After reading half of the book “Siddhartha” by Hermann Hesse, I wrote a chapter about what happened after Siddhartha left Kamala behind. You can consider it as a fanfiction if you want to.
The reason why I want to share this small writing of mine with you guys is because I want to show you one of my precious works. I love writing, especially creative writing, but most of the time, they force me into writing essays and analytical works at school. I want to write a book some day. Not really a book, but story. Many stories. Until then, I have to work hard. Improve my writing skills and vocabulary.
Well, here it is:
Vanesh the prince
Siddhartha walked through the streets, said goodbye to the people he met, said goodbye to gambling, said goodbye to the things he saw every day in the past twenty years. He walked through the forest, far away from the city, and said goodbye to the city and the Siddhartha who was there. He will never return, as if he will never see Kamala again.
As soon as he pass the forest, his anxiety raised. For a long time, he felt lost. The winds were blowing, and the stars were coming out, but still, he couldn’t find the path which was so clear when he decided to left.
Siddhartha kept moving forward as he was thinking. What can make him stay for a while? Who can be his next teacher? What can he learn? Soon, he reached the next destiny, the capital city. He has never lived in nor even saw a city this big. Sure, the last city was bustle and full of people, this capital city was even more astonishing and overcrowded. Seduced by the scale and the richness of the city, he decided to stay. “In those thousands of people down here, there must be someone or something worth learning”, he said.
He entered the great capital. The crowds were much bigger than he thought, the houses were much more fancy than he expected, and the palace was much more incredible than any building he had seen before. While wandering over the city, he saw the gamblers who reminded him of his old gambling partners. He saw a merchant who reminded him of Kamaswami. He saw a prostitute who reminded him of the beloved Kamala. “No”, he cried inside, “I can learn nothing from the street, not for now”.
He walked straight through the street, without looking, without thinking. Siddhartha now standing in front of a tall and vast palace decorated with many trees, marbles and golden decorations. Surrounded it was a huge wall and was protected by countless of guards outside. He wanted to go inside, to find out the differences between the insider and the outsider. People live in this castle must be very different, he thought.
He signed up to be a servant in the palace. Although he was old, his good-looking face and his cleverness got him in. Siddhartha was now in his mid-forties, and he was now a servant. He learned quickly, as usual, and he kept his ritual of thinking under the tree at midnight, as a way to remind himself not to relapse into the mistake he made last time. Everyone loved and adored him.
One day, when he was sweeping the golden leaves of the autumn off the library yard, he met Vanesh. Vanesh was eighteen, the only prince of the castle, the ruler’s son, the noble one. His eyes were bright and full of strength, his body was tanned and strong like a knight, his heart was pure and full of hope. Siddhartha saw that just like himself, this prince will become a different person, not like hundreds of other lazy royalties, but he will become a supreme one. Siddhartha was very curious about this young man.
“Excuse me, your highness, but where are you going in the middle of the day?”. “I’m going to the library to read some books. Who are you?”. “I’m Siddhartha, your highness, I’m the new servant here”. The prince asked again, “Do you know any book for me to read, Siddhartha? I can see that you are an well-educated man. Why is an well-educated man ended up here?”
Then Siddhartha told the young prince his story, details by details. They sat down under a mango tree in the garden, and the stories just keep flowing out of Siddhartha’s mouth, bit by bit, gently as the autumn wind blowing by the rivers, through the mountains, over the seas. Vanesh sat there, listened, asked a question or two, fascinated by the world out there. Vanesh felt the cold and pain of the Samanas, tasted the sweetness of the river’s water, seduced by Kamala’s beauty. The world, to him, was never so lively and interesting like that before. It has been a long time since Siddhartha talked that much, and also a long time since the prince listen for that long. When Siddhartha finished his story, it was midnight. Vanesh thanked Siddhartha for the story, Siddhartha thanked the prince for the pleasure. They went to bed.
The next morning, Siddhartha met the prince. The prince said “I thought about your story last night, and there are still many things I don’t understand, and many things I want to learn more. Siddhartha, can you be my teacher?”
Well, that’s all I have for now. I know that I need a lot of improvement, but in the long run, I hope that I can create more works like this
Gif gif gif
hiiamvan 