The Story Teller

Archive for October, 2011

Photo taken and owned by Charles Fredeluces Mundo

“Life was such a precious thing, easily broken.”

~Shaun Jeffrey, The Kult

As I was rushing to the loo at the mall this afternoon, I can’t help noticing an old woman in a wheelchair. Obviously, she is a patient at the clinic about two units from ours.  She seems to be alright except for being a little pale. The nurse was holding her hand as if trying to say that everything is going to be fine.  She was a petite and good looking nurse with kind eyes. She was wearing one of those colorful scrub tops popular nowadays. Good thing they have that now instead of the traditional white. I have nothing against the color, in fact, I love wearing white shirt at home. I do believe, however, that when a person is ill, it helps his or her recovery to see something colorful.

I guess colorful scrub tops were created not only to make health workers look nice but also to bring hope to the patients.

The village by the mountain was buzzing with excitement. A rich man in the city was having a contest. However, no one knows the mechanics of the contest nor the prize at stake. The advertisement only says “JOIN THE CONTEST AND WIN A BIG PRIZE.”

Everybody was waiting for additional information intending to join, but there was none. So, on the day of the contest, only three contestants were brave enough to show up: an ambitious salesman who will do anything for money, an aspiring model who needed money to afford a surgery and a widow who needed money to support her three children.

They waited at the plaza as instructed. A crowd of villagers gathered around them. Then came a trio of vehicles: a sports car, a limousine and an ordinary van. The model waited no invitation, she walked towards the limo which was opened by a uniformed chauffeur. Once inside, she made herself comfortable and poured herself a goblet of chilled champagne and enjoyed the jazz music from the limo’s speaker.

The salesman, on the other hand, jumped into the shiny sports car. He loves fast things. He himself lives a fast-paced life and that made him a successful salesman. After introducing himself to the driver, he fastened his seat belt and zoomed they went.

The widow was the last to go. She felt relieved when she got on the van. The limo and the sports car were too luxurious and too fast for her simple and cordial nature. She greeted her driver like an old friend and they talked and enjoyed the ride.

The first one to arrive in the city, where the rich man lives, was naturally the salesman who was agitated by the  fast drive, followed by the model, flushed by the drink. After half an hour came the widow, obviously refreshed by the exhilarating drive to the city.

They did not wait for long, as the rich man arrived as soon as they were seated. With him were sheets of paper and three pencils. He smiled at them and spoke..

“I am the Rich Man. I worked hard for my wealth. However, no amount of money can buy me more time to enjoy my life because I am ill and might die in a few months. Since I don’t have any children nor any relatives. I have no one to pass my wealth on. So, I made this contest, to look for the most deserving heir or heiress. I am looking for someone whose characteristics are similar to mine that he or she may continue what I have started. I need someone smart enough for details, caring enough to watch over my employees whom I care so much about and appreciative of what he or she has, so that I would know my wealth will be in good hands..

“On a piece of paper, write (1) the plate number of the vehicle you rode to come here; (2) the name of your driver; (3) everything you saw on your way..”

The model wrote the plate number of the limo. She left the #2 blank for she didn’t mind to ask her driver’s name and blank also for #3, she did not look outside.

The salesman was not doing well either. He was able to write the plate number and the name of his driver. But the drive was too fast he couldn’t remember anything.

The widow needed another piece of paper. There was a lot of things to write in addition to the plate number and the name of her driver which she had written already. She had to write about the beautiful meadow they passed by, the dairy farm, the poultry, the market and the small church filled with people. Oh, and don’t forget the newly-weds who came out of the church just as the van drove by. She doesn’t know what the other two contestants saw on their way, but it doesn’t matter to her anymore whether she won or not, it was a very nice experience after all..

After a week, the widow and her three children moved to the Rich Man’s house and inherited half of his properties which include the meadow, the farm and the poultry they passed by, the other half the old man divided among his servants which include the drivers..

(Original story by the blog author, any similarities with other stories are purely incidental)

Longmen Grottoes or Longmen Caves are one of the finest example of Chinese Buddhist art. It has tens of thousands of statues of Buddha. The images were carved into caves excavated from the limestone cliffs of the Mangsham and Longensham mountains.

There are 100,000 statues within the 1,400 caves ranging from 1 inch to 57 feet in height. There are also neary 2500 stelae and inscriptions, making it the Forest of Ancient Stelae, and over 60 Buddhist pagodas.

In 2000, the site was inscribed upon UNESCO World Heritage as “an outstanding manifestation of human creativity”.

