Margaret watched her son battling it out with himself and sighed. He was clever and stood first in his class but this was not something for a seven year old to deal with. Her husband was putting a lot of stress on their only child and she did not like it. The Royal stone symbolized royalty and it was what Sebastian chose but she hoped that her boy would make the best out of whatever he went for. After all, she had no right to influence his decision.
“Daddy, what did you mean by nature?” Little Ben asked craftily.
“It means the way you behave, son”.
“With?”
“The world and yourself”.
“How do I know what my nature will be like?” Sebastian bit his lip and Margaret felt a moment’s triumph.
“I can’t tell you that, boy. Just choose”.
“Ma, which one would you go for?” Little Ben asked.
“Well, son…”.
“Don’t you dare” Sebastian hissed.
She fell silent and shook her head sadly.
“No, son. You have to do this”.
“Can I give this some thought? Please, daddy? I don’t know what to do” Little Ben pleaded.
Sebastian was exasperated now. “Look, son. You can either choose now or wait for your chocolates” he said impatiently.
“What do you mean, daddy?”
“Mummy and I won’t get the chocolates if you don’t choose right now” he said sternly.
“Okay, daddy” Little Ben said.
He was scared now. The three stones were of the same shape and design, but their meanings were very different. His mind was racing.
He did not like red at all. It was not the stone’s meaning but the colour itself which he despised. Besides, chance was a word which left you dangling till the end. It was not possible to find out the outcome beforehand and Benny did not like to wait. He thought it was unhealthy. Ignoring the stone, he moved on to the next one. Green was nice, but hardship was not a good word.
However, he remembered a film he watched in the morning. It was called The Secret of Life and he was intrigued. In it, a poor worker was always being treated badly by his boss but he came out on top in the end. Margaret always said that he was a genius because his mind was like a wise adult’s. He liked to do things ahead of his age because he wanted to be ahead. After all, he was a competitive and contemplative boy. Maybe hardship was temporary for everyone, he thought. However, he decided to study the final stone before making the correct decision.
Purple was an arrogant colour. He saw many films in which important personalities like kings, queens and superstars were dressed in purple. He did not like most of these people because they were too conceited and they considered themselves superior to other humans. Some of them were also mean and commanding by nature. They had the wealth, but they were deprived of love and friendship. The end was mostly bitter for them. Films played an important part in Little Ben’s life and he trusted them even now. He returned to the second stone.
“This one” he finally said.
Sebastian and Margaret’s mouths fell open. “The Hardship Stone?” they both cried out in unison.
Little Ben nodded and Margaret nearly fainted. Even the Chance Stone was better in comparison!
“But why, son?” Sebastian asked.
He was shocked and the boy shrugged.
“I don’t know, dad. My heart goes out to this one. It’s weird but I like it. Maybe the colour, dad. I can’t say anything else”.
Sebastian knew that he could not turn back the clock and he accepted that.
“You could have made a wiser choice. I thought I had brought you up better than this” he said sorrowfully.
“Look at what you’ve done and now you blame our son! He’s only a little boy!” Margaret said, her cheeks turning red.
“Calm down, woman. This might not come true!”
“Then why did you start it? Oh, you make me so cross! You have always been a very complicated man, Sebastian. I’m ashamed to say that Little Ben and I are saddled with you for the rest of our lives! What can we do now?” she wailed.
“I said calm down, for Christ’s sake! Yes, the boy is too young. I’ll give you that. However, I had the sense to choose the Royal Stone, didn’t I? He has a better brain than when I was seven so why did he choose the Hardship Stone? He takes after you, woman! Foolish and innocent”.
“Oh, stop it! Stop it already!” Margaret said angrily.
“Relax, ma. I have faith in my decision” Little Benny said with an air of injured innocence.
“What can we do, son? Your father is responsible for all this. I should never have let him talk me into it” she said regretfully.
“Nothing will happen, ma. I don’t know why but suddenly I have a lot of faith in everyone and everything”.
Margaret could not believe her ears.
“Then that’s great! I don’t think the stone will do any harm”.
“My luck changed almost immediately after I chose the Royal Stone” Sebastian said.
Margaret, realizing that he was only making them all nervous, sent Little Ben back to bed. It was 1am.
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