(all cultural connections and ideas I'm making are fictional. There is no book of rashu)
The book. It was in British hands.
Rohan stared down at his feet submissively as his big sister yelled at him. "Go against the british, and you die, Rohan. They have the book, and even if its only here for a few more days, its no use to try and get it back."
Rohan frowned. His father had been taken by the british when he was only 3. His mother struggled him and his siblings. They had taken so much from him. Why couldn't he take something back?
The book of Rashu, it's powerful poetry and cunning, was an epic about fighting for truth and honesty. Now, it was to be taken to a british museum, an exotic gift from the Empire's crown colony.
Rohan quickly ran out of their home, and into the village's square. His sister yelled for him to come back, but she didn't chase after him.
The square wasn't much, but many merchants and people were out and about. He hoped, desperately, that they would listen to his pleas.
"The British are leaving soon, with our book! Don't you want it back? Can't we at least fight for it? Can't we do something? They must give it back!" His cry was met by silence. He buried his face in tears. Hadn't they all read the book and its magical tales of their people? Or was he the only one?
Suddenly, an old woman went up to him. She patted him on the shoulder, and offered him a piece of bread. "You really are brave. I remember the days when they weren't as big as a presence. They've always been here, but never like we see it today. I miss those days. I pray you can live a life where you see them again. The british-they won't stay forever, but the Book of Rashu will always be ours." He smiled, but then sighed. "It clearly won't be, when it's in one of their precious London museums." He spout. The lady shook her head in disappointment.
"At least we're all connected to it. We all know its texts and teachings, even if not by heart. We can teach that to the next generation, at least." Rohan could tell she was holding back tears. He got up, an idea popping up in his head. If we all know it, then certainly I could use that idea to my advantage.
"This is a bad idea." Sonja explained, sitting down next to Rohan. She was bigger than him. She was getting older, like an adult. Even so, he could still see the two same eyes that her young self kept. "What if we get caught?"
"We won't reveal it to the village. We keep it secret. I'll tear out a page quickly and leave it by the river, along with Naya's dog paw marks. Then, they'll think a dog stole it and tore it up. Not an Indian."
Sonja sighed. "Rohan, I don't think we can do this. If the british catch us-we might be brought to the same place that they brought our father. Please, try to reconsider it. We can still live and even thrive without one book."
"It's so much more than one book, Sonja. You know this." Sonja looked away, her eyes watery with tears. Rohan knew that deep down, she thought he was right. He just had to get that thought up to the surface.
"Fine. M-maybe it'll work. Maybe we'll save a generation of little children who will grow up hearing the stories word for word. I can only hope so." Rohan smiled, patting Sonja on the back. He got up, preparing to commence the plan.
Screaming filled the once peaceful village. Rohan stood by the streets, Naya at his side. Naya was an old and rambunctious herding dog, whom very few people in the village seemed to appreciate. She was hard to control, but all the other dogs were out working, and he couldn't control a stray.
"Come, Naya." He said as the screams continued. "The snake is on the water!" The screams from his sister cried. It was a message to those who had read the book: help was on the way. A snake gliding over the water was a sign of good things ahead in the book, where Rashu the dancing ghost was able to keep the hungry wolf at bay.
Naya's deep brown eyes considered the screams, before eventually trotting along with Rohan. Now, the streets were empty, as Rohan ran to find the book. He had a good idea of where it was: by the british ships, which were anchored near the river. It was being sent out soon, after all.
Soon, they descended into the more forested areas along the river, and hopefully to British ships.
Suddenly, Rohan got his leg caught in a piece of vine. He fell. His leg ached a little, but he knew he could get back up and keep going if he needed to. Naya, however, continued to run through the jungle. Rohan contemplated for a moment. If he called her loudly enough, she would alert the village. But she was needed for his plan.
"Naya!" He called in a relatively quiet voice. She continued to run freely. She even barked in excitement. His decision had failed. He hoped, for a moment, that no one would notice her. After all, she was just an old herding dog, nothing more.
His dreams were dashed the second he heard voices. British voices. Maybe a few had heard Naya bark, or maybe they had heard his yell. Either way, the second they found him, he would be punished.
He untangled the vine and started running forward. Each step in his leg caused it to shatter on the inside. He didn't realize how much it hurt. But he had to do all he could in order to get the book.
When he arrived at the ports, alone, he was saddened to see that the book was nowhere to be found on the outside. It was instead in the british vessel, a strangle boat with the terrible flag hoisted above it.
2 men stood by the ship, guarding the deck and all it's inside components. Rohan struggled for a moment, wondering which way was the best to go. His leg throbbed, and he started to have a headache.
Suddenly, he saw Naya again, with her rambunctious energy following her. She first tried going near Rohan, who beckoned her to leave his hiding spot.
She then went to barking and growling at the british occupiers, who proceeded to take out their guns. They were going to kill her.
Rohan screamed in shock, but then covered his mouth. They're going to find me. They're going to kill me! The british officers frowned, and shouted something in english. Rohan remained silent.
They ignored the scream after the silence. Rohan frowned. If he wanted them to leave, or at the very least distract them, then he would have to keep screaming. So he did. Even Naya stopped barking for a moment to focus on the accute noise. She turned in his direction, and Rohan froze. She would lead them right to him.
The second he saw that, he jumped out of his bush, still trying to scream. The concerned british officers were now running past the dog and to the source of the yelling. Rohan continued to crawl and jump where he could, hoping that it would lead them away. He had stopped screaming by now, but Naya was still on his tail. The British officers would catch him in a matter of minutes, even if he got up and started running.
But then, he saw someone by the dock. It was the old woman. She looked him in the eye, and he realized she was about to help him. She hollered and beckoned them to come over in broken english which Rohan didn't understand. They quickly followed her as she walked them away from the ship. An opportunity had arisen.
He snuck into the ship's deck, peeking around to see anything. He quickly went into the hull. He mainly saw crates of supplies. The book wasn't anywhere in sight. He sighed.
Rohan pushed and moved every crate. The book was still nowhere to be found. Frusterated, he kicked a crate. It fell sideways, opening up. He peered inside. The book was there.
He almost screamed with joy, but he covered his mouth to avoid that fate. He picked up the book, when suddenly he heard noises. The british had returned.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZWhMaGvyAN
He ran behind the messed up crate, hoping that his hiding spot worked. A british officer went down to the hull, followed by none other than an angry Naya, who was growling at him. She suddenly stopped, though. She ran up to Rohan's crate.
Rohan saw Naya go up to him. His eyes widened, and he backed away slowly, determined to make as little sound as possible. He kept the book by his side.
Then, he heard the british yell. He kicked at Naya, hoping that would cause her to leave. She barked at him instead of doing so.
He panicked, and quietly ripped two pages out of the book. He gave one to Naya and slid one across the floor, hoping that it would trick the british into thinking that Naya was just looking at the book. He then stumbled backwards with the book in his arms. Naya ran to the piece of paper and then left the hull.
The british didn't seem to care about Naya, though. He only took the opportunity to walk through the crates and to Rohan. Rohan kept sliding backwards, until he dropped the book.
Suddenly, the old woman called again in broken english. The british officer left what he was doing to go speak to her.
Rohan gave a sigh of relief, before running out of the hull and to the deck. From there, he sneaked his way off the ship.
He was soon reunited with Sonja. "It worked!" She smiled, holding him tight. "We can keep telling the story. We can never take it for granted ever again." Tears streamed from his eyes.
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