Other stories

The old potter

An old man lay helplessly in his bed. 

He was waiting for something or someone.

Waiting and waiting, day after day.

The man was very old and sick, any time he closed his eyes could be his last in the realm of the living.

Any breath could be his final and each sunset could take with it, the light from the old man's eyes.

Slowly he looked around his room, where all his belongings are. But this does not please him nor make him happy.

Not the achievements plastered on his walls, nor the trophies for his work, not even the pictures of better and healthier days.

Eventually his tired eyes rest upon a small pot on an old wooden plank attached to the wall before him.

The pot had many cracks, like it had been dropped before.

In the eyes of most it was just an insignificant object, but to the old man it was his greatest treasure and his biggest regret.

You see, the pot isn't really his. It never had been, it had been made by a student of his. From back when the old man was still a working potter and when he still took pride in his work.

Back then he had many students, some old, some young.

Some smart and some not so.

Some blessed and some unfortunate.

The potter had always been very talented and had even gotten very famous for his beautiful pottery.

An art like that in his days was spoken about from the oldest cave to the newest home.

On the strangest islands and exotic land.

He was known by almost every trader and every buyer.

So the old potter had enough wealth to stop and enjoy his life in leisure, but this was his greatest passion and he could only enjoy his life when he was creating his pots.

He kept on going and decided to start teaching students about his greatest love.

But unfortunately, times change.

Sometimes as fast as a storm, yet others like the melting of ice during winter.

A new invention that changed the course of history... 

Factories.

Giant brick buildings with seemingly unending black smoke leaving the many chimneys.

Factories for food.

Factories for clothing.

Factories for pottery.

It didn't take long before almost all his students had left their teacher to work and learn in those big boxes. To make everything faster and more.

All to make life easier.

The teacher did understand his students' decision, but it left him sad and uncertain about the future.