July 6, 2015. It was 9:00 in the morning and I found myself standing before the gates of a government office. I was welcomed by closed gates and an old rusty lock followed by a long queue. One hour went by yet the gates were still closed. On the other hand, a small road-side tea stall was running at peak efficiency as the queue continued to elongate. By 10:30 am I gave in to the temptation and allowed myself the only solace that place could offer – a lukewarm cup of tea.
At 11:00 am, an old man riding an old bicycle arrived at the place. Going by his appearance, he must be an office assistant or better known as “peon” in colloquial style. I threw aside the third paper cup of tea and prepared myself for the task ahead. To my surprise that old man walked past the closed gates to the tea stall and ordered himself a tea. Even though I had enough caffeine in my blood, I was enraged but left speechless by the cynical smile of that old person as he surveyed the queue while sipping the tea under his thick grey mustache.
Before entering into the office people would walk by that old man, exchanging pleasant greetings. In his nonchalant manner, he would take out a token number from his pocket and keep the money offered by those people in the other. I, on the other hand, completely ignored him as he was no more than a gate-keeper to me. I am an educated, young man – fully capable of handling such chores on my own.
When I stepped inside the office, all counters were busy attending to the people who had that token number. I continued my futile attempts at requesting attention from the office staff. By noon, I had made no progress except that I had visited all the counters twice. With my head down, I was lamenting the sorry state of this office. I could feel the old man’s eyes boring deep into my soul.
Finally, I walked up to the old man for that token and I could read “I had told you before” from his expressions. For my conscience, I looked at it as a premium service. In next 15 minutes, I accomplished my task albeit not the way I had thought. But one thing I did learn – I now knew who’s the true king of this kingdom.
Written for Literary Lion – prompt: King.
Image by Pradeep Prakash
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An interesting take on the prompt, thanks for sharing! Both an excellent story about perceived vs. actual roles and satire of organizational (dys)function. Well done!
Thanks! Appreciate your thoughtful comments. I am happy that the writing was clear to communicate the message.
Awesome! You’ve nailed it. This isn’t just a story in response to a prompt, it’s a satire on the state of affairs. A great read!
haha, you are spot on! Thanks for your wonderful comments. Glad to know you enjoyed it. Certainly, the relevance of the story to one’s experience makes it even more interesting to read.
I was amazed to see your blog – you’re such a good artist. Few of the caricatures are surreal! Lot of effort goes behind it. Keep up the good work.
Nice
Thanks for stopping by. Glad you liked it.
There’s a good point made here… we are all capable of being kings, and those most regal are often hidden in the least expected… Good story. 🙂
Glad to know you enjoyed it.. I didn’t think of the take-away when the story came to my mind. Btw you’re doing a fabulous work with this event. Keep up the good work! I can imagine lot of effort goes behind it. Thanks!
It’s often quite nice to see what people take away from your work, and to hear about angles and interpretations you’ve perhaps not even thought about it yourself. It’s the beauty of feedback I guess! You’re very welcome. Although I might be changing it to a bi-weekly event from this week, as it is rather a lot of work indeed! I’m just hoping no one minds that too much!
You’re spot on about feedback. More than anything it is view of readers that I always look forward to.
Actually I am starting to warm up to the idea of weekly prompt – a good enough time to craft a story. But yes – not an easy task for you.
Bi-weekly should do – you may just add a little more complexity or increase word count so one really needs more than a week to publish something. Just a thought.
Yes I always look forward to the feedback too, it’s a lovely part of blogging. Hmm, not sure about upping the word count as it would double my reading load, I do like to ensure I read everyone’s story and leave a thought or two! I’ll have a think, thank you for your suggestions!
Well, we wouldn’t want to give you more work if we are trying to reduce it! I think it is the personal touch at your end for each blogger which is driving this event with full tempo. Whatever works best – would certainly like to be part of it. Thanks!
Interesting character. The touch of mystery made the king more alluring. Good job building his frustration and realizing his error
I am glad you found it interesting. Thanks for stopping by. See you around!
Yep, sounds like government work.
haha, not too much fun though!
Hell, no…