A young boy about the age of six stood outside his home. The springtime air was pleasant, but it was wartime in the region. Tensions were high amongst the people, and the normally harmonious sounds of spring were ruined by the sounds of quarreling and fighting. The boy’s father was summoned by the leaders of the village to fight in the Great War, and he had finished packing his things and walked out to meet the boy.
“Son,” he said. “It is time for me to go.”
He handed him a small object - it was a piece of paper rolled tightly.
“Never forget what I have written down for you here. Take care of your mother. I love you, son.”
The father picked his son up and gave him a long embrace, a tear rolling down his cheek.
“I will see you again.”
The father put the boy down and walked on toward the road. The boy stood in shock, tears streaming down his face for reasons he couldn’t quite understand. He was too young to understand the gravity of the moment he was in, but he was old enough to understand it was important. Through the tears he managed to open the scroll his father gave him. It read:
My Son,
Follow these instructions as you live your life and wait for our reunion.
I promise you, we will meet again.
Treat others as you want to be treated.
Take care of your mother.
Do no harm to any man, unless in defense of yourself or your family.
Do not steal from any man - his belongings or his wife.
Be honest, always.
The boy did not understand any of this at the time, but he made a vow that day to always keep that scroll in his pocket, no matter where he went. He vowed that he would follow the rules his father laid out for him until he returned.
When the boy was twelve, he found a dirty old man on the side of the road, nearly dead from starvation. He took the man into his home and nursed him back to health. As it turned out, the old man was actually a king from a far away land, and had gotten lost on a long journey. To return the favor, the old man promised to send the boy enough riches for ten lifetimes. When the old man asked why the boy treated him, a stranger, with such kindness, the boy clutched the scroll and replied,
“I am waiting for my father.”
When the boy was eighteen, his mother got sick. He cared for her for three years, working night and day to keep a food in her mouth and a roof over her head. She eventually succumbed to sickness, but the boy’s selflessness did not go unnoticed by the villagers. When he turned twenty-one, the village elected him as their leader. When the people of the village asked the boy how he was able to go through so much suffering to take care of his sick mother, he clutched the scroll and replied,
“I am waiting for my father.”
When the boy, now a man and the leader of the village, was twenty-five, the village was attacked by Outsiders. He had trained his warriors the art of self-defense, and the Outsiders were defeated easily. One of them survived and was thrown at his feet. “Kill him!” the people of the town shouted. He refused, and let the man go on his way. It turned out that man was the Prince of the Outsiders, and in return the King of the Outsiders travelled to the village to negotiate peace. When asked why the prince’s life was spared, the response was the same. The man clutched the scroll in his pocket and said,
“I am waiting for my father.”
When he was twenty-eight, the man met an extraordinary woman. She was married to one of the village chiefs, and she started to lust for him. She made many advances, but the man did not submit. He loved the village chief like a brother. Not long after, the man met the woman who would be his wife, and together they created a beautiful, loving family. When the seductress asked the man why he would not give in, he clutched the scroll and replied,
“I am waiting for my father.”
When he was thirty-five, the man was given an opportunity to become incredibly rich. A merchant came to him with a proposition - all he had to do was lie to the people and tell them that there was a sickness in the air, and the merchant had the secret antidote. The merchant planned to give the man half of his riches. The man quickly refused. A few months later, the man received a gift - it was enough riches for ten lifetimes, as promised by the old man he met when he was a boy. The man was now rich, and he shared his riches with his people. When the merchant asked why he wouldn’t go in on his plan, the man clutched the scroll and replied,
“I am waiting for my father.”
When he was ninety-five and on his deathbed, the man was surrounded by all of the villagers and everyone he loved. In his lifetime, he created peace and wealth for the village, and he created a strong family with many successful children. When asked how he managed to do all of this in one lifetime, the man took a second to think. He reached down towards his pocket and clutched the scroll, thinking back to all of the times he listened to his father’s instructions. He was awed by what his life had become. He began to laugh, with tears of joy streaming down his face.
“I now understand,” he said as he smiled. “My father was waiting for me.”
I agree with Donna and Gog! Thank you Den!
Good one!