Short Story: The Miraculous Cottage

Short Story: The Miraculous Cottage
By Saran Rai

Far above the miraculous cottage, many people like me have gathered to witness the spectacle. All eyes are fixated on the miraculous cottage.

The miraculous cottage is at the center. It is not very large—barely capable of holding fifty people at most. However, its decorations are dazzling. Precious diamonds, gems, and rubies studded on its golden walls shimmer brilliantly. The more one looks at it, the more mesmerizing it becomes.

Nobody knows when it was built. A town has grown around it, and this town has its own unique charm. Expensive hotels, jewelry and clothing stores, and photo and video studios surround the miraculous cottage.

The miraculous cottage, for a hefty fee, transforms people aged over 80 into youthful men or women for an hour. Thousands of wealthy people from all over the world come to await their turn. The continuous influx of tourists and aged visitors waiting in line has significantly boosted the local economy.

From one door of the miraculous cottage, elderly people over 80 enter, staying inside for around three hours. When they emerge from another door, they are transformed into vibrant youths for an hour. During this time, their activities follow a common pattern.

They take photos and videos. Couples, rejuvenated into youth, rent nearby resort or hotel rooms and stay together until the transformation wears off, quenching long-held desires. For those without partners, arrangements for companionship are also provided. After returning to their elderly selves, these visitors leave the resorts or hotels with faces radiating supreme contentment.

One elderly man, unlike others, held a press conference and announced, "I want to break the record I set during my youth within the hour I am transformed." True to his word, he successfully broke the record during his hour of youth. However, experts refused to acknowledge it. "Even if it is not recognized, I am now fully content with life," the old man joyfully proclaimed.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

(Short Story ) Respect

  Short Story Respect By: Saran Rai I have come to Kathmandu for some work. I frequently meet a former student I taught many years ago. As soon as he sees me, he greets me with a bow from afar. Seeing his respect for his teacher fills me with immense joy. Today, I meet him again. As I am about to leave, he almost blocks my path and says, “Congratulations in advance, Sir!” “Congratulations for what?” I ask, surprised. “I’ve heard your name is on the list of future ministers. You’ve already become a Member of Parliament; once you become a minister, don’t forget this old student Ramprasad, Sir.” It turns out he was mistaken. Another professor who works with me has become an MP. The respect and affection he showed were meant for that MP and prospective minister. He had already forgotten me (and even my name).
Read more

My Own Home

  (Short Story) My Own Home By: Saran Rai Just like the house I built, I too have become old and frail. Now, a question has begun to arise—do I even have the right to live in that house anymore? My successors have started to say, "This house belongs to them." And indeed, they have made significant contributions to keeping the house beautiful—repairing, maintaining, and cleaning it diligently. Even if I don’t live there, they will continue to reside in the house. If the house collapses, they would suffer more loss than I would. They would become homeless. Therefore, they believe, “The house must remain.” But there’s a dispute: whose house is it? Mine, because I built it, or theirs, because they live in it? Like all living beings, my time to reside in the house—or on this Earth—is limited. A house belongs to the one who resides in it. While they live there, they call it "their home," but in the end, the house doesn’t belong to anyone. And now, even though I built it,...
Read more

Life is an Examination

Image
Life is an Examination   Saran Rai Every moment of life, Every second of time, Is a moment of examination. Progress, decline, ascent, descent, Uphill, downhill, light, and darkness, Love, hatred, victory, and defeat— Moments of struggle and battle. What, who, and why are important? Engrave Tolstoy in your heart, Whatever the field, wherever you are, Fight like a warrior with courage. If Darwin is true, Reaching the destination while battling is life. To succeed in the examination of life is to live. Life is an examination, And an examination is life. To think that success in life's examination brings Only happiness, enjoyment, delight, wealth, progress, heights, greatness, Achievement, and glory Can be an illusion of ignorance. Even those who fail exams are alive, Smiling like flowers in the garden of life with contentment. The beauty of worldly life lies in Activity, service, restraint, and patience. Concealing sorrow within the heart And smiling gently— This is greatness. Examina...
Read more