Sniggers reached his ears, even as his arms began to feel the strain of the heavy load on his shoulders. Knitting his mind into a concentrated frame, he held his ground, determined to see it through.
Bob walked up to him, looked at the sweat pouring off his face and said, ‘Jay, you need to give it a rest. That thing looks like it weighs four times your body weight. Why do you do this to yourself?’
Jay’s face creased into a painful smile and he said, simply, ‘For her.’
‘For her? She couldn’t care less for you. Have you noticed how she looks through you? It’s not worth it.’
Shushing his friend, Jay took four painful steps forward and laid his burden at her feet. She looked at him, smiled briefly and motioned to the next in line.
Heart singing, Jay turned around, straightened up and walked back to Bob.
‘I know she probably doesn’t know that I exist. I know that my offering is just one more in the millions at her feet. I know it’s not going to taste any different because I brought it.’
Bob asked, softly, ‘Then, why do you push yourself?’
Turning to look at the Queen Ant, Jay said, ‘For that smile, I would gladly carry a house, let alone a sugar cube. Just for that smile.’
~~~~
My theme for the Challenge this year is
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Awwwwwwwwwwww 🙂
I love your short stories 🙂 Keep them coming Shailaja 🙂
Awww that’s such a cute ant story. Cute names too – Jay and Bob 😉
That was a twist! Queen Ant!!!! 🙂
labour of smile, good one
Thank you 🙂
I liked the twist at the end! Reminds me how interesting the life of an ant colony can be, by the way.
How do you think like this? Totally awesome!
Quite suger coated…what an ending Shailaja!!
What a cute love story! Totally unexpected 🙂
You are welcome to check my A-Z posts here: http://sundarivenkatraman.blogspot.in/
Oh wow 😀 Affectionate Ant, this Jay 🙂
Whooo….love the twist to this, Shahaila!!
Oh how sweet!! love of ants 😀
Knowing a bit about how your mind works, I had guessed it correctly this time 🙂 Good one, Shailaja!
Her smile brought a smile on my face 🙂 Cute one indeed….
Love the surprise ending! 😀 The Queen doesn’t deserve a guy like Jay.
Ah, I so knew it was going to be an ant story 😀 a cute one though 😉
Entrapped
Interesting ending. Sad, though – queen ants are meanies, right? 🙂
I could never imagine it to be an ant story!! Loved the twist!
Eclipse
awwww…soooo cute! i did not expect that!
I couldn’t guess the ending. Ant added to the twist, Shailaja. Loving your stories. 🙂
I was expecting such a twist in the end:) Even ants fall in love 🙂
Lol…did not guess that at any point. Good one Shailaja!
Loved it! We never seem to pay heed to them. They too have a life!
Sweet story 🙂 loving your groove
Hahahaa- I LOVE your different angle stories! You are nailing your theme, dear Shailaja! Superb:-)
Thank you so much 🙂 Eli, sorry I have not been visiting your blog as much. Will make up for it real soon.
Thought so 🙂 Very nicely done.
Thank you so much 🙂
U know what Shailaja…Im reminded of the Hindi movie ‘Challo Dilli’!
Not sure I have seen it 🙂 But good to know it rakes up memories 🙂
Oh so cute.
Thank you so much 🙂
Wow!
Thank you so much 🙂
Aww that is such a cute story..I guessed in the beginning that it mights be an Ant..Kudos to your imagination 🙂
Thank you so much 🙂
I thought it was a huge dog! 😉 Little did I know/suspect. 😉 I just LOVE your imagination Shailaja! 🙂 <3
Aww thank you Elly. You’ve always been a staunch supporter 🙂
Aww that’s cute.. The ant thing was real good. And they do lift weights more than twice as heavy as them. Good story Shailaja.
Up to four times their weight is what I have heard 🙂
That ending definitely brought a smile to my face Shailaja :). Loved it!
<3
Ok. I did have a couple of guesses for this one. None of them were correct 😛 Nicely done. 🙂
*Shantala @ ShanayaTales*
Good to know I can still stun you 😉
Aww! How sweet
🙂
I loved it! Great story with a nice twist at the end. Very good story told simply and effectively. Loved phrases such as “Knitting his mind”. Very well done, Shailaja! 🙂
Thank you so much Tom! Glad to see you here 🙂
A compelling and enjoyable read:)
Thank you so much, Vishal 🙂
I KNEW it was an ant story…ant love story! It was so sweet! Sweeter than a sugar cube!:-) <3
Awww, you are sweeter than that <3
I enjoyed reading your story. I did not expect the ending 🙂
Very glad to hear it. Welcome to The Moving Quill 🙂