The name of the rose - a parody

It is about the story of Nora, possibly Umberto Eco's peasant girl, earthly and passionate, or Henrik Ibsen's protagonist, full of intellect and being passionate, perhaps it was the story after she stepped out of the doll house. From another perspective, this can be my second story of no importance.

One day Nora visited an adolescent friend who was an inmate in a prison, as to why, when and where nobody knew. Through her friend’s cell window, she caught a glimpse of a strange and very beautiful rose. She hadn't seen it before and she couldn't name it. But she was mesmerized by it, for no obvious reason. Her friend though was not surprised, she told Nora that every inmate loved the strange rose, and it was out of their reachable zone. In those days there were no low-security-prison for adolescents and/or petty crimes, there were indeed many forbidden places round the prison-at-large. Perhaps that was the reason why the strange rose had grown so strong. The inmates had the feeling that they possessed the rose (and perhaps that was the motivation that had kept their lives more tolerable in the prison!). Actually there is nothing strange about this...obsession. Didn't our artists and learned writers of all ages often say they can take or taste as much as they can from nature's beautiful scenery without diminishing any bit of it?

Nora too was mesmerized by the strange rose. But the trouble was, she was a good citizen, and no way could she be in the prison!

Nora was so obsessed by the strange rose that she began to commit petty crimes, as if by impulse, out of her own volition or better judgment. She wanted so much to possess the strange rose too, as if in desert dying for water, or ocean drowning in water and dying to have nothing of it. (I mean like that would depend on whether one has a strong feeling to have it or have nothing of it, with different meanings of it! OK, no more theorizing, let me continue with the story). Finally she was caught by a young and handsome policeman. Knowing the good nature of Nora, the policeman set her free (by the way, he didn’t know about the strange rose, but sure he was fond of Nora…). Since then, he had been keeping a good eye on her.

Nora kept committing those petty crimes, including one biting the nose of the policemen who kept setting her free, despite his bloody nose! The policeman in fact started to feel a bit annoyed, and disturbed, I guess. He was a righteous person, he had his honorable duties, and now he was finding himself watching over (and catching and releasing) Nora everyday!. He was really in a very difficult situation. The more trouble was, he was so accustomed to Nora that he was madly in love with her! And strange thing happen to Nora, now she committed petty crimes only with the policeman around!

One day, Nora recklessly drove a car, knocked into a farm house, hurting herself badly, and nearly killed a few kids! The policeman had had enough – “It had got to be stopped!”.

“Blick!” the policeman had an idea: “Since Nora likes to be in prison so much, why don’t I create a ‘prison’ for her?” So he proposed marriage to Nora, on condition that she would be a prisoner in their house for the rest of her life.

In the beginning of their marriage, Nora was not quite used to that. She was still thinking about the strange flower. But with the tender loving care of her husband, she began to enjoy her new prison. Being a floral lover, Nora began to ask her husband to buy her different kinds of flower seeds, and had her husband planted them just outside their house; by the way, Nora was still not allowed to go outside their house. A few years later, a new baby girl was born. And as the story went on, it seemed that Nora was raising a good family, with a caring husband, and should live happily thereafter, with a happy ending.

My dear reader, I know you’re annoyed. How can you forget the fact that Nora was still “imprisoned” in her house? And how can you neglect the strange flower that started the story in the first place? My dear reader, please be have patience, I will continue with my story.

After so many years, one day, when Nora was looking at her flower bed outside her house, she suddenly saw her strange flower at the field opposite her house! She jumped out of her house immediately. To her disappointment, it was not her strange flower. It was all because of her failing eye-sight due to her matured age. All of a sudden, she realized that she was no longer in the house – she was actually standing outside her house in broad daylight. And the image of the strange rose appeared in her vision again. She began to cry.

From then on, she came out of her house from time to time, just like any normal loving mother and caring housewife. Her husband and her daughter were glad about that. And the whole family was happier than ever!

Some time later, she visited her niece who was now an inmate in the old prison that she visited when he was young. She could not find the strange rose again. And all those inmates who had seen the strange rose before had left the prison long ago. And Nora seemed to be fine now.

Every living thing has its end. Like the strange rose, and like Nora. On her death bed, her priest asked her whether she had anything to say to God before she passed away. She told her priest: “I regret that I had not seen the strange rose die!” Trying to comfort her, her priest said, “In a moment, you will see God and your strange rose so much alive…. if the strange rose has not been alive in your heart all these years…..”. And Nora died with a smile in her face.