Wisdom

The long road stretched ahead endlessly towards the forest and the young man treading the path was obviously tired, besides being extremely thirsty. 

He has lost everything! Frustrated and annoyed with failure, the young man named Rana set off towards the forest hoping to find solace in death.

Every attempt resulted in failure. He lost all his money because the crops failed due to torrid weather. When Rana tried to nurture his cattle, the animals died for no reason. He was annoyed with the way life treated him.

Soon, Rana reached a swamp and decided to drown himself. As he was an excellent swimmer, he opined that a river wouldn’t kill him for he might swim out of it due to his survival instincts. 

“This swamp should be the best place for me,” he murmured.

When he was about to jump in to it, a strong hand pulled him back. Rana turned to see an old man with white beard standing in front of him. He appeared to be a sage with wisdom oozing in his eyes. He smiled.

“Now, what!” Rana angrily glared back at the old man.

“I sense you have a prosperous future, my young lad. If my vision is right, you are going to become the king of this land tomorrow,” the old man said with genuine interest.

“Oh, really…” asked Rana with mockery high in his voice.

“How do you propose to make me the king?”

“Not me. Not me, my lad,” the old man continued, “This herbal grass here will take you to your rightful place.”

“Keep it safe,” he handed it over to Rana and before he could utter a word, the old man walked away.

“Keep it safe,” his voice echoed through the forest.

“What will I do with grass?” “Crap,” even frustrated than earlier, Rana made up his mind to walk into the forest. His conscience thought different this time around.

Before he could cross a mile, a group of bandits blocked his path. “Wish, I had a knife than this useless grass,” he mumbled to himself.

One of the gang members searched Rana’s body and said, “He carries nothing except a grass,” in a disappointed know. The bandits left without harming him for they considered him to be too puny to attack.

Hours passed and Rana felt extremely hungry. “Wish I had a bow and arrow to hunt my meal. This grass seems of no good use,” he cursed his bad luck and continued to walk.

After walking few miles, Rana heard heavy footsteps and cries of despair. He rushed to the spot to find a royal hunt party gathered around the princess. The beautiful young lady was unconscious and her leg was wounded.

He walked towards the group when he heard the chief physician talking to the king. The king was deep in sorrow and cursed himself for taking the royal family through the dangerous forest.

“Unless, I can get the herbal grass, I can hardly help the princess, your majesty,” the chief physician declared.

“Herbal grass, doesn’t that sound familiar?” Rana thought as his hands fumbled into his pocket. He handed it over to the physician. “Would this help?”

Delighted, the physicians set to work and soon, the princess woke up. The king was extremely happy and as for Rana, the old man’s prophecy became real.

He stood speechless in the middle of the forest with the royal party, unable to believe his change of fate. When he was still dazed with the incident, he spotted a faint glow of light as the old man stood at a safe distant, smiling mischievously at Rana.

Rana smiled back.
***

One Life

The clouds grew darker every minute and the rain was pouring incessantly throughout the night. The occasional lightning lit up the entire village as the peasants drifted off into a peaceful slumber. 

With such a beautiful weather, one can’t help but enjoy the rainfall but there was one, who couldn't relish it! 

He wasn't satisfied with what life gave him! 

Amidst the dark clouds and pouring rain, he stood by the door of his hut wondering how to change his future. The young boy is Richo who’s very much alive like every other human being but he’s a boy made of wood! 

“I want to be human,” Richo thought to himself. “I want to earn the respect of villagers and everyone else.” 

He wasn’t happy with his one life…

Frustrated and in the precipice of his wits, Richo stepped out of the hut and started walking in the rain. The soft mud made it difficult to tread his footsteps but he was determined to find an answer. 

Richo walked as fast as his legs could carry him but there was a mammoth issue ahead. The boy was completely unaware of his final destination yet he kept moving! 

As the rain lashed even harder, he decided to take a break and found shelter beneath the nearest banyan tree. It was huge, filled with green leaves all over and gave him ample space to stand. 

Minutes later, a powerful lightning struck the Banyan tree. 

Richo, who was walking with a heavy heart didn’t fail to notice the lighting and the strange young boy standing below it. He increased his pace and ran towards the tree only to witness a shocking display.

The young boy made out of wood began to grow as soon as the lightning struck and turned into a handsome human. 

“Oh, boy…” Richo exclaimed. The young man smiled as he went near. “Can you help me become human like you did?" 

The generous man helped him stand under the tree and the duo waited for the next streak of lightning but as ill fate would have it, it struck the man right on his head and he fell dead. 

Richo fainted along with the man only to wake up few hours later! He was perplexed and couldn’t understand a thing until he realized his soul has been split in parts due to the powerful lightning. 

It was Richo himself who stood far across the land as he saw a part of his soul transform into a man. His other half became a wooden toy, his original self and was far flung into the land.  

He witnessed his own transformation and the second strike killed a part of his soul, the human but the wooden boy survived, somehow! 

Richo realized an important lesson. “One life is precious enough to cherish,” he mumbled to himself as he started walking towards his hut.

Inspirational Concept By Klion

Waiting With Waffles

Abraham was sure that he wouldn’t want to miss the love of his life. He had waited three years patiently, trying to understand the woman he loved. The patience didn’t go in vain because he finally understood that she was the girl of his dreams, impeccably.

