“How come living likeusis always the curse?” asked Aru.
“Yeah! What’s so bad about being human, minus the allergies, politics, death, illness, reality TV shows—” Mini stopped. “Never mind.”
“Ahem.Anyway,” Agni went on, “Jaya and Vijaya are horrified by their fate, naturally, so Vishnu offers themtwo choices. Either they take seven births on Earth as good, pious devotees of Vishnu, or they take four births on Earth as Vishnu’s sworn enemies. Which do they go with?”
“Seven births,” said Mini. “Who’d want to be the enemy of Vishnu?”
“I agree,” said Aiden.
“Four births,” said Brynne. “I’d just want to get it over with.”
Aru pointed at her. “Yup. Same.”
“Jaya and Vijaya agreed with you,”said Agni, nodding at Brynne. “One of the most famous lives they lived was as Ravana and his demon brother.”
Aru knew that name. “Ravana?Like, the demon king who stole Rama’s wife?”
“The very one.”
Ravana was an enemy and a villain, but, as Aru’s mom hadalwaystold her, sometimes villains can do heroic things and heroes can do villainous things, so what did it mean to be one or the other?And now Ravana’s sister, Surpanakha, had stolen the bow and arrow. Aru’s head was beginning to hurt.
“But I don’t understand how this story answers my first question,” said Aru.
“Oh, but it does,” said Agni. “You think what happened in the Khandava Forest was unfair, and maybe it was. It goes to show that, as with Jaya and Vijaya, bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to badpeople. Sometimes life isn’t fair—but that doesn’t mean things happen without a reason. We just don’t always know what the reason is. The world is inscrutable. It doesn’t owe you answers. You should only concern yourself with doing your duty. Understand?”
Aru would have found it more understandable if she had cut open an apple and found orange pulp inside.
“Not even a little.”
“Good!” saidAgni. “If you understood, you’d be omniscient, and trust me, that’s a real headache.”
Aru stood there, her confusion wanting to give way to peace. Maybe, by retrieving Kamadeva’s bow and arrow, she was doing exactly what she was supposed to be doing. She didn’t have the god Krishna by her side the way Arjuna did, but she had her family and her instincts, and if at the end of the day she couldsay she was doing her best, that had to count for something … right?
“I’m ready,” said Aru, even as doubt coiled low in her stomach.
Agni smiled. “I’m glad to hear it. You’re going to need to be ready for the fight that’s ahead,” said the god of fire. “Youknow,the last time Arjuna and I hung out, I bestowed him with gifts. For tradition’s sake, I think I should do the same now.”
Aru, Brynne,and Mini made identical sounds that meantOhmygodpresentsIhopeitsshiny.
Aiden rolled his eyes.
Agni cupped his palms together and held them out to Mini. When he opened his hands, there appeared a beautiful burning rose with black petals.
“To the daughter of the god of death, I give a Night Flame,” he said. “You will never be lost in the dark.”
Mini paid her respects to Agni by touching hisfeet. When she took the Night Flame, it turned into a black hair barrette that she immediately used to keep her bangs out of her face.
“Much better,” said Mini. “Thank you.”
“To the daughter of the god of the wind, I grant your mace the power of flame,” said Agni, waving his red hand over Brynne’s weapon.
The blue mace now had a red stripe. Brynne grinned, then swung the mace to try it out.Fire flashed in the air.
“To the daughter of the god of thunder, I grant you this….”
Aru could barely keep it together.Please be a flaming sword!Not that she would really know what to do with one … She was a lot better with spears and other thrown weapons whenever Hanuman led their battle training sessions, butstill. How cool would that be? Also, toasting marshmallows would be a cinch.
But Agni didn’t hand her a flaming sword, or a flaming anything. Instead, he gave her a gold coin that readIO(F)U.
