The Sunflower Boy!!!

Surya had it in his eyes, the charm, the innocence of a good teen boy!. Perhaps, he was too attached to flowers to take up sunflower selling as an option!. This little teenager was gods gift to the village, if not for any other good deeds, for the occupation that he had. He was a sunflower vendor.

Nobody knew where did Surya come from, Whenever asked to him, where he came from? he had only to talk about paddy fields that he crossed, the streams and at the end pointed towards the mountain to say, he crossed over. The boy had more than a vendor touch to him. He greeted all his customer with a smile and wish, at the age of non-customer-centric age, he did atleast thank all his customers!! The daily earnings helped him meet both ends, but he had a vision of being a bigger businessman. But, for the village that he was in, the sunflowers were brought only by children and few adults, that too, only on special occasions.

His luck changed on a cloudy day, It was a the village King's anniversary. Surya made the first and best bouquet of his life. He designed the bouquet so well that admist all the gifts, the king picked up Surya's bouquet. This not only changed the fortune of his business, but also gave enough reason for another shopkeepers to allow surya put a stall in front of his shop.

The sun flower boy had the sun shining on his fate. But everyone was still eager to know, where did surya come from and what did he do before coming to this tiny village ? All that anyone could manage to gather was the same piece of information that he had to share by pointing towards the mountains. He was never known as Surya anymore. He was called the SUNFLOWER BOY!. His shop being right in the centre of the village, he was more socially involved in the village activities.

There was no common matter in the village which must have not passed the Sunflower Boy's ears. On one such occasion, there was a decision to be taken on letting the nearby dam water flow through the village. The villagers were happy as it would benefit the crop, but none really bothering much towards the risk which was involved. Surya, at once took a note of the low-lying area in the village and recommended it to the king. During the rains, the low lying area was almost washed out, without the dam being let open, one could have imagined the scenario of these area with the dam water let open.

Surya, now not only became a good businessman, but earned respect for his thought too. The villagers felt blessed to be having a person like him around. Any serious concerns used to be definitely given a thought and the best of solution came out through surya. He was a gem in all aspects. In a general village meeting, Surya was awarded by the king for all his good work. As a general question, a king asked him to be his advisor.

Surya was in a state of shock, He wasn't educated and did not know what is the pious duty of an advisor to the king. Hence he replied,

"Your Majesty., Thank you for the offer.., But your subject needs a better and educated advisor unlike me..".

King then asked, "What would you then like to be? "

Surya : "I'd always been selling sunflowers and always wish to do so, until i'm good health wise".

Villagers felt, Surya was perfect fit for the job, but his conscience said, he wasn't. Surya asked many questions to himself., Why can't i be the right one? is it because he wasn't really fit for the job or was it the fear of erring at job during difficult circumstances ? He always thought, Its only the fear thats stopping him saving his village. Due to the intensity of the job, many advisor to the king had been replaced on and off., but Surya still continued giving his piece of advises whenever needed.

Years and years passed with this trend, Although Surya was not the official advisor, he helped everyone with the possible way that he could. His days were almost ending, Surya did not leave behind a family or anyone. Although, he was too tired to run his sunflower shop, the king did not leave surya unattended. He was looked after by the kings servants. It was finally days for him to join the majority. The last rites were conducted with all the villagers present. He had not left a will to anybody, nor did he want any wishes to be fulfilled.., but the villagers did leave a sunflower everyday at his tomb... Indeed a SUNFLOWER for a SUNFLOWER BOY!!!

2 comments:

Anuradha Dey said...

Dinu...a very good start as a writer of short stories....loved it!!!! let the ink of your thoughts soak the paper of your expressions!

Unknown said...

Nice read... A twist at the end (about where the guy came from) would have been great. Not a bad start for short-story writing. Keep it up! It is only gonna get better!