The last day of their graduation should be the beginning of their love life, he wished for! Everyone was busy bidding farewells to their near and dear ones but Abraham wasn’t prepared to bid adieu to his love, Rhonda. 

One of the beauty queens in their campus, Rhonda, had plenty of proposals but she never accepted any for some untold secrets. She was silent, living in her own wonderland. It was what the guys assumed and stopped pursuing her, saving their hearts from being broken. 

There she was, standing right under the campus tree where students gathered to share notes and gossips. This should be the moment, This is it, Abraham reassured himself.

“Hi, Rhonda,” he murmured almost in a whisper which surprisingly caught her attention.

“Hi…” she smiled. Her fluff of hair on her cheeks made her look fairer than ever and her beauty sometimes intimidated the men. 

She was a fair maiden with picture perfect curves and a cute face which complimented her. Rhonda wasn’t proud about her beauty which impressed Abraham even more.

“I wouldn’t want to miss you, Rhonda. This would be the farewell to studies but I wish to wake up every day from now, looking into your beautiful eyes. Would you?” 

 He managed to blurt out everything that he memorized the previous night and waited with bated breath for her reply. 

She bit her lower lip and went silent for a moment. 

“I’m ready to quit the job I got out of country because I wish to stay with you, always” he added. She looked into his eyes for a moment and replied. “I’m sorry but no.” 

Everything went dizzy for Abraham for he never felt so dejected in life. Gradually, time gave a helping hand to come out of his depressing self-dug grave and he worked with excessive passion in his new found job.

Five years later…

Abraham walked out of the airport, expecting his family to pick him up. He was surprised when he saw the unexpected one waving to him. There she was, Rhonda, his love!

She was prettier and time hasn’t swept her beauty off! “Hi…” she waved.

“I know you would want to ask me but…” she paused, standing close to him.

Abraham was literally puzzled as he never expected such things to happen especially when he’s coming back home for the first time after a couple of years. 

“I didn’t want you to shun your job and risk your career for me. I wanted you to live happy and keep everyone around you happy. I wouldn’t want to be a hurdle in your life but rather help you reach heights. I was waiting for this day, to say that I love you!..”

Rhonda was gasping for breath, smiling in joy. 

“Darling…” a young lady came across and swung her arm into Abraham’s shoulders. “Shouldn’t we be receiving our luggage?” 

“Huh, Rhonda, she’s my wife.” Abraham stuttered. 

Rhonda felt silent with the smile frozen on her lips and a tear drop clinging to her eyes. She kept her smile intact as she walked away silently.

***

Minotaur’s Labyrinth

“Could we survive this?” This was the only question that raced through my mind as I wandered into the endless passage of the cave. 

I could hear the loud screams of my fellow men. We were seven and seven, a bunch of young lads and ladies picked up from the lot! We were thrown into this dusty place for no reason, or it was what we thought till now!

“Why would they put us here?” My mind raced while I was busy running, sweating and panting heavily within the cave like boulders that surrounded us. The bushes and trees were so huge that even a pinch of light struggled to pass through.

No one can assume the time of the day or whether it is even day time now! I mindlessly believed that if all fourteen of us could group together, we had better chances of survival and find a way out of this place. 

I ran as fast as my heels could carry me when I heard a faint growl and the death stricken scream of my fellow mate. 

“What the…” terror numbed my feet but I know I couldn’t stop now especially with a growl which spoke of instant death, nothing else. 

In the distant, I could see some of them running away from something. Something that is large, ran on four legs like a horse and had a death defying growl that sent cold chills down my spine. I could see nothing but my conscience knew that my life was in danger. 

One by one, they vanished into thin air. Or, it was what I could assume as I gathered up all my strength and ran faster but I was no match for the hoofed creature that chased me with a blood curling scream.

Suddenly, I realized I was running in circles and this was a labyrinth designed for rats, or me! There is no way out of it unless, the creature is dead. I would rather say, killed. Frantically, I searched for something and found a large sword hidden behind the bushes. My last ray of hope! 

As I turned, I came face to face with the menacing Minotaur which towered in front of me, ready to rip me into pieces but with all my years of experience, I can try my blow relying on sheer luck. And, I did. I ducked when the Minotaur charged towards me and pierced the sword right into its bottom.

With a loud scream, the Minotaur fell down. It was bleeding but still alive. The creature wanted to see me dead, but I am not going to give up that easy, at least not without a fair fight! I tightened by grip on the sword as it charged towards me one more time…

All of a sudden, it vanished into thin air. All I could see was pieces of numbers written in squares in the place where the creature stood. The rocks and trees were painted with digital sequences as well.

I just realized.

***

“Enough, of it,” my dad removed the glasses off me with a smile.

“So…” he waited for me to respond.

“It’s awesome, Dad. I loved the way the place is designed and the sensors just made me feel it was real, really,” I jumped in excitement. 

“Anyways, we are still experimenting. So, never mind the bugs,” he apologized for the digital sequences that came up when I was busy fighting.

“I would love to play it again.” 

“Soon,” he replied as we came out of the Minotaur’s Labyrinth game development lab.

Year | 2075 A.D.