The Inspired Sketch
by Daniel Justin
Well hello there, this story begins in a small peaceful Indian village. At an Old charming English Oak Tree planted at the centre of this village, by the early British a very long time ago. Under this sturdy old fellow, the village children do all sorts of fun, revelry activities. However, this is much more than just a tree to a young 10 year old, skinny equable boy named Daniel. He and His grandpa would spend hours under this majestic old tree: softly sharing stories and secrets, laughing till both their mouths would be in pain. Today, however, one comrade was without the other; Daniel sitting alone masked with the broad shade, cast by the wide branches with evergreen leaves above him. To Daniel’s gloom, a few days ago, grandpa had passed away.
The Evening had begun: the sun descending peacefully, small birds chirping and Daniel still seated under the English Oak Tree; his thoughts silent. He dearly missed his old comrade. Now that all the children had gone, it was still and quiet and Daniel decided to pray because Grandpa always told Daniel to share everything with Jesus. After saying a quiet prayer, Daniel got up to his feet and walked to his small hut made of mudbrick with a roof-of-straw. As Daniel stepped in, His Mother was busy making hot roti for the family’s supper, and his father seated opposite, reading the local newspaper. Daniel’s mother was a housewife whilst his father was a hardworking diligent farmer. They were all skinny, but remarkably sharp in thinking. There was little talk at the diminutive dining table that night. Everyone was downcast about the recent death of Daniel’s Grandpa; who’s name was John David, he was a righteous and highly educated man who highly aided the village. Most of all, he loved his family and would always spend time with them. Dinner ended early and everyone went to bed.
The next morning, Daniel was suddenly awoken by the stampede of village children screaming in joy whilst running past his home. ‘’Of course!’’ shouted Daniel that instant, jumping out of his aged cotton mattress and sprinting like a rush of wind to the front wooden door. He ran with all his might to catch-up to the children. After the rush, Daniel made it inside the village church, where the other children were all frantically digging through a box full of toys/various items. All the children took something where the first got the best in the box! Moreover, the box was nearly fully depleted; left inside was just a piece of paper and a lead pencil. Daniel being the last, had no choice but to take the piece of paper and lead pencil.
Daniel then went to English Oak Tree, he decided to pray just like he and grandpa would do. He sat cross legged on the sandy ground and began praying. In his prayer he thanked Jesus for the two items and asked for guidance. After the peaceful prayer, he sat for a moment and then bang! A thought popped in his head! A flash of inspiration hit him! ‘’What if I sketch Mr below?’’,mumbled Daniel. He and grandpa called the old English Oak Tree, Mr Below, for fun. He began to sketch the old fellow, the pencil flying along the piece of paper. He pumped the sketch with all the feelings of his grandpa. Finally, the sketch was finished, it was a true masterpiece, one drawn with precise perfection!
He thanked Jesus, and hurriedly ran to his home. The afternoon began with the sun getting blanketed with heavy grey clouds full of rain. This however was no ordinary rain, it was an unexpected storm. Everyone in the village was unprepared for what was to come! That night the wind roared like an angry lion, and thunder broke the sky! The sky lit up in a shower of lightning and the rain drummed against the crops and village! The thundering noise awoke everyone in the village! Majority of the crops were destroyed by the rain, homes were fatally damaged with roofs being broken – debri flying everywhere!
The next morning, once the storm passed, an emergency meeting was called by the chief of the village. A multitude of fearful, bewildered villagers gathered together in the village meeting room, shouting and yelling their frustrations. The chief calmed everyone and in a loud voice spoke ‘’we did not expect this torrential rain or the damage that it would cause, we have tragically lost all of the crops!’’Another uproar began and the villagers shouted putting forth, ‘’what will we do now?’’ ‘’How will we feed our families!’’ The chief answered, ‘’I will immediately send a letter of help to the missionaries in England! Until we wait for support, we will clean up our village and start re-farming the land. Let’s all pray to God for help!’’ After the prayer, everyone began the cleanup and after a week, missionaries came with money/support from The England Church. However the money would not last more than a week!
As Daniel’s mother rationed whatever food they had left, she found the sketch and before she could have a good look, someone was at the door. She immediately opened the door and in came one of the missionaries. He was about to say something when all of a sudden, his eye corralled at the sketch. He kindly asked ‘’May I?’’ And took a hard good look at the sketch. He was dazzled; he took a photo and sent it to the London Art Gallery. He asked ‘’who created this fine, marvelous artwork?’’ ‘’I did’’ stated Daniel, who had just entered the home.‘’It’s marvelous my boy, God has blessed you with a talent!’’remarked the missionary. Daniel smiled and everyone proceeded to their duty.
An hour later, the missionary thundered into Daniel’s home and shouted’’ The London Art Gallery has a buyer for the sketch who is willing to give 8 million pounds for the sketch. They are desperate to get the sketch and are willing to pay 7.5 million pounds!’’ This was shocking and a burst of hope spread like a wildfire across the village. ‘’Could this be true?’’Everyone wondered! Now it was up to Daniel, what choice did he have; so he allowed the missionary – who sold the sketch and sent it to The London Art Gallery. The money came the following week and the village people were saved! Daniel smiled a big smile! Up in heaven God smiled, and so did old comrade Grandpa!
The End
