The shadow which isn’t for life time…

Not many long times ago, there was a huge mango tree. A little boy, whose name was Ravi, loved to come and play around it every day. He climbed to the treetop, ate the mangoes, took a nap under the shadow.. he loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him. Time goes on ….. the little boy had grown up and he no longer played around the tree as usual.

One day, the boy came back to the tree and he looked sad. ‘Come and play with me’ the tree asked the boy. ‘I am no longer a kid, I do not play around trees any more’ Ravi replied. ‘I want toys. I need money to buy them.’  ‘Sorry, but I do not have money’ the tree said, ‘but you can pick all my mangoes and sell them. So, you will have money.’ Ravi was so excited. He grabbed all the mangoes on the tree and left happily. He never came back after he picked the mangoes. The tree was in grief. 

One day, Ravi, who now turned into a man returned and the tree was excited ‘Come and play with me’ the tree said. ‘I do not have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?’ he replied. ‘Sorry, but I do not have any house. But you can chop off my branches to build your house’ the tree answered. So Ravi cut all the branches of the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but he never came back since then. The tree was again lonely and sad. 

One hot summer day, Ravi returned and the tree was delighted. ‘Come and play with me!’ the tree said. ‘I am getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?’ said Ravi. ‘Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy.’ So Ravi cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and never showed up for a long time.

Finally, Ravi returned after many years. ‘Sorry, my boy. But I do not have anything for you anymore. No more mangoes for you’ the tree said. ‘No problem, I do not have any teeth to bite’ Ravi replied. ‘No more trunk for you to climb on’ the tree said.  ‘I am too old for that now’ Ravi said. ‘I really cannot give you anything!.... the only thing left is my dying roots’ the tree said with tears. ‘I do not need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years’ he replied. ‘Good! Old tree roots are the best place to lean on and rest, Come, come sit down with me and take the rest you need.’ Now the old and retarded Ravi sat down and the tree’s shadow and the tree was glad and smiled with tears in eyes....

The same happens to everyone of us when we are child. The tree is like our parents. When we were young, we loved to play with our Mum and Dad to the fullest. When we grow up, we leave them, only come to them when we need something or when we are in trouble. No matter what, parents will always be there and give everything they could just to make you happy. You may think the boy is cruel to the tree, but that is how all of us treat our parents. We take them for granted we don’t appreciate all they do for us until it’s too late. The shadow which isn’t for life time… Are we being responsible enough? A big question that shouldn’t be asking to every child while they are child!!!

Dedicated to my parents, and to every other parent, who are dying to see their li’l one’s smiling…