Charles, a prince in the high court of Truth, sits at his desk contemplating the day. This desk of his is piled with papers and bills. His father, the king, has decided to begin training him for his inevitable crowning. Now the majority of Charles’ time is devoted to overlooking and stamping this mountain of documents. Miniscule questions race through his mind, why is his father really assigning him these boring and tedious duties? Charles thinks to himself, “What has he done to deserve this punishment?” Or is it a privilege? Charles goes deeper and he gets lost in thought. He finds himself pulling at his hair and massaging his chin. It’s time for a break.

The Royal Garden is full of luscious flowers. Roses of all colors sprouting on all sides while creating magnificent spirals. The tulips are in full bloom and Charles can feel the joy emanating from them. He examines them closer. From afar they look perfect, but up close Charles finds a few flaws which make them even more gorgeous because he can now relate to them. Sitting in front of the tulips for quite a while, Charles begins to question. Why are these tulips here? Who planted them? What would the garden be like without these majestic floras?

On that sunny afternoon, Charles realizes something important. Questions never have just one answer. The tulips were placed there to please him, to be admired, to grow strong, to exude a peaceful aura and the answers trail on until infinite. This could be applied to his original question. Why did his father assign him these duties? It could be to teach him the responsibility of being king, to educate him in the ways of the state, to teach him patience, but the most probable one is because the king is lazy.

© Copyright by Kurihi Chargualaf