by Billy Miner
“Sorry, Sir, it won’t happen again.”
“Yeah, yeah, cut the nonsense. Go help those guys over there.”
Marcus wasn’t fond of Sielieth at all. But now that he realized that the construction company needed him as much as he needed the payments, he put his back into it and helped as much as he could. It was still boring, it was still hard work, but the pig made him realize the value he was adding to his co-workers, his employer, and the people who were going to live in the homes they were building. He didn’t just see it as getting it over with and getting paid, just to survive.
As the day went by, nothing spectacular happened, although Marcus found more fulfillment in his work. It was 6:00 p.m. It was almost time to go home. Almost time to relax for a little while.
But then something happened, something Marcus never expected, especially not from him, from Sielieth.
Marcus walked around the corner of the company building and stopped. What he observed there he would have never imagined. Sielieth was sitting down, bending over, and covering his face. Was he crying? Sielieth… the big man, the strong, bold power figure who controlled hundreds of people’s lives… what problems could he have? At first, Marcus was about to walk away. After all, it wasn’t his place to talk to him, in particular to a grown man who could solve his own issues. But then Sielieth looked up. “What are you looking at?” he sneered.
“N-nothing,” Marcus stuttered, as he stared at him for a few seconds in innocence.
“Look, I am sorry,” Sielieth said. “It’s not your fault you ran into me like this.”
“No problem, Sir,” Marcus answered. “I can leave if you want.”
“Oh, I guess I might as well explain to you what is going on. It’s not like you’re going to tell the other co-workers, right?”
“Uhm…”
“If you do, I will fire you.”
“Ah. Clear as glass, Sir,” Marcus said as he became a little pale.
“I am just kidding. No, but seriously, this is confidential. Can you handle that?”
“Of course, Sir.”
“Listen. You think I have such an easy life, don’t you? Well, I am in deep trouble. One of my companies is about to collapse. The workers have gone on strike. They refuse to finish the project. And if they don’t finish it, I will suffer some serious financial losses. If I lose that company, I will have enough left to survive, and if I sell my house, I would have a little more, but I wouldn’t have enough to keep my wife alive.”
“Sir?”
“My wife is dying, Marcus. I don’t know what to do about it. The doctors say she needs medicine from the mountains… way high up in the mountains. There is a certain herb called ‘felexus aridius’ there that will heal her, according to the physician I talked to. Here, this is what it looks like.” Sielieth showed Marcus a drawing someone made of the particular plant.
He went on, “But to go get it, is almost suicide. The rocks are dangerous, there are predators all over the hills, and the plant is difficult to find. The only other way to provide her the necessary medicine is to purchase it, but you can imagine a rare herb like that costs a fortune. I am overwhelmed. My children need a mother, and I need my wife.”
“I am sorry, Sir. I understand that must be hard,” Marcus empathized.
“Anyway, there is no point in bothering you with my problems. Thanks for listening. I will let you go now,” Sielieth said.
As Marcus gathered his belongings and returned home, he was still pondering the conversation he had with Sielieth. He had hated Sielieth, because he was above him. He admitted that he was even kind of jealous because he realized Sielieth had more than he did. But now, he didn’t envy him at all. Apparently, Sielieth had some dire issues with the companies he owned, and his wife was dying.
Along the way, the air became foggy. Marcus tried to see, but the fog became thicker and thicker, to the point that he could only see a few feet in front of him. “Great. Now, how am I going to find my way back home?” he wondered.
Then he saw a light. What is that? It moved up and down, left and right, and curved in a swirling manner across the sky. Since he didn’t think he had anything else to do—I mean, he already gave up on the idea of getting home on time—he decided to follow it. It went up and up into the hills. Marcus came closer. It was a firefly! Wow! He hadn’t seen fireflies in years! This looked interesting!
When he followed the firefly, he sensed it was almost like it was guiding him somewhere. “Where are you going?” Marcus shouted out as he smiled. This was fun!
Suddenly he heard a sound. That didn’t sound good. Not good at all. It was growling. And in this thick fog, it could have come from anywhere. Marcus became scared. He looked around, but saw nothing. The growling continued and came closer each second. Now Marcus was really nervous.
“Is anyone there?” he said.
“Come out, wherever you are!”
After turning around, he saw two eyes emerging from the fog. “I have to get out of here,” he thought to himself. When the eyes came closer, he saw what it was. A cougar!
“Aaaaaaaaaaah!” he yelled, as he ran away into the other direction.
Naturally, the cougar followed his about-to-be delicious snack as quickly as he could. Marcus ran as fast as his legs would carry him.
