Sumantra Chattopadhyay

Something Like a Storybook Sumantra Chattopadhyay

The king is returning after making vast conquests. The procession is passing through the city. People lined up on both sides are hailing the king and his soldiers. Beautiful ladies standing in rows on both sides of the road are showering the winners with flowers. The master novelist seated in a chariot is eagerly noting down all the details. He has accompanied the army throughout the campaign observing and recording everything. Now he will settle down to write the saga of conquests which will go down in history and make him immortal.
The author of short stories is not interested in all the pomp and grandeur. He is just nobody standing in the crowd and observing the boy standing at the top of a roof looking at the procession with fear and hope. The boy has been told that his father has lost his life in a battle. But he hopes that the news may be wrong. With every passing contingent his hopes are dying down and he is finding it harder and harder to hold back his tears. He had been comforting his mother so long.
The author of short stories will write the mere mortal tale of the little boy and her mother.