The story below is written by my 13 year old self.
It was published by The Hindu, Chennai
in Summer 2014. We were given a theme to write a fantasy story using the character:
Ankur.
THE FIRST FLIGHT
Bouncing on the flowers and hopping off the leaves, little Ankur made his way hurriedly
to catch his siblings. Out for his first fly the buzzing sound of his wings made him
overwhelmed. Very close to his mother, Ankur was too anxious about his fly. But mother
never allowed little Ankur to step out of the hive. So this time he went all the way gazing
at the greenest valleys, having the most colorful flowers and could easily hear the
constant sound of drooping dew in the rare silence.
‘’Wow! Such an amazing plant! Brother, you need to see this’’, exclaimed distracted
Ankur. There comes no answer. He looked around but found no one in sight. Brave
enough and too curious about the thing he tried to peep inside. A layer of glue is what
he saw. ‘’I think this fluffy coat is a free of cost bed for tired baby explorers like me to
rest on. Shouldn’t I rest on this cute bed?’’, thought Ankur. Forgetting about his siblings
and fearlessly entering the mouth of the plant he made himself comfortable on the
sticky layer. Enchanted by the sweet odor Ankur soon fell asleep.
Completing his short nap, he opened his eyes…..finding himself in some other land. He
wandered around, continuously, looking for his family. He couldn’t see anyone nearby.
Too upset and losing all the courage Ankur unknowingly sat upon a tender object.
“Ouch!’’ Someone cried a second after Ankur dumped himself on that delicate stuff.
Ankur hastily got up. ‘’Who was this?’’ he shouted surprisingly. ‘’It’s me, here, look down,
little bee.’’ It shocked Ankur when a flower said that with its leaf patting on his shoulder!
‘’A flower! You talk!’’ “Yes. And what’s so astonishing? You are in Pitcher wonderland.
Indeed, each and every living being talks here. The only sad thing is that I can’t move.
From years I’m stuck here. Well, may I know, who you are?’’ ‘’I…..I……I am Ankur,’’ replied
Ankur hastily.
He narrated the whole story of his journey till there to the flower, “Flower, please help
me. I want to go back to my mother. She must be waiting for me.’’ The flower gave him
sympathy and suggested a way of exit, “Look, I really don’t know the exact way out. But
you can look upon my advice. You are in a wonderland. This land is controlled by a super
natural power known as ‘pitcher land power’. If you will to go out you would’ve to earn
‘pitcher points’ by helping the needy people. If you earn enough points pitcher power
would fulfill your wish. And you also can donate your points to other people for their
welfare. But Remember, as this is a wonderland everything would be an illusion. You see
water, it is land. You see a thorn, it is a petal. And don’t even try to enter the palace gates
and restricted castle area. You’ll be cursed and left here forever. Go my son, explore! Earn
the pitcher points!’’
Cherished by the words of the flower Ankur headed towards the castle. He explored the
free area of the castle. Unwittingly, he entered the restricted area which had the king's
armory. He flew around and peeped inside a cannon. He lost his balance and too fast slid
downwards! He tried his best to fly up but in vain. He looked down and saw lances
poking on him. He lost all his hope and closed his eyes tight, waiting for death.
And a minute later Ankur opened his eyes. He saw himself lying on a bed of flowers. He
saw a fairy arising before him. His mouth wide open in a surprise, the fairy talked to him,
“Thank you dear, you relieved me from the curse of an evil demon. As a present I gift you
10,000 pitcher points and some of my magical powers. You can use them to go back
home." Too glad by the thought of going back, Ankur first decided to roam and spend
some more time in the wonderland. Flying joyfully he reached the palace.
Remembering the words of the flower Ankur stopped at the entry gate and asked some
questions to the soldier. The soldier told him that the demon resides in the restricted
area of the castle. He had invaded this land many times and tortured the king and his
subjects. The king and the queen are now imprisoned and when the prince tried to take
revenge, the demon turned him into a flower. Ankur, using his magical powers rubbed
his palm and to the soldier showed the picture of the flower whom he had talked to. He
finally gets that the flower is nobody else but the prince himself. Ankur asked the soldier,
“Is there a way of getting the king out and turning the flower a prince again?" “Yes, there
is. If anyone with a kind and loyal heart kills the demon everything he has done by using
his magical powers would turn into its original kind. And I think you are perfect for this
deed.’’
Ankur decided to help the people and give them their king back. He called the fairy and
asked her for some help. Together, they made a big army of soldiers. As they weren’t
supposed to enter the castle, they preferred air attack. Every solider had his magical
wings and all of them threw tons of arrows at the demon from the window. Only in a few
moments the evil was lying dead. The people celebrated! The king and the queen were
rescued. All of them went to see the prince.
For their utter disbelief, the flower instead of turning into the prince, was about to die.
The fairy answered them, “The demon must’ve reserved his powers into the flower. That
means when the demon would die the flower would also suffer a slow death. If we will to
save the prince the one who killed the demon would’ve to give away all his points and
pledge that he’ll live in the pitcher world forever.’’ Ankur was helpless. He wanted to
serve the wonderland but was also missing his family. He lastly decided to reside in the
wonderland rest of the life and save the prince. Ankur bestowed all his points and
vowed, “I’ll live here forever! I’ll live here forever! And Yes, I’ll live here forever!!!”
From the flower, emerged a handsome prince who with all his heart thanked Ankur.
Ankur was happy for the pitcher world but on the other hand very upset for himself.
Seeing this pitcher people insisted, “My Lord, Ankur has helped us so much. We should
also do something for him in return. He’s missing his parents. Let us send him back
home.” The King came up with a locket in his hand and said, “Ankur, wear this. This’ll
help you go back home.” As soon as Ankur wore it, thundering started. Ankur, this time
really shaken closed his eyes and prayed.
He heard a voice growing louder, “Ankur! Son Ankur! Get up sweetheart. Your brothers
are ready. Weren’t you excited for your first fly? And what’s this, around your neck?”
Story By:
Sanskruti Siras
