Author's Note: This is part three to my story about how Ashwatthaman got the jewel in his head. In part one Ashwatthaman was found unconscious against a tree after being gone for two months with a mysterious stone in his head. He had no memory of anything but after time it came back. In part two Ashwatthaman has all his memories back and tells his father what happened. Basically what happened is he was lured to a mysterious cave and someone or something placed the stone in his head. The purpose of this part three is to highlight some of Ashwatthaman's strange encounters in the cave where he was trapped for two months.
It seems that I have been in this cave forever. I am confident that I have checked every inch of this cave but there is just no way out. There seems to be something special about this stone in my head. The only food I've had since I've been trapped in here is a few bugs that I found scurrying across the floor. Yet for some reason I no longer desire food or water. When I first got trapped in this Hell I worried that I would die after a few days, but here I am alive and well.
If anything I feel as if I am in a dream. Things keep happening to me that logically do not make any sense. In the world I came from and remember, flesh isn't tougher than rocks. But in here, if I trip and fall on a pointy rock my body just crushes it under me. I cannot die. I do not not hunger and do not feel pain. Is this the doing of the man who stuck the stone in my head? Is there some sort of magical property about this stone that turns whoever has it immortal? If not I can't explain anything that has happened to me while stuck in this cave. I don't remember anyone lasting as long as I have without any nourishment. I do not remember anyone whose flesh was stronger than rocks that come up from the ground like swords waiting to pierce an unexpected visitor.
The longer I live in this cave the more I believe I am actually in Hell. I am surrounded by earth on all sides. There is no way out. If it wasn't for the lava pit illuminating the cave I would have already gone insane from the sheer darkness. Each time I wake up I have new thoughts about the lava pit. New terrible thoughts that are corrupting my soul. This morning when I awoke I made my decision that this would be my last day in this here cave. I have been in here far to long. Is this a dream? If it is then I will wake up from this nightmare once I put my plan into effect.
I have made up my mind and there is nothing that will change my mind. I am going to try one last time to escape this place but if I have no luck then I am getting out of here no matter what. Even if it means potentially taking my own life. There is a perfectly good lava pit waiting for me to jump into it. Out of everywhere in this cave the lava pit is the one place I have yet to explore. I do not know if the lave will actually kill me or if my flesh is strong enough. There is only one way to find out.
It has been long enough. I am getting out of this cave one way or another. I pray to the creators that I will survive the plunge into the lava pit. If not then maybe I will discover the reason why I was placed in this prison in the next live. Goodbye world, my only regret is not spending more time with my father. I trained day and night to please him. I knew Arjuna was his favorite but that is what motivated me to train so hard.
Ashwatthaman shut his eyes and fell into the lava pit. It is still unknown what really happened to him because the next time he opened his eyes he was back home surrounded by people he didn't recognize. He was laying against a tree near his house with the stone still in his head. Meaning everything that happened in that cave really happened to him and he wasn't in a dream. His father found him and woke him up to find out that his son had no memories of anything. Ashwatthaman was terrified and couldn't even recognize his own father.
Author's note: This is the final installment of the Ashwatthaman stories. I didn't have much time this week to write this story so there might be typos/no pics. If anyone comes to this story before Friday I would like to apologize. I need to spend my time working on a project due that day and studying for my last midterm. I hope you enjoy the story!
Bibliography -
Online Mahabharata, Story titled "
Ashwatthaman's Jewel"
Author: Donald A. Mackenzie
