JOKER

Short Story on Moral Values – JOKER

“Daddy, you are ill, please doesn’t don’t come today. I’ll manage alone.” I knew that he will not accept my offer but being a son, I cared.

“We are jokers, son and jokers have no right to be ill.” he said and smiled. “Lets go and spread the happiness to the world.” He said and entered the arena of circus, I followed him.

Smiles, claps and happiness were all around. People laughs when we juggle, people laugh when we struggle. People laugh when we fail in our try, people laugh when we cry.

We were juggling balls, we were cracking jokes, and we were doing everything which we do everyday to make people laugh. But one thing happened which was not the part of the show.

He fell, people laughed. He cried my name, people laughed. I rushed towards him, people laughed. He died in my hands, people laughed.

***

“We are jokers, son. We are a very important part of this world.” I was confused what my father said, so he clarified, “In this cruel world, we are the good people. In this world of pain, we are the heal. In this world of sorrow, we are the happiness.”

***

“Joker is a person who is very rich.” My father said.

“But how Daddy? We doesn’t even have food to eat then how can we be rich?” I said.

“We are rich because we spread happiness, happiness which even money can’t buy.” He had a smile of satisfaction on his face.

***

“Don’t ever cry, my son. It is a sin for a joker to cry. Hide all your tears, all your sorrow behind that makeup we put during our show. The show must go on even after your death…….”

***

My tears started to tickle down my eyes. My father was lying in front of my eyes, dead.

“The show must go on……” I heard my father somewhere above the sky.

Crew of the circus took my father in the stretcher. Public stopped clapping and smiling. They sensed that something was wrong. Then the curtain started to move and announcement started that because of death of the joker the show is stopped.

“The show must go on…….”

I came back and stopped the announcement and then back to the stage.

This time I heard nothing, no smile, no laugh, no clap, nothing. Just a dead silence in the audience.

“The show must go on. My father is saying this from above. The joker who died is my father. But no, I will not cry. I will not commit the sin………..”

I continued the show. The audience did clap, they did laugh but with tears in their eyes.

The clap, the laugh, the happiness on that day was the tribute to the most important person in our life who died, THE JOKER.

__END__