Story - A Miracle

This is the story about a king who goes on a chase of a rare golden antelope in the hope that it's blood would cure his wife's sickness and save his son from his wounds.  

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There was once a king of a land long forgotten. The king had once been a wise one, but ever since his son had been severely injured in battle, and sickness had gripped his wife keeping her in pain, he had forgotten the feeling of happiness and the extreme sadness had driven away the sparkle from the king's eyes. 

One day, the king's advisors brought a witch-doctor who asked for the blood of the rare golden antelope to cure the king's wife and son. Without any resistance, the king set out with his best trackers and two of his personal guards to hunt it down.

As the company followed the elusive golden antelope, there was a sudden roar and a big tiger leaped in front of the party. The king's steed neighed, standing up on its hind-legs. The king fell and the horse ran away. This went unnoticed as the guards and trackers had been much too shocked and busy with the tiger.

Before long, the king's absence was noticed and the trackers began searching high and low for their missing ruler.

For quite a while, they searched and were beginning to lose hope when a tracker heard a cry for help. As the men raced to the spot they saw the tiger with blood on its paws and a piece of cloth near a bush. The cloth was a piece of the king's attire. The tiger was captured and the men again started searching for the wounded king.

Meanwhile, the king had fallen into a hole in the ground and splashed into an underground pool. The king struggled over to an outcrop rock and held on for his life. As his eyes got accustomed to the darkness inside the cave, he saw a man sitting on his knees in front of three stone figures. 

"You" The king called, "Help me!"

The man stirred and turned to face the king, "I cannot help you without the permission of the gods." The man said.

"Then ask them you insolent fool!" The king shouted angrily as he clutched at his arm where the tiger had clawed him.

"I take not orders from you." The man replied, turning his back on the king.

"You fool! I am your King!" The king bellowed.

"I have no king." The man replied.

A few moments later, the man said, "My god's have allowed me to help you, if you can answer these questions correctly."

"You are insane!" The king cried "HELPPP!"

"The first question:" The man continued, ignoring the king's comments, "A thing so soft that it has no comparison. A thing so weak, it has no form, but it can become, your greatest foe. What is this?" 

"Help me!" The king shrieked. 

"For my help you must answer." The man replied.

Seeing that his only way to get this man's help was by answering his questions, the king asked what the question was again. The man obliged and the king started thinking. He was feeling weak and fell back into the water.

"Water!" the thought ran through the king's mind. "It's water!" The king shouted. 

"Very well." The man replied, "Answer this: A thing all feel, that makes us all live, but is not the solution, to everything."

Uncertain, the king struggled to get back to the ledge. As he tried to raise himself onto it, the rocks fell on him and started to take him down into the depths of the pool. Fear gripped the king's mind, he struggled to the surface of the water and shouted for help again.

"Fear!" The king thought, "It kept me from accepting my death!"

He shouted out, "The answer is fear!"

"You are good." The man replied. "If you answer this, you will gain the help of my god himself. If you fail to answer correctly, you will bring upon you, your most certain doom.

"A question so tough, with an answer so simple. What is this, that is always present, either in the past, or in the present. A thing that everyone has, which leaves and returns, as time goes by."

By this time, the king was in too much pain to care. His eyes closed and he remembered his times with his wife and son. The feeling of pride when his son defeated the conquerors of his kingdom. The feeling of sadness when sickness befell his wife due to which she lay alone in pain. He remembered the day his son was grievously injured in battle.

"I will join you soon, son" the king thought, "and we will relive those days... and I shall feel happy, once again."

"Feelings." The word ran through the king's mouth before he could stop it and he knew naught what happened then. His eyes closed and he saw the face of the man one last time but with a smile.

The king woke up and saw the faces of his wife and son. He thought he was dead but it felt too real for him to be dead. He was in his palace, and his subjects stood outside, chanting his name for gold had rained from the skies and the king's family had been treated and cured. A miracle had happened and the people were rejoicing and the king smiled, once more...

-Anumeya Sehgal

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