Oasis

Once upon a time, there lived a spirited and inquisitive young man in a small community on the periphery of a hot and rigorous desert. He had to travel miles to collect small amount of water for his day-to-day living. The water that he usually obtained used to be full of dust and mostly tasteless. He always dreamt of getting some cool, sweet water that could bring heavenly respite to his athirst heart. But he didn’t know where his dream aim lied. Fortunately for him, one day, he came to know that a holy saint had visited his community. He went to that saint and told him about the dream of his life and asked if he could help him in his quest for a pool of water that could satisfy him. The saint told him that such a destination lied on the other side of the desert. The young man’s eyes lit up. But the saint also monished him about the perils that he could face while crossing the desert. But he was determined enough to face every hurdle; to defy every challenge. He prepared for his venturous trip and left the community the next morning with roaring spirits.

The first few days were marked with immense exuberance. His head was high; his feet moved fast, his body knew no bounds. But as the pursuit progressed, his resources started falling short. But he refused to look down. Even the bold sandstorms couldn’t descend his stalwart liveliness. During his trip, he saw several oases that served as places for rest during callous heated days. The oases were surrounded by nice green carpets of cushy grass. The ponds at the backyard of the oases acted as the sources of water. The water that they provided was not the cleanest but they certainly served as respite in that dry desert. The young man was thirsty and hungry as well. But he didn’t care about spending any time at those stations. Reaching the other side of the desert was the only aim of his trip.

As he progressed, his body started showing signs of vulnerability due to lack of food and water. His feet started feeling the weight of his body. His eyes were marred by extreme heat. The strong wind blowing across the desert was adamant to blow him away. He badly needed some life-saving water. At that time, he didn’t care about the sweetness of the water. He looked back but he had moved far away from the oases. He couldn’t even think about retrieving back to one of those oases. He was on the verge of a starving death.

He fell on his knees. Suddenly, he felt the vestige of a human being beside him. He looked to his right and found the saint standing nearby. The saint asked him what arrested his avid march. The young man described the whole journey to him but was still clueless about the fact that despite his extreme vigor and young body, he couldn’t reach his goal. The saint smiled and told him that though he showed great courage and energy to chase his dream, he didn’t plan his journey well; he didn’t show respect to the resources that he needed to reach the destination. The frantic avidity to enjoy only the ultimate victory protected him from the small chunks of felicity that lied on the course of victory. He had got the lesson from his angel. And then, his fatigued eyes tardily shut down in peace…