Up

"Up, Child," said The Prophet.

The Child had been sleeping soundly on the lily pad.

"Why do I have to get up, Prophet?"

"You need to see something beautiful."

So, The Child rose, drank a glass of seawater that miraculously tasted like tea and looked out on the horizon. It was dawn.

"What do you want me to see, Prophet?"

"It's a surprise.  So come now, we have to leave the lily pad for you to see it."

"But I haven't walked on the ocean for days. I think I've forgotten how to," The Child said.

"Good reason to walk. Walking the ocean ought to become a routine."

"Prophet, I don't think I'll care for this adventure without my lily pad."

"You'll love it. So, stand up and let's go, before you miss it."

The first steps on the ocean were tricky. One of The Child's feet went  beneath the water.

"Prophet, I'm slipping under."

"Keep your eyes on me, and don't look at the ocean. We're almost in the right spot."

The Child turned her head and looked at The Prophet as he held one of her hands.

"Strange, Prophet. Why are you looking straight ahead?"

"If you turn your head and look straight ahead, you'll see why. We've reached our destination."

The Child turned her head and saw the most beautiful sun rising on the horizon.

"Oh, Prophet, it's beautiful," The Child murmured.

Suddenly, she saw someone before the sun dancing with joy.

"That's my dream, Prophet!  That's my dream up there in the sun.

The Prophet laughed. "Yes, Child, that is."

"Prophet, can everyone see my dream?"

"Child, no one can see your dream but you."

Shalom,

Pat Garcia

Lie Down

"Lie down, Child, stretch yourself out; you need to sleep."

"I don't want to lie down and sleep, Prophet. I'm not tired."

"Did you enjoy dinner?"  

"Sure did, and now I've got to make sure Mr. Whale eats something."

"So you've found a new friend in the whale?"

"Yes, you should have seen him, Prophet. He was glorious in battle. Every time I said jump, he would buck so high over the waves and make a big dive downward and land on the ocean," The Child said excitedly.

"And as soon as you lie down, he'll eat," said The Prophet.

"But I don't want to lie down, Prophet. I'm not tired."

"Don't you love to sleep on your lily pad?"

"I do, when I'm tired," The Child said, and she stifled a yawn.

"What are you afraid of Child?"

"How long will you stay with me, Prophet?

"I'm never far from you."

"But sometimes I feel like you are so far away."

"Why's that?"

"Because I feel empty and alone."

"Oh my dear Child, the path you've chosen is not easy. That's why I am never far from you."

"Which means?"

"You're never alone. So, lie down before the fire and sleep."

Assured by what The Prophet said, the Child snuggled close to the fire, and the sea lilies crawled up onto the lily pad and twined together as a pillow for the Child to lay her head.

"Shall I tell you the story of courage?"

"Oh yes, Prophet. I love to hear your stories."

"Once upon a time, there was a Child with a dream…" The Prophet began.

The Child's breathing slowed, her eyelids closed, and she surrendered to sleep.

Shalom,

Pat Garcia

Initiative

"Initiative," whispered the wind, "initiative."

"But, what if I do the wrong thing?" The Child yelled back at the wind and cried out, "Prophet, where are you?"

The ocean, vast and wide, The Prophet was nowhere in sight; the heaven, blue and sprinkled with white cumulus clouds, echoed the Child's voice. Alone, yet not alone, unable to see or hear the beloved friend, emotions of helplessness flooded the Child's soul.

"Initiative," repeated the wind.  "Take initiative."

"Prophet," yelled the Child, "Where are you? Please, come back and tell me what to do."

The wind grew stronger; the ocean stirred, and the whale lay asleep with the perplexed Child on its back, frightened.

Suddenly, the largest wave the Child had ever seen began to grow in the shape of a funnel.

"Where are you, Prophet?  Where are you?"

"Initiative," whispered the wind, "take the initiative."

The wave rose and began to spin, gathering speed as it turned.

"Okay, Mr. Whale, either I win or lose, succeed or fail, but I am going to show that wave it can't scare me away," said the Child.

"Initiative," sang the wind, "Take the initiative."

The Child crawled behind the whale's dorsal fin and hugged it, and with legs stretched out, the Child let them down forcefully and struck the whale on both sides.

The whale awoke out of its sleep and bucked up in the air heading directly toward the woven spindle of water coming at him.

And the Child knuckled down, holding on tightly to the whale's dorsal fin.

Shalom,

Pat Garcia

Hold On

"Hold on, Child," The Prophet called out. "Hold on."

"I'm holding on, Prophet, but I'm getting wet."

"Don't worry about getting wet. That happens. Just hold on to the whale."

"Gee whiz, am I glad the whale's here. I don't know where I'd be if I weren't riding on its back."

The Child had barely finished the sentence when a huge wave, dark and wide, rose from out of the ocean and started coming their way.

"Eeeeeeek!" shouted the Child, sizing up the wave; the Child's voice trembled with fear.  "I'm going to slide off of my whale, Prophet."

"Lie on your stomach, Child, and stretch your legs forward. Then, grab hold of the dorsal fin."

"Then, the whale can't see, Prophet, cause my feet will cover its eyes."

The Prophet smiled.

"It will see, Child. Then you can't see."

"But don't I need to see what lies ahead of me."

"No, Child.  You only need to stay on the back of the whale."

The child wrapped her arms around the dorsal fin as the whale rose up from the ocean and sailed a few feet in the air.

"Eeeeeeek!" The Child screamed.

"Prophet?"

"Yes, Child?"

"Are you still there?"

"Of course, I'm still here, Child. Why do you ask?"

"Cause I can't see you or hear you?"

"Is it necessary to see me, Child?"

Shalom,

Pat Garcia