The Story of a Rose Petal

Gara2 ada tugas inggris gw jadi bikin beginian… lemme know what you think guys! Thanks!

I used to be part of a whole. A part of something really beautiful. Yes, a petal I am, a petal of a rose. What a twist of fate that I end up here, telling this to you all, don’t you think? Sit down and relax for a while, and let me tell you my story, of how I got here in the first place.

As I said, I used to be a part of a whole. My “community”, the rose flower which I was part of, grew in a very beautiful garden in Jakarta. The garden itself was like a piece of heaven on earth, teeming with all kinds of flowers, artfully arranged. Something you wouldn’t expect to see in someone’ backyard. In the center was a beautiful gazebo, nestled underneath a canopy of flower trees. The gazebo housed a piano, and each day the Master would come and play beautiful melodies for everything in the garden to hear.

Everytime the Master plays his beautiful songs, the whole garden would rejoice: the birds and chipmunks sing along; the trees sway according the rhythm, and the flowers would bloom brighter to complement the beauty of the song. My Flower, which grew nearer to the house, would be among the first to hear the Master’s approach, and we would excitedly herald his coming to everything else in the garden.

However, not everytime would the songs be bright and happy: sometimes they would be dark and sad; sometimes they would be so sorrowful that I think even the happiest plant on earth couldn’t help but shed a tear when they hear it. At these times, the whole garden would change also. The birds would sing along the mournful tune, the trees would seem to stoop under the weight of the sorrow, and we the flowers would darken.

So that’s everyday life in the garden, everyday we would mirror the Master’s emotions, which he conveys through his songs. He took care of us daily, watering and pruning us with the love only a true gardener has. He was our best friend, and we were his. It was a beautiful life.
Then came a day when the Master’s song sounded like something we’ve never heard before. As we listened in, we began to feel an emotion we have never felt before in any of his songs. What we felt in this song was a mixture of longing, loneliness, admiration, transfixion and confusion.

We were confused ourselves, and for some time we struggled to find the meaning of this song, of this emotion that he’s feeling.

Then we understood:

Our Master had fallen in love!

Oh how the garden rejoiced at this revelation, I could never tell you. It all made perfect sense. He was still very young, after all, still a high school student! We were all happy, and as the days went by we strived to give our support and encouragement to our beloved Master the only way we could: by changing ourselves to complement his emotions, which he conveys through his songs.

The days turned to weeks, until one fateful day. That day he went straight into the garden as soon as he got home. We eagerly awaited him to play his song again but he didn’t. We watched as he circled around the garden, apparently looking for something, until finally his eyes rested upon my Flower. He smiled, and reached out to take us. It was then that we all understood: he was going to pop the question! Oh how we were all so excited! Without hestitation, we, that is, my Flower, gave ourselves up happily. Even though it meant that we would die soon and never again hear our beloved master’s song, we were so happy to be a part of something that means so much to our Master that we hardly cared. He picked us from our shrub and placed us in a glass in his bedroom to await the following day. A rose for the maid, how romantic!

The next day we were taken to his school, and settled as he awaited the perfect time. From the inside of his partially closed bag we could see our Master’s tension. He could barely concentrate on the lessons!
The moment finally came: he took us from his bag and presented us to her, eyes shining with expectation. We were excited too, filled to the brim with expectation. But then we saw her face, saw her lips move. We couldn’t understand human language, but from our Master’s reaction and the look on his face we knew that things didn’t go right. We felt totally helpless as the girl turned to leave, and our Master recoiled in shock and disappointment. Absently the Master’s hands fumbled with us, picking the petals, including me. One by one we fell to the ground, broken, in semblance of our Master’s own heart, mirrorring his emotions, as our last service to him.

It’s been two days since then, and even though by some miracle I haven’t been swept away by the cleaning department, slowly but surely I begin to rot. As I sit here in the last moments of my life, my thoughts constantly wander to my beloved Master. I don’t know if he will ever recover from that experience. I don’t know what will happen to the beautiful garden, but one can only imagine what it would look like now. Neglected? Possibly, at least for a while. But we know one thing for sure, it would never have looked darker and more sorrowful before.
End

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
-William Shakespeare, in Romeo and Juliet

A Young Boy’s Story

When he was six,
he was still new in elementary school then
he felt nothing special
after all, all his friends are like him
well at least, so he thinks.

Four months later
he waited outside
while his parents received the report card for his first term
and when his mom told him
“You’re first in your class!”
he thought is this true?
I wasn’t expecting this, but it seems true…
but he was only a boy, so he didn’t think much about it
and quickly became lost in the joy of the holidays

Two months later
He was back in school
And he realized that he was smart
Smarter than most, if not all, of his friends
He realized that he’s somehow different than his friends
well at least, so he thinks.

Two years later,
he was eight by then.
he tasted defeat
a friend had beaten him three terms in a row.
But he wasn’t too fussed
after all, he was too young for a competetive spirit.

A year later,
on separate classes with the one who had defeated him,
he regained the top position in his class
and it was then he began to dream

He dreamt of creating things with his cleverness
things like a car that could become any other vehicle
and other things that could change the world

A year later
he tasted defeat again
and this time he didn’t take it too well
This time, he had beaten his previous “conqueror”
but while he kept an eye on her all year
He didn’t see another friend overtaking him
and so he lost.

For the two years that followed,
he once again regained top position
and this time he stayed there
until the end of elementary school
where he graduated first

And then he went into junior high
Into (probably) the most revered class
the acceleration class
where three years worth of study was given in two.

Here, he realized that there are many like him
that actually, he wasn’t really that special
And for the first time,
he struggled in his studies.

But God helped him through that tough class
and he finished junior high with great marks, though not first
And over the course of junior high
He realized a lot of things

He realized that there were many smart people in the world
He realized that there were many who are smarter, much smarter than him
He realized that it was God’s gift that he was so clever
He realized that without God, he wouldn’t make it through junior high
He realized that the idea of a car that could become any vehicle was kinda ridiculous
But he also realized, that though he cannot make an invention that wouild change the world
though he is weak and insignificant
He can still give all he has for God
And God would turn it into something beautiful
and that beautiful something would touch many people
and that would change the world.

Whew, selesai juga,
Gimana? kalo ada saran atau mungkin ada kesalahan pada penulisanku, kasih tahu yah?
Thanks!