The Giver

September 15, 2013 Off By Vinayak Gole

He lived in a palace far above the rest of humanity. The palace had doors of gold and the sun visited him before anyone else. He would stand on the balcony painted with gold, taking in the fragrance of the Jasmine flower and stare at the moon, every night before going to bed. His bed, soft, flawless with bed sheets made of silk and bedding made of quilt would swallow him and lull him to sleep. The soft breeze pumped out from the air conditioner ensured he breathed clean, fragrant air every night. His meals were cooked by the best chefs in the world and he had a floor full of the world’s best exercise apparatus to burn all that food. He had enough to spend his entire life doing what he pleased. He was God and this was his heaven.

But something was wrong. He hated the place. He was the one who had everything but still nothing.

He lived in the meanest corner of the world. Had nothing to give or take but hate. He hated the one who stayed in the Palace of Gold. He hated his own kind and most of all he hated himself. All around him, he saw poverty and hunger every day. He grabbed whatever he could lay his hands on. He ruled his own empire. An empire much like the one who lived on the Mountain of Clouds. He taught his subjects to be just like him. To kill, to loot and to survive. But what he did never realize that whatever he earned this way was never actually his. And it would never stay with him. He was God of this heaven.

And he hated his life. He hated everyone. He was another one who had everything he could ask for but still nothing.

He wasn’t actually poor. But he wasn’t rich either. He wasn’t the lord of an empire but he was the lord of his own life. He did not have a palace but a heart of the purest gold. He never had anyone at his command or disposal but people would be more than willing to return his favors. The air in his room was not conditioned but neither was his mind. He was free. He was happy. He did not really care how much he earned but what he earned. His lived to give. He did not actually live in hell and he did not bother about being in hell. He knew his duty and it was to serve. He was not the one who lived in the Palace of Gold and he wasn’t the one who lived in the underground. He wasn’t God and he wasn’t the devil. He knew this was his heaven and this was his hell.

He was the one who had nothing but still everything. He had compassion, he had love and he had faith. He was the one who was recognized by his creed. He was Mankind!!

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