In which Granny tells a story

(To make up for all the one liner posts. I confess that at this point all i have is a very vague idea of where i want this story to go. Let see if I can take it there)

Once upon a time, began Granny, adjusting her specs to look upon a bunch of interested faces, there were four Pandas. No, no, said the up-to-date granny before the kids could interrupt her, they were not called Ta, Ra Ma and Pa. They were called, well, it doesn't really matter what they were called, so lets call them Axe, Why, Zee and Aye, she said, preening a little at her variable naming skills. There were your regular little pandas, you know, the ones who eat shoots and leaves. They were happy, fulfilled pandas who spent their days climbing trees to eat shoots and leaves. Until one day. And here, granny took a dramatic pause, making sure the audience was with her. On that day, half way up his 23rd tree, Why was hit. No he did not die a gory death, said granny, to the great disappointment of the audience. What do you take my story for, some kind of revenge drama where the remaining three dress up as humans and track down the killer and fall in love with his daughter? As i was saying, she continued, on that day, half way up his 23rd tree, Why got hit. By what you ask? By... a... Question! Oh yeah, those things are dangerous, she told a skeptic audience, sometimes even more dangerous than a headshot.

Granny had them, she knew. She continued. Why bravely climbed down the tree with his Question and sat down to think. Axe, Zee and Aye, passing him on their way to their 25th, 28th and 32nd trees respectively, at once realized something was wrong. Why, whats the matter, they asked him. I have been hit, moaned Why. I don't see any wounds, said Axe in a very scared voice. Zee was too scared to speak. Only Aye was brave enough to ask - was it a Question? Aye, it was, said Why. Better tell us about it before it hits us too, said Aye. Why nodded. Gathering all his courage, he told them about the Question that hit him. Why, said Why, are leaves green?

They were all stunned. Zee even dropped the leaf she was eating and started at it like she had never seen it before. The Question was scary, but what was scarier was that it had been with them all along and they hadn't even noticed. There was only one thing that could save them now. The Answer, said granny to a wide eyed audience. The four of them picked one direction each, and went looking for the Answer.

Axe went North
Over the mountain, across the seas
Forgetting to eat shoots and leaves
Pausing just to tell the trees
How much for the Answer he grieves


Why went East
Looking high and low among the trees
For the Answer that would bring him peace
He found the answer with ease
but is still looking for the peace

Zee went West
Zee went looking determinedly
Some answer there was meant to be
She looked and looked until she found
There was no answer to be found


Aye went South
Skipping over hills and climbing trees
Looking for the answer to complete his peace
The Question still hurts him repeatedly
But never when he eats shoots and leaves

So, said Granny, peering at her audience through her specs, which one of them would you like to be?

(You may think I am lost, but this is where i wanted to be. Yippie!)