The story teller

I was 10 and little. Half way through my story, I went blank on stage. It was a story of a wife who was extremely scared of her husband. So much that, when the dinner hen flew out of the basket and escaped, she cooked dog meat for him instead of chicken meat.

I grew up listening to bedtime stories and family gossip. As much as I enjoy listening, I enjoy playing story teller today. I tell a lot. And I cook a lot. I find a connection between these two forms of art. I think its important that both have the right ingredients in the right amount. Order is essential, but creativity and imagination can sure stir out a nice dish. You cant over heat it or let it cool for too long. And yes, they both come straight from the heart.

Coming back to the story, it set my grey thinking. The man used to cane his wife and that was why she was terrified of him. He was a bad bad man. Then why did she tolerate him? She was just being the good wife I suppose. But which good wife cooks dog meat for her husband? So maybe, she was not all that good. I cannot help but think that she probably left the hen escape on purpose and cooked dog meat to teach him a lesson or take revenge. But in the story, the man eats the meat happily without realizing that he is feasting on a dog. She is relieved and then they live happily ever after. That was how it was supposed to end.

I wonder if the man's temper took over his ability to tell dog meat from chicken meat. I wonder how the wife was relieved that he did not find out the truth. I wonder why the story had no mention of her guilt. I wonder how the story went against all odds and ended with a cliche happily ever after instead of a happily never after. I wonder what moral the story had to tell. I knew the story to the end. I wasn't scared of the stage or audience. Yet I stood there, blank and frozen. I couldn't say a word. I did not believe in the story. I did not trust its end. But ever since, I've been a story teller and I tell from my soul. Take you to all those different worlds.