Original Work # 5
(Short Story)
‘WON BY LOVE’
By Jeff Harold Uy
The earth owned the richest place
called Paradise. Among its neighboring kingdoms, fame covered the land and its
people possessed incomparable treasuries. A resplendent view of the countryside
always captured the pilgrims. Trees planted on the streams of water yielded
their fruits in season, and the livestock were as countless as the sand on the
seashore. Whenever feasts held at the square, the folks, with their dazzling
and glittering garbs, sang with the sounds of the cymbals and ten-stringed
lyre. Floras swathes the ground, and the clatters of their adornment apprehends
the avid ears of the townsfolk. Everything was perfect for Paradise. But the
other side of this fertile land dwelt a meek lady who hoped for a reap in her
barren life.
Amor, teased by her neighbors for
being unfortunate, had nothing to boast not even a coin. She wore a filthy
garment and found herself carrying out heavy trades just to earn a living, but
that wasn’t enough. Her parents died even before she had the chance to know
them. Only her uncle took the challenge of supporting her; however, he then
rubbed out the hope Amor had by leaving her in the midst of the dimness of this
life’s path. All of a sudden, nothing was left. The only thing that she had was
time, and she waited for its end.
“I would rather die than breathe the
air of this hopeless world! Do heavens regret the day of my birth? Who will
take me out from this mud and make me believe that there’s a beautiful side of
living?” she bellowed in despair.
One night, in the deep kip of Amor, she
dreamt of a banquet. It seemed that people danced and rejoiced in an endless
day. The harmonious tune echoed inside the hall. She was on the corner, hearing the cheers of
the people. ‘Til the door of the court was opened, and a royal carriage as
magnificent as a gold state coach wondrously came.
“Give way to the King and the…” and
she suddenly woke up. T’was a lovely dream but disrupted by the noise of a
morning-work call. Amor didn’t even grasp the whole gist of her dream, and much
to her disappointment she wasn’t able to hear the ample words of the royal
charioteer.
“Hope is as flimsy as a needle could
be. When would a banquet invite me to feast?” she said with a deep longing in
her heart.
“Amor! Oh come on, you still have
plenty of jars to lift! Don’t be so slothful! Move fast ‘cause the punters are
waiting for them!” her master irritably exclaimed.
“Yes master,” she humbly replied.
Tears would flow from those lovely
eyes, like a stream of water those diamonds slipped by. She took a deep breath
and forgot her dream, like a fleeting shadow appeared momentarily.
While lifting those hefty jars of
clay, the sound of a horse-drawn vehicle began ringing out. Then, suddenly, the
people began kneeling down.
“The King is here!” one exclaimed.
“What is he doing here? This place is
not appropriate for his royal robes!” a folk asked.
“Didn’t he find his would-be wife outside
the courts of Paradise? Well, he’s not
too young already to have one,” a fellow said.
The royal charioteer lost his way
while going to the east side of the land. The king looked from the window of
the carriage, hoping to find her girl to-be. Well, the women who went to the
courts never captured his heart, that’s why he tried looking for the girl on
the other side of the world.
While Amor was diligently carrying
the jar, she put it on the side of the road for a while, expecting for the
punter to come. However, the royal carriage accidentally thumped its wheel to
the jar, leaving it broken. Amor immediately run after the carriage and irately
shouting to it in blame for what had happened.
The king heard the cry of Amor and
told the charioteer to halt riding. He immediately went down and confirmed the
matter, ‘til he saw Amor. At one glance,
he saw her beauty in an unfading moment. He couldn’t look to the right or to
the left for his eyes were captured by Amor’s charm. She immediately knelt down
and apologized for her misconduct. But
the king hadn’t said anything. As long as Amor’s captivating heart was
displayed before him, he remained speechless. And finally, he had the courage to
utter a word.
“What’s your name, beautiful lady?”
he asked.
“I’m not even worthy to say any word
to the King. But may I find favor in your eyes. I am Amor, your highness” she
replied.
“What a lovely name, Amor.”
“What brought you here, your
highness?”
“I am looking for my wife.”
“Is she lost? May I know, your
highness, if how long has she been out from the palace?”
“She has never been lost, ‘cause I
already found her.”
“Found her? Then why aren’t you going
back to the palace?”
“’Cause I still have to bring her,
with me.”
“Who’s her?”
“Her name is Amor. And I will do
everything just to have her.”
“What do you mean, your highness?”
“Amor, please come with me. You do
not belong here. I have prepared something much better just for you.”
“Your highness, I’m just a filthy rug
with nowhere else to go. I don’t have articles of gold nor jewels or a citadel.
I am not worthy even just to touch the
end of your robe!”
“Amor, I know God sent me to you. My
love doesn’t see what you don’t have. It sees what you have, inside your
heart.”
“But, your highness, I…”
“I don’t care. What’s all I know is
that I already found you, my beloved. Now come and be with me. You don’t want
to go for a ride, do you?”
“From now on, my heart belongs to
you, my king.”
“Let’s see the world together with my
love for you forever.”
And the king brought Amor to the
palace and commanded the heralds to announce to the whole Paradise that he
already has his lady and the search was already over. The wedding day arrived
and the two confessed their love for each other. Indeed, that was the most
romantic day happened on the land, ever!
Amor knew that love had won her. How
impossible a prince would fell in love with a pauper? Though rugged she looked,
the king said, “You’re beautiful!” More than a fairy tale story this romantic
moment did befall. And though she’s undeserving and bore the stench of her
history, this weary woman was not the bride that he saw. The banquet that she
desired was incomparable to the royal banquet she had in reality. And the dream
that Amor dreamt was not merely a dream. For it was her wedding day, with the
charioteer exclaiming, “Give way to the King and the Queen! Long live the
newlyweds!”
And they live happily ever after!
“Remember the day when God
left the splendor of Heaven
Oh, how can it be that the
King would die for men?
Amidst guilt and shame that
all of us bear,
He shall clothe us with
white robes to proclaim we are His forever!”
No comments:
Post a Comment