The Little Girl and The Little Red Flower

There are times when simple things bring more joy than all the magnificence.

 

The Little girl sat besides the window of her palatial house looking longingly at the red flower blooming in the garden next door. The door of her room opened and a young woman who was dressed immaculately and wearing the finest of the jewellery walked in.

“Happy Birthday to my sweet darling Shriya” saying she lifted the little girl into her arms and kissing her cheeks. “What gift will my baby like to have as her birthday present?” The little girl placed her little hands on her mother’s cheek and then pointed to the red flower in the garden next door and said “Mumma I want that red flower.” Vidya smiled and holding her close told her “Oh my darling I can gift you anything you want, the most beautiful doll, the most expensive toys and my little princess just asks for a little flower? I will get you the most expensive doll and a doll house for you as a birthday present. You will love it!” 

“I see my darlings are busy discussing my baby’s birthday present.” Mahesh said as he walked in. As always Mahesh was dressed in his finest suit and the rolex watch adorning his left wrist.

“Happy Birthday my Princess! So what’s my baby gonna have as her birthday present?”

Mahesh kissed her cheeks and looked affectionately in the little girl’s eyes.

“I want that red flower dad.”

“My princess can have anything she wants to have and all she asks for is a little red flower? Oh baby, I have brought you the finest of clothes for you as a birthday present and I will take you on a trip to the Disney World.”

Her mother placed the little girl delicately on her bed and called out to her maid. “Rama, get Shriya ready for her birthday party.”

“Yes madam.” Rama, the old maid arrived as always ready to serve.

“Now princess, Rama will get you ready for your birthday party and you will have all your gifts which everyone has brought for you.” Saying this Vidya started to leave the room with Mahesh.

“But mumma I just want that little red flower.”

Vidya and Mahesh smiled at their daughter’s innocence. Here, she was an heir to a vast fortune and all she cared for was a flower growing in the neighbour’s garden.

“Let her grow up and then she will know that she can have an entire garden if she wants. What’s there in just getting a little flower.”  Mahesh thought.

           

               Shriya cut her birthday cake and everyone gave her birthday gifts. She was showered with the most expensive gifts with the who’s who of the business and political world attending her birthday party. When everyone had given away the gifts that they had brought for Shriya, Rama hesitatingly came before Shriya.

“Happy Birthday Shriya baby.”

Out of the folds of her sari, Rama took out a beautiful red rose and placed it into Shriya’s little hands.

Shriya jumped around in joy, dancing. She hugged Rama, holding tightly against Rama’s knees. Tears were streaming through the little girl’s eyes and tears were streaming through the old woman’s eyes. They were the tears of joy. The little girl had her little red flower.

Till this day if anyone were to ask Shriya what was the best birthday present she’s ever received? She answers: the little red flower.

Author's Note

A story that just popped up in my mind as an inspiration. Just wrote it down before I forget it and sharing it with you all. Do read, do review it and tell me how you find it. Thanks all!

Reviews

[M.King]

I found it charmingly heart warming. You should always cherish the smaller things it life, its easy enough the buy anything but its more meaningful to obtain something that matters. Even if it is something as normal as a rose.

[Hester Vane]

This story has a quaint charm about it. The style and language reminds me of those old moral tales you here when you are younger. The sentiment is sweet and sincere too.
The only grammatical I spotted was here:

“Happy Birthday to my sweet darling Shriya” saying she lifted the little girl into her arms and kissing her cheeks. “What gift will my baby like to have as her birthday present?” The little girl placed her little hands on her mother’s cheek and then pointed to the red flower in the garden next door and said “Mumma I want that red flower.”

The first line is a bit jumbled up, so I suggest that you change it to:
“Happy Birthday to my sweet darling Shriya” the young woman said lifting the little girl into her arms and kissing her cheeks. “What gift will my baby like to have as her birthday present?”

But apart from that, this is a great story!

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you for the amazing story. I like the use of the red flower. A wise child. The gifts had little meaning. She knew the beauty of the red flower. Thank you for sharing the excellent story. Welcome to the W.C. I hope to read more of your work.
Coyote

[James Hanna-Magill]

Dear GCM

Welcome to Writers Café!

May you have a long, happy, educative and satisfying time on here with people who seek to write as you do and share their writing with others in mutual critique.

I am not employed by this site. I am just like you.

And thank you for your friendship request which I have honoured.

You have only posted two stories of which this is the second as you seek to put pen to paper to express yourself in the way you choose.

My reviews are what they are, begin where they begin and end where they end. Here is mine of this piece of your writing. I will number the points even if simply to give a semblance of order to random thought.

1) This as a short story works very well. It has a message to impart and in the imparting of it you charm with delicate prose.

2) The story is told very simply and in an intimate fashion, as if through the eyes of the child. You could have used the first person 'I' rather than the third person 'she' to make it even more intimate. However the approach you use here is the better of the two in my view.

3) Life through the eyes of a child. The simple versus the complex; the tiny versus the big; the child against the well meaning adults; the flower versus expensive presents; but in the end the child in sympathy with the maid.

The simplicity of childhood, of the outlook of a child.

4) You express well here a sentiment with which I wholeheartedly concur.

In terms of meaning, you may look at my piece on here. 'For Simplicity's sake' or indeed 'Something' a childhood fairy-tale, which this piece of yours resembles..

Go look. No obligation to comment and you will see what I mean.

If these are your earliest and most recent pieces of writing. it is quite apparent to me you have a way with words.

If you end up grabbing the reader's attention and moving them by your words (as you have just found out with me) you will have already discovered how powerful the pen is compared to the sword.

Keep writing my friend.

You have talent.

Write more and deploy it to its full effect.

I shall be here and I hope other of our colleagues will be too to help guide you.

Try diving in at the deep end and review anyone's writing you wish to on here. That is how at its easiest to get reviewed.

No obligation to read my writing.

Just here to help.

In all friendship


James Hanna-Magill