"Pavitr!", called Aunt Maya from down the stairs, "Get up! You'll be late for the morning worship!" Pavitr shrieked and tumbled out of bed, scrambling around the room to get dressed. Seconds later, a crash could be heard as Pavitr tumbled down the stairs and landed hard on his back; Uncle Bhim and Aunt Maya ran over to his side immediately with concern. "You okay there, sport?", Uncle Bhim asked, to which Pavitr replied, "Oh yeah, I'm good. I just need a minute to catch my breath." Aunt Maya shook her head and said, "Pavitr, how you manage to get back up after a fall like that is beyond me." Pavitr just smiled sheepishly and replied, "I guess I'm just amazing, Aunt Maya." At that moment, Meera Jain popped in with a basket full of fruit and said, "Get your butts in gear, Prabhakars! It's almost time!", before popping back out and racing towards the Arachne Worshiping Grounds.
Pavitr had a worried look on his face when he realized that everyone from school was going to be there. "Uh, on second thought.", Pavitr said, "Maybe I should stay here and look after the house while everybody's gone." Uncle Bhim and Aunt Maya were surprised by their nephew's proclamation, so Aunt Maya asked, "What's the matter, dear? Why don't you want to go to the morning worship?" Pavitr sighed and replied, "I don't know if I can show my face around everybody after what happened yesterday. Falak already has it in for me and don't even get me started on Lipika Ahluwalia." Uncle Bhim smiled knowingly at Pavitr and asked him, with the twinkle in his eye that all experienced men seem to have, "What do I always say, Pavitr?" Pavitr groaned out, "Uncle Bhim.", but the older man pressed on with, "What do I always say, Pavitr?" Finally, Pavitr relented and droned, "You owe the world your gifts. You just have to figure out how to use them and know that wherever they take you, we'll always be here." Uncle Bhim nodded and replied, "That's right. Now if you don't think you've got any gifts, offer something to Arachne today and see what you get."
The Prabhakars arrived at the Worshiping Grounds in no time at all. Many of the families that populated the isloand had already arrived and were taking their places at the altar. Unbeknownst to anyone, however, Arachne herself was among them; she had taken the form of a small red and blue spider. She was waiting for the one she had observed in the Spirit World, the one who she would bestow her gifts upon. Then she saw him, directly under the tree that she was perched on: an easy target! Right now the mortals were bowing to her statue, so Arachne's chance would come when the Prabhakar boy would raise his hands again. All it would take was one bite to seal the bargain; Arachne spun herself a web to slide down towards him and readied her fangs.
Meanwhile, on the ground, Pavitr was having a mental battle of what he could offer to Arachne in exchange. His aunt and uncle had brought fruit and the year's harvest, but he had nothing, at least he thought he didn't. So without thinking, Pavitr prayed to Arachne and said, O, great and wise Arachne. I offer you my heart in exchange for something that will change my life forever. Arachne heard his prayer as she landed on his right hand, skittered down the middle of his hand, and sunk her fangs directly into his flesh. Pavitr felt an instant pain engulf his hand and screamed, startling everyone and disrupting the ceremony. Rivulets of blood were pouring down his hand, causing Pavitr to faint. Aunt Maya, Uncle Bhim, and Meera Jain immediately rushed to his side, concerned and horrified by what they had just saw.
Arachne took cover behind some blades of grass and watched her champion fall. A bit on the faint side, but that'll change once my venom sets in. Be ready, my Spider-Man, for the path ahead will be covered with strain and strife. With that, she crawled away and disappeared back into the Spirit World; Uncle Bhim hoisted his nephew up and carried him to the healer's den. Meera Jain and Aunt Maya followed behind, tears streaming down their faces with fear of whether or not Pavitr would pull through.
Awaken, was the word that caused Pavitr to open his eyes and take in his surroundings. There were webs everywhere, some were blue and some were red, and millions of spirits that resembled spiders were crawling along the webs and weaving more as they went. To say Pavitr was frightened would be a mild description to say the least; he was downright terrified! The boy was even more shocked to see that some of the spider spirits began crawling over his shoulders. He shook them off and began hopping up and down to make sure they didn't get anywhere under his clothes. Suddenly, he was face to face with a being he had never seen before: it had the body of a giant spider, but the torso, arms, and head of a beautiful girl. Granted, her arms looked like pincers, but still Pavitr had never seen a being like this before. The spider-woman creature was hanging upside down by a strand of webbing that was extending from her spinneret into an infinite black void and looking him directly in the eye.
She smiled at him and said, Welcome to my world, Pavitr Prabhakar. Pavitr could barely find his voice when he asked, "Who? What are you?" She propelled herself away and answered, Come now. You and your kind have worshiped me for thousands of years and you cannot recognize your own deity?, causing Pavitr to think for a moment and say, "Arachne?! You're real?!" Arachne swung herself right in his face and yelled, OF COURSE I'M REAL, YOU DUNCE! I didn't bring you all the way from your world to question my existence! Pavitr recoiled in shock from her outburst and asked, "Those webs that are attached to your legs, are they holding you up?" Arachne sadly shook her head and answered, I wear the webs I weaved in life. They are the instruments of my damnation. Pavitr responded with, "Damnation? You're a prisoner here?" Arachne nodded and continued, I have been doomed to remain here in the Web of Destiny for my crimes against the spirits. I must weave in the darkness, nevermore in the light.
Pavitr felt a brief pang of sympathy for Arachne, but put it aside and asked, "So why am I here, Arachne? Were you the spider that bit me?" Arachne immediately lit up with excitement and said, Yes, it was I who blessed you with my bite! Pavitr looked puzzled for a minute and said, "Never heard that one before, but go on." Arachne swung herself around the web and continued, I have chosen you, Pavitr Prabhakar, to be my savior! To take my gifts out into the world and end this idiotic war that the Fire Nation has wrought upon the land! Pavitr was even more shocked by what he heard; Arachne, the spider spirit, was telling him that she had chosen him, by biting him, to have her powers and to stop the Hundred-Year-War? This was all too much for the teenager to take in and he promptly fainted; Arachne looked at her chosen one with embarrassment and said, Oops. Oh, well. I'll give him some time to think about it.
Next Time: Bouncing off the Walls