By Apratim Majumder
Unicorns had been ruling the jungle for as long as memory lasts. Before the Unicorns, there were other animals that were kings of the jungle but then Unicorns lost their horn. They didn’t lose it completely, just from the outside. The horn got sucked into their head and became part of their brain. Then they had the biggest brain and so they built guns and computers and drove the other animals into hiding. Now they live like kings on most of the land. They don’t interact with the other animals too much. They have some animals like cows and horses that do their menial jobs and some like dogs and cats that they use for their entertainment.
Boaz was a rare Unicorn. He was born into the whitest family of Unicorns and was the best looking of them all. He had a ripped body with long thick hair. When he galloped on the ground his hair looked like the flowing water of the river reflecting the beautiful sunset. And when he took flight, it looked just like a rainbow in the sky. He had broad, thin but strong wings that took him very high among the clouds. He looked like a twinkling star from there when he flapped his wings.
Boaz was a rare Unicorn. He became the youngest ruler of the Unicorns when his dad passed way ahead of time. “Who can say what time brings?” That’s how his father had started the conversation a few days before he died. He died in his sleep when his horn pushed its way through his forehead because of the stress in his brain from all the work he did.
“Remember Boaz, you will be ruler one day”, he had said.
“You will be a very powerful Unicorn. But with great power comes great responsibility. Remember that.”
Boaz remembered. It took him a while to understand fully what it meant. But when he did, he ruled like a true king. He led his troops from the front, took great care of his subjects, expanded his kingdom and produced an heir to take over from him.
Finally the day arrived when he called his son into his chambers and said, “Son, with great power comes great responsibility. Now that you will be king, remember that.” His son flapped his broad wings as gratitude for these words of wisdom.
Boaz left the kingdom to his son and went to live a quiet life. He got a bungalow built by the other animals. It was right next to the waterfall and his bedroom faced east so he could see the sunrise over the valley. Boaz had lots of energy left in him. He sprinted through the trees and flew over the mountains. Life had never been so peaceful. He ate wild grass and saw constellations as he stared into the night sky. There was not a worry in the world. And suddenly in that moment, Boaz felt power like he’d never had before.
It was like electricity in his veins. His nostrils flared. He flapped his wings and began soaring up into the sky. He soared higher and higher. Soon he was in the stars and he felt a sudden pressure on his head. Boaz looked up to see his father pushing him with his hoof.
“What are you doing here?”, he asked.
“I don’t know, testing my power I guess”, Boaz answers.
“Where is it coming from?”
“I am trying to understand. I ruled all these years and had so much power, but never felt so powerful. Did you feel like this too?”, Boaz asks. His dad smiles. “I didn’t get to. I died while I was ruling my subjects” “Are you saying this power is because I am not king anymore?” “No. I am saying you have this power because now you are truly a king” “I don’t understand”, says Boaz
“You know, I never really had any time. I worked hard and was a good king. But I wasn’t free. But you, you own your time now. You don’t have to do anything just because it needs to be done. You are truly free. Truly powerful. But with great power comes great responsibility. Remember that.”, he said as he used Boaz as a springboard to soar up. Boaz knew this game very well as he’d played it many times before. He flapped his wings harder chasing his father up into the night sky.
By Apratim Majumder
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