“I am going to die… I am going to die… I am going to die…” he thought, until he saw a cave. He ran towards the cave and hid in one of its narrow walls. The cougar was nearby. Marcus could smell its breath and hear the cougar sniff around.
“I am going to be dinner. I am going to be eaten. I am going to be dead. Please let him leave.”
It took another hour before the coast was clear. After that, Marcus stayed another 30 minutes, until he trusted the beast to be gone. He sighed, carefully left his hiding place and went outside. The fog had disappeared by now. “Ah, I can go home.” But where was he? “Mmmm… finding my way back seems harder from here.”
Before Marcus could think of anything else, he saw the firefly again, this time more visible than before. It was beautiful.
“Hey, little buddy,” Marcus whispered.
“Come here. I won’t hurt you.”
With that, the firefly flew away again. “Come back!” Marcus yelled. He decided to follow it. The firefly flew up into the mountains even more, and went higher and higher. It became cold… very cold. Marcus entered the snowy peaks of the mountains. “Why am I even doing this?” he said. But for some reason, he felt it would be worth it in the end.
Then he saw it. The firefly hadn’t been flying around aimlessly. It stopped in the distance at a rocky spot on the wall of one of the mountains. Marcus squinted his eyes and tried to zoom in and see farther. “No,” he said. “It can’t be true!”
Exactly at the spot the firefly landed, he saw the plant his employer had been talking about.
“Okay, okay, let’s think for a second,” Marcus thought out loud.
“I get the plant. Sielieth’s wife gets healed. I get a raise, and I can finally start living the life I want!”
But then he looked up again. “Ouch, that’s a long way up. Not to mention the rocky climb and the risk of falling down and breaking my neck.” Was THAT worth the raise? His life?
“I don’t think so.”
As he turned around, he got stopped by the startling appearance of the firefly in his face.
“Wow. How did you get down here so fast?”
“You know…” began the firefly.
“Wow wow wow!” Marcus interrupted him. “You can talk too? What is going on here? Why are all these animals talking to me? Am I dreaming again?”
“Be quiet and listen for a minute,” the firefly rebuked him. “You need to do something. Now! And if you don’t, you will be miserable for the rest of your life.”
“Let me guess,” Marcus answered. “You want me to risk my life to get that plant, right?”
“Right.”
“Well, forget it. If I die, then what’s that goin
g to do? It’s not worth the money.”
“Money? Who said anything about money?” the firefly asked.
“Oh… I assumed…”
“Listen up, you selfish brat,” the firefly replied. “You won’t be miserable because you would miss out on the opportunity of a promotion at work. That’s not what I am talking about. If you don’t do this, you will be miserable because you could have saved a life and didn’t. The only way to save yourself is to lose yourself. Don’t you get it?”
Marcus didn’t like being called a brat, but he DID realize he was being selfish. If not for the money, he should at least try to help Sielieth’s wife, even though he didn’t know her.
The firefly continued. “I wasn’t trying to scold you are make you feel guilty,” he said. “But you have to see life as it is. The only way to live life to the fullest is to help others. You cannot indulge yourself in luxury and expect to have a high self-image. Nobody who thinks only of himself really likes himself. This is your moment of truth, the true test of your character. I am not going to force you. I just showed you the way. What are you going to do?”
After a few thoughtful seconds, Marcus made his decision. Determined to get the plant, he walked towards the mountain and began climbing. It was rocky, it was hard to hold on to, and he slipped twice. But as he pulled himself up, step by step, he approached the plant. He came to the ledge and pulled himself over it.
“Gotcha!” he shouted as he grabbed the plant. He pulled it out, stuffed it in his bag, and went down another, less risky way.
Later that evening, Marcus went to the house of his employer. When he came to the door, he thought, “I can give this plant to Sielieth, waiting for him to give me credit and be eternally grateful. That would be nice.”
But then he stood still and thought about his motives. He picked up the plant, out of his bag, placed it in front of the door, knocked on the door, and ran home. When Sielieth opened the door and saw the plant, he couldn’t believe his eyes. This was his wife’s rescue! “Kids!” He shouted. His five children ran towards the door. “Look! We are saved!” All the children yelled, “Yay!”
But who could have done this? “Hey, is anybody there? Anyone?” No answer. “Thank you! You have no idea what this means to me!”
That night, Marcus lay down in his bed. The same firefly flew in, since the window was open. “Well done, Marcus,” he said. “This was the second step.”
Marcus fell asleep fast with a smile on his face.
Day 4: The Revelation
Tuