, she had to keep up hope.

"Oh..." muttered Hanuman. "So she is remembering Prabhu Shri Ram and rejecting Ravan's advances. Good good good." Hanuman made to jump down, off the tree and near Sita and tell her all about his adventures and Prabhu Shri Ram's venture to save her from Ravan's clutches when she paused. "She'll think I'm a trick of some sort, now won't she? Now what do I do?" Hanuman jumped up and down on the branches, making the leaves fall into Sita's hair, but she did not budge.

Then, suddenly, Hanuman was struck with a genius plan. He began to sing praises of Ram, thinking that it should alleviate Sita's worries. "Jai Shri Ram!" he cried, jumping around, making even more leaves fall. "Jai Shri Ram!" However, as one can imagine, instead of making Sita less uneasy, it made her even more so. Who, she wondered in her mind, would sing praises of her Lord in the very not-so-divine city of Lanka? Who? Sita 's eyes flew open as a monkey landed next to her, and she scooched away a few inches hesitantly.

However, just a few seconds later, a ring fell into her lap, and Sita picked it up. Gold, gleaming gold, polished so thoroughly that the light caught it at every angle. And right in the center was a ruby red stone, cut so that it shone like a diamond, crystal clear like water and untarnished. It was the ring that she had given to Ram. She turned towards the monkey incredulously. "How is he?" she asked in a whisper. That wasn't exactly what she planned to inquire first. She planned to ask more of something like..."Who are you?" and "Are you a thief?" and "WHY DO YOU HAVE HIS RING?! DID HE MARRY YOU?!" But something in Sita's heart told her that this monkey had obtained this ring most honestly from a willing Ram.

Hanuman smiled, changing back into his normal form from the regular vanar he had been before. "My name, madam, is Hanuman. I am a mercenary of Prabhu Shri Ram, and a citizen and close adviser of Raja Sugriv, Prabhu Shri Ram's best ally. He sent us monkeys North, South, East, and West to search for you, and here I come upon this island, fly over the ocean, and find you, ma'am. Prabhu Shri Ram thought that I would, so he gave me this ring to convince you that I come in peace, from his side."

Sita took in a deep breath, and clenched her eyes shut, swallowing back the tears. She had to be strong. They were searching for her. Her Ram missed her, and he had made an ally, and they would rescue her! She thanked all the Gods and Goddesses who listened to her pleas and prayers. Ram had found a servant, an ally, and a mercenary all the same in this vanar who called him prabhu. This vanar named Hanuman. Sita beamed at him. "You have made me very happy. Could you tell me one thing?" Hanuman leaned forward. "How is he-are they?"

Hanuman sat back. "Prabhu Shri Ram misses you a lot. He always tosses and turns around at night, and he tells us eager vanars all about you. He also cries sometimes. He pines for you, Maa Sita. He says that he wishes he had never left, and that it was his foolishness that brought them all to this place. Prabhu Shri Ram is somber, solemn, and sad, but he has put his faith in us, and he told us all that if we were the one to find you, that we should tell you that he plans to send an army to reclaim you."

Sita nodded eagerly, and Hanuman continued. "Bhrata Lakshman-" her smile wavered, "-sends his salutations, says he hopes that they can march on Lanka soon and that he can twist some heads. He doesn't mean it of course. Bhrata Lakshman keeps Prabhu Shri Ram on his feet, head high and tears dry, but he too misses you. Sometimes, he tells us all of the better times, stories of your palace in Ayodhya, but only very rarely." Sita swallowed hard, the lump guilt stuck in her throat slowly disappearing.

Hanuman paused for a moment, and then he continued. "Maa Sita. They all miss you. But Prabhu Shri Ram is merciful. He wishes to not cause any further death. He is giving Ravan a chance to return you, Maa Sita, but I think that I could carry you across the ocean and bring you back to Prabhu Shri Ram in no time. It would be a crisis averted for him." He looked at her hopefully, but Sita shook her head.

"No. I cannot let that happen. Raghav has always been one for name, legacy, and fulfillment of honesty, and I cannot breach that. He would wish to come here and take me out of this terrible kingdom of Lanka, because it is his honor at stake. I am sorry Hanuman. If only I could." Sita looked off into the distance, and Hanuman wilted, sitting next to her, and stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"Well, Maa, you must understand, I cannot come here, having promised something to Prabhu Shri Ram, and not doing anything! I have to do something, even if it isn't taking you back." Hanuman looked around. "Maa Sita, do you have any sort of attachment to this garden, any love lost for it?" When Sita shook her head, Hanuman rolled his shoulders. "Well, with your blessings of course, I plan to destroy it. It makes my blood boil to walk around in this place where so much adharma is happening." Hanuman looked about, before lifting a large stone boulder. "May I have your blessings, Maa?"

Sita nodded, and put her hand on Hanuman's head piously. "May you succeed in all of your endeavours, good Hanuman. Ram has surely been fortunate to have met such a loyal person as you." When Hanuman thanked her and flew off into the clouds, Sita let out a deep sigh. "Raghav. I hope to meet you soon. I fear that this place may be in ruins after you and your vanar sena come here. I hope that Ravan regains his senses and sends me back. Or else thousands of lives are at stake."

Sita folded her legs underneath her thighs, and closed her eyes tightly shut again, remembering better times with her sister and cousins. "If only I could be there once again."
-----O-----

Urmila woke up from her sleep with a start, taking a deep gasping breath. She turned around, and quickly picked up a lantern, walking out of her room, and into the hallways, where Mandavi too had walked out, and stared into her eyes, her own wide with worry. "Did you feel it?" she asked breathlessly as Mandavi nodded frantically. "I felt it. Mandavi, I worry. I worry that Sita didi is in trouble. I worry that she is thinking of us with sad thoughts. I wonder what has happened to her."

Shrutakirti had also walked out by this point and cleared her throat so Mandavi jumped. "She is in trouble, and she feels helpless. She feels hopeless. She must be remembering times from our childhood, Urmi didi, when we used to roam around without a care in the world. She must be remembering them to try and stay sane, and I worry for her, because Sita didi has never had a problem with knowing the world around her."

A/N-Finally! The chapter I have been leading up to for what feels like 500 chapters! I mean, like, I probably should hurry up, right? WRONG! The next chapter is going to be a long one though, no splitting things up, we're going in for the long haul. I think. Maybe that's wrong. Maybe we aren't going in for the long haul. I'm currently indecisive. And wearing a periwinkle blue oversized sweater. Which does not fit the "academia" aesthetic my friends have given me.

WHAT IS ACADEMIA?! Is it dark? Is it light? Is it medium? No. They just basically said "You're a nerd." Like jeez, thanks a lot. Now I can't even make a mood board for myself because whenever I search up "academia images", I get images of random anime/Naruto figure thingamajiggers.

Thank you all for embracing #treesnobend etc. WE CAN START A CAMPAIGN!

By the way-has anyone experienced something like your tabs siddenly becoming really tiny on your screen? It's happened to me, and I have 0 idea how to fix it.