The four sons
There was a rich merchant who
had four sons. He loved them all but loved the fourth son the most and
adored him giving him riches and wealth and treated him with the best he
could give. He took great care of him and gave him nothing but the best.
He also loved the third son very much. He was very proud of him and
always wanted to show him off to his friends. However, the merchant
would always fear that he might be badly influenced and spoilt.
 He loved his second son as well. He was very considerate, always
patient and in fact was the merchant’s confidante. Whenever the merchant
faced some problems, he always turned to him as he would always help him
out over difficult times.
Now, the merchant’s first son was very loyal to him and made great
contributions in maintaining his wealth and business as well as taking
care of the needs of the family. However, the merchant did not love the
first son as much as the rest, although his son loved him deeply; the
merchant hardly took notice of him.
One day, the merchant fell ill. He knew that he was unable to attend
to his needs on his own and would eventually die. He thought of his
luxurious life and told himself, “Now I have four sons with me they will
look after me and attend to my needs, I don’t have to worry about a
thing!”
Thus, he asked the fourth son, “I loved you most, adored you giving
riches and wealth and showered great care over you.
“Now that I’m very sick and will die soon, will you look after me and
keep me company?” “No way!” replied the fourth son and he walked away
without another word. The answer cut like a sharp knife right into the
merchant’s heart.
The sad merchant then asked the third son, “I have loved you so much,
now that I’m very sick, and will die soon, will you look after me and
keep me company?” “No!” replied the third son. “Life is very hectic! I’m
going to open up new ventures with friends and I won’t have time to look
after you!” The merchant’s heart sank and turned cold.
He then asked his second son, “I always turned to you for help and
you’ve always helped me out. Now I need your help again. Will you be
able to look after me and keep me company?” “I’m sorry, I can’t help you
out this time!” replied the second son. “I am not in a position to look
after you, at the very most, when you die I can give you a good funeral
and send you to your grave.” The answer came like a bolt of thunder and
the merchant was devastated.
Then a voice called out, “I’ll look after you and attend to your
needs and be with you, and follow you no matter where you go, even to
eternity.” The merchant looked up and there was his first son who he
hardly noticed or even cared. He was so skinny, almost as if he suffered
from malnutrition. Greatly grieved, the merchant said, “Forgive me! I
should have taken much better care of you while I could have!”
Saffiya
Unexpressed love
by Davidson Goonetilleke
Though studious I had lots of
financial difficulties. So, when I passed the G.C.E. (A/L) London Exam,
I was compelled to find a job in Colombo to continue my higher studies.
Fortunately I got an appointment as a clerk in a bank where I became the
youngest member of the staff. The people there liked me as I was
hardworking and obliging. Specially one Mrs. Ratnam, the secretary to
the G.M. was fond of me as I resembled her handsome son killed in an
accident.
 A few months later, a beautiful young lady named Sakuntala Warnakula
joined the bank as the assistant Secretary, but she could not break my
record as she was elder to me. Soon, she got friendly with Mrs. Ratnam
as her mother was also a Tamil lady from Jaffna. Though several young
officers competed to woo her they had to give up their attempts as she
seemed eccentric and indifferent.
But through Mrs. Ratnam she got friendly with me without any effort
of mine. Whenever I got ready to go to the library she too wanted to
accompany me and gradually she made me her companion. So, I was
nicknamed as “Sakuntala’s body guard”. As I understood, her motive was
to pretend that she had chosen me as her lover with the intention of
discouraging the troublesome wooers. As a result of this, people
misunderstood us as lovers.
Sakuntala invited me for morning tea on Christmas day and wanted me
to accompany her to the church to attend the morning Mass.
Though I was a Buddhist, I had no courage to refuse her request. The
church fully congested with the congregation looked like a flower garden
fully covered with multicoloured flowers gently wavering in the cool
morning breeze. Sakuntala kneeling down in a corner beckoned me to
follow suit.
So, I had to kneel down so close to her that I felt the warmth of her
body and her breath mixed with the fragrance of her strong perfume very
appeasing and tempting.
Her low-cut narrow jacket exposed a good part of her cleavage and
noticing that I was looking at her coyly she smilingly winked at me
receptively.
When getting up after the Mass, she held me by my hand like a mother
trying to stop her naughty son getting lost in the fast moving crowd.
 Unexpectedly Sakuntala’s maternal uncle in England invited her to
come and join with him to manage his hotel business there. So, on the
day of leaving she wanted me to accompany her to the airport. On the way
she looked very thoughtful and sad and in the visitors’ lounge just
before parting she took out something out of her breasts and handed it
to me saying, “Saman, this is my late father’s gold wristwatch, I was
keeping it to remember him.
Now you must keep it to remember me. You protected me like a brother
and you are the only one who did not try to abuse my feminine frailty. I
knew very well that you loved me genuinely. But I did not want to
encourage you mainly a union between you and me would be injurious to
you as I am a Catholic, a hybrid and above everything elder to you.
Don’t think that I did not love you.
But I did everything for your own good. So Saman, I wish you all the
best”. She took my stretched hand in both hers and kissed it with her
lips wetting it with her warm tears. Finally with her hand luggage
entering the customs-area walked along an emigrant lane without looking
back, while I stood stunned feeling a vast loneliness and a grave mental
agony seeing the parting company of my maiden love. |