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I need a haircut, manicure, pedicure and most of all.. a body massage. Is that too much?

Well, I’ve been working too hard since my eldest daughter went to college. There are times that I only have 3 hours of sleep. My hair is almost waist-length and I don’t even have time for a decent haircut. I also need to have my nails done. For body massage, I guess salt scrubs will do.

I wish I could pamper myself some time. Maybe not in the near future but hopefully before my hair looks like a lioness’ mane, and before my nails get too soiled to be ready for tree planting, hehe. Working girls need time out, right?

Had fun at the mall with Papa!

Last Saturday, my husband brought our daughter, Mika, to the mall where I work. I had promised to get her a nice back pack last July but I never got around buying it. My husband thought I wouldn’t have the chance to buy it unless someone interferes, by someone he was referring to himself naturally, lol! So, he got both of them ready and arrived at the mall about an hour before my time out from work. I asked them to look around while I finish my lecture. So, by the time I was out, they already got the bag that Mika wanted so much. We had roasted chicken for dinner then went to the department store to look for a toy robot for Daryl. As Mika and I were about to get on the escalator going to the second floor, I saw my husband checking for titanium watches men section. I felt sad somehow because I knew he would love to have one but we did not have enough money for that at the moment. He ended up buying a nice pair of sun glasses. The watch would wait, I guess..

There was a young man who just received his inheritance from his parents. After several months, however, most of his possessions were spent to things he didn’t really need,  for people he didn’t really care about and investments he didn’t wisely think of. And after stupidly telling a new friend about his inheritance, he was robbed by two men as he came out of a bar. The robbers beat him and left him for dead.

The young man woke up in a soft and warm bed. He was in the house of an old man, known to be kind and just, who found him lying on the streets to die. When the young man felt better enough to go, he spoke to the old man about his intention to leave and the old man said..

I can see you are well enough to go. But, may I know where to?”

The young man couldn’t answer. He, himself, didn’t know. So he said..

Can you lend me money so I can start a new life?”

I don’t have money. But if you want, you may work in my farm by picking mangoes and selling them to the market. That you way, you can save money to start a new life..”

And the young man worked. He worked so hard that in a short period of time he was able to save enough money. He, again, met with the old man..

Well, I can see  you are ready to leave. It’s so surprising how hard a man can work when he wants something so badly.. If I may ask, what do you plan to do when you leave this place?”

The young man looked confused..

Honestly, I don’t know.. I have no idea where and how to start a new life..”

You don’t need to decide now. If you want, you can stay here in my place until you are ready to go. If you stay here with me, I will protect you and provide for your needs. As long as you believe in me, nothing wrong is going to happen to you..”

And what am I supposed to give you in return?”

If you want to stay with me, you have to follow two rules..”

What are those?”

I am the MASTER of this house. You’re not supposed to have any other master aside from me. And, you will treat your fellow-workers the way you want to be treated..”

That’s all? And you’ll give me what I want?”

I said.. I will provide for your needs…”

But aren’t they the same? I want something because I need it..”

You’ll find out soon enough that they are different.. There are several rooms in my house, find yours.. I hope you would stay here longer than the others..”

So, the young man stayed. He worked hard and he was happy. As the old man promised, he was fed and well provided for. He doesn’t worry about any thing because he knows the old man is watching over him and wouldn’t let anything bad happen to him. He goes to bed every night with a light heart knowing he followed the old man’s rules. Weeks turned into months, months into years..

One day, he saw a new worker in the farm. Just like him, the newcomer was found by the old man lying on the street and waiting to die. He was drunk when he was hit by a car. He swore never to touch a drink again. It was easy because there was no alcoholic beverage in the old man’s house.

Suddenly, the young man longed for such beverage. But there was no such in the house and the only way to acquire it was to leave the old man’s house. Then, he started to think about his old life and the worldly things he used to have: car, cell phone, laptop, flat screen tv, fishing boat, motorcycle and a lot lot more. He began to want them back. Now, he finally understood the difference between wants and needs. He counted his money. It was enough for a new start. But to leave the old man’s house means to leave his provision and protection, and to stay means to turn his back on the worldly things he is craving for at the moment..

The young man had a hard time sleeping. For the first time since coming here, he felt discontented.. It was almost dawn when he finally closed his eyes..

If you were the young man, would you stay in the old man’s house or leave and enjoy the worldly life outside?

(original story by the blog author. Any similarity with other stories is purely incidental)

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