THE ELIXIR OF LIFE

The Elixir OF Life

   Rie was a beautiful little angel. She danced gracefully and sang melodiously . She lived in the village near the river with her parents and sister , Shine. Since childhood Rie was a very restless child . She would jump nimbly from one rock to another. At dusk , Rie and her sister would sneak into the valleys and forests through the narrow creeks. There they would play with with the birds , animals , fishes and plants . 

    Soon her sister got married and went off to a far away land . Rie began to feel lonely . She spent most of her time in the palace. Her mother became her close friend now . She would tell Rie stories of brave knights, elves and fairies . 

    One day Shine called up her mother . " What is the matter ,child ? You don't sound alright ." 

" Mom, I have fever . Can you please come and take me back with you. "

Shine was looking very pale . Her skin had turned ashen and her long silky smooth hair had become lumpy and lifeless. Everyone was worried . No medicines were working on her . Rie could not bear to see her sister suffering . She was very close to her . The doctor had advised a medicine called 'Elixir of life .'

" This is a very rare medicine ,"said the doctor . 

Rie was determined to get the medicine for her sister . The doctor had warned that the medicine would not work if it was not sparkling clean . 

     Rie went out and sat on the rocks , in the bank of the river . She had tears in her eyes . " Why does my sister have to suffer like this ? " thought Rie. 

She felt a hand on her shoulder . Rie turned round . There stood a little elf . Rie got scared . She jumped down from the rock and began running . " Wait ! Don't run away from me . Tell me why are you crying? " 

Rie told him all about her sister . 

" Come with me . I will take you there."

 " But , mom has told me not to talk to strangers . How can I go with you ? "

The elf smiled at her ." Don't worry . From now on we are best friends . I will help you in every way possible . " 

   She sat on the golden chariot behind the elf . The chariot flew over the clouds . The cool breeze carassed and the soft cotton like clouds carassed and kissed her . She was enjoying their company. Rie was feeling thirsty . She asked the elf to look for some water . As they were searching for water , suddenly a sinister looking monster emerged from nowhere. He was huge as a mountain and smelled awfully filthy . Huge rings of smoke emitted out from his mouth and nose . Rie began to feel uneasy. She began to cough . She covered her mouth with her silken scarf . 

" How dare you come to my kingdom ?"blared the monster.

" I have came here in search of elixir of life . Rie told the monster about her sister. 

       The monster jumped into the river and came out wearing an oversized black coat made of plastic containers, bottles , wrappers and packets . He had gorged on the carcasses of marine land . The fish , animals and birds of his kingdom begged to be spared , but the monster wouldn't listen to them . His face was covered with grease and oil . Chemicals had caused blisters on his body .

" If I spare you ,how will I survive?, he laughed . " This is my kingdom . I am the lord of monsters of water . I will do whatever I feel like. " 

   The monster got a pot of water for Rie . It smelled and tasted awful. It was slushy and ashen in colour . Rie felt giddy . 

" If my sister drinks this water she will die ." 

" I never wanted to be like this " mourned the monster . My parents, Sea and river took care of humans . Our house was always open to all . My parents  provided water to them for all their needs . But human beings are selfish . They misused and ill treated them . They have not even spared my relatives and friends , spring , pond and lake . Humans have throttled my parents and relatives by feeding them garbage . They are so sick and frail now."

   The monster showed Rie and the elf pictures of his parents and relatives in happier times . How beautiful the family looked in their aquamarine and emerald gowns ! Rie and the elf had tears in their eyes when they met the monster's family. The monster showed them a huge building from which trash was flowing into his house . 

  " I have decided to take revenge " growled the monster angrily.

 " The humans have to pay for their misdeeds . " 

" I will talk to the humans and tell them not to throw garbage in you", promised the elf . "Please give Rie the ' elixir of life . "

" I have been betrayed enough . How can I trust you ?"

The elf asked the monster to lie down and close his eyes for sometime . " Don't get up till I ask you to ."

" Now open your eyes " said the elf . 

On opening his eyes after sometime, he was stunned to see his parents and kins as  beautiful as before . The Rain God had gifted them new clothes . 

  They were back to their old selves . They were dancing and singing merrily down the hill slopes . Humans had understood that the three R 's _ Reduce, Reuse, Recycle  are an important part of sustainable living, as they help to cut down on the amount of waste they had to throw away. They had made eco friendly things out of the trash . Trees , birds , animals, fishes and butterflies sang and danced merrily with Rie and the elf . They promised to treat the bounties of Mother Earth well . 

When it was time for Rie and the elf to return home , the elf filled a golden pot with

' elixir of life ' and gave it to Rie .

" Hope your sister will feel better soon . "

The monster tried to raise his arms to hug them all, but he had grown so weak that he couldn't move . His mother gave him a bath and nursed his wounds .He was no longer smelling foul . 

Rie helped her sister to drink the' Elixer of life'. Shine was looking happy and healthy again .