Creating a plot

In a quest, you basically need a the character to aim for a treasure but an obstacle must get in the character’s way.  With a lighthearted, almost child-like narrative, I wrote a short story based on the quest structure.  The treasure is ‘money’, but the obstacle might not be obvious.  Can you guess what the obstacle in this story is?

 

Quest

ONE hot day, in a rural village, Samuel sat on his mattress in his dwelling, and pondered. Samuel was good at pondering because pondering usually meant that he wasn‟t doing anything physical. Pondering usually involved sitting or laying down somewhere, which happened to be Samuel‟s favourite pastime.

Today‟s pondering was a bit different however, because today Samuel‟s girlfriend told him she was pregnant. So, the things that went through his mind today were a little more serious than usual. There was so much to think about. First, he thought about whether or not he was going to have to hang around long enough to get to know her baby properly. If he did that, then he‟d probably have to name it. Samuel decided it would be a boy and pondered several boys names before settling on the name “William”.

Then Samuel pondered all the things he and William would do together. He decided they would play hide-n-seek, do some fishing and maybe some ball games. Next, he wondered about schooling. He supposed that someday William would need to go to school and that was likely to cost a bit of money. Plus, he would probably need to feed William every day too.

Now Samuel‟s pondering got serious, because it‟s at this point that he wondered whether he would even be able to afford the costs that William would bring. Samuel scratched his head. Then rubbed his eyes. And sighed. He realised that he might have to do something that he didn‟t like doing at all. He couldn‟t bear even thinking about it. But, reluctantly, he found that he was going to have to do it. Samuel was going to have to go out and find a job.

And so, Samuel lay back onto his mattress, and pondered further. He was pondering so hard that he fell into a deep sleep. And while he was sleeping he dreamed an interesting dream.

Samuel dreamed that he was a high-powered businessman who drove a big red Lamborghini. He dreamed that lots of little people scurried out of his way when he walked. All he had to do was hold up his hand for everyone to stop what they were doing and bow down to him. He was just about to tell them what to do when he woke up to a knock on his door. It was his neighbour.

“Hello Samuel, I‟ve got great news, great news indeed!” said his neighbour, “There‟s a factory opening up in the city and they‟re looking for workers – do you want to come with me to ask for a job?”
“What kind of factory?” Asked Samuel.
“They fold boxes.” Replied his neighbour. “They work 4am to 4pm with an hour and a half lunch, 6 days a week.”
“Naaa, that‟s 12 hours a day! Sounds like too much hard work.” Yawned Samuel, rubbing sleep from his face.

After the neighbour left Samuel lay on his mattress again. He wondered how he was going to find work without actually having to work. He thought about the dream he just had. Businessmen didn‟t seem to do much, he thought, they were always just driving around or drinking coffee. He could do that. With that thought, Samuel dozed off again.

“Wake up Sammi, wake up, I have big news!” said Lindi, Samuel‟s girlfriend, shaking him by the shoulders to wake him up.
“Wha-?”
“My boss-lady says she needs a gardener, so I said I‟d ask you, do you want a job with her? It‟s only 5 days a week, from seven in the morning til six in the evening – and she pays cash every week!” said Lindi excitedly. “She says it‟s mainly mowing the lawn and watering the garden.”
“Naaa … I don‟t know anything about gardening.” Mumbled Samuel, “And I don‟t like bugs.”
“Aw come on Sammi, it‟ll be easy and we could see each other sometimes at work until I have the baby. It‟ll be fun.” Just as she said this, her phone rang, and she stepped outside for better reception.

As you may have guessed, Samuel was a lazy man – and the last thing he wanted to do was work! He decided that he would try and find another means to support his impending son‟s birth. It was at that moment that a bright idea appeared in Samuel‟s mind. He was going to sell his dwelling. Then with the money, he would buy himself a suit and become a businessman. Samuel got up and snuck out to avoid Lindi seeing him.

In his hurry to sneak away, Samuel slipped on some mud outside and fell down a slope. When he got to the bottom, he found that he had broken his leg and couldn‟t get up again. It was painful, but he realised with joy that now he had found his solution. If he wasn‟t able to work, then he could claim disability benefits! That meant that he wouldn‟t have to do any work at all and he was most happy about this. He called out for Lindi to help him, then lay down, folded his arms behind his head, and pondered how he would get to the benefits office every month.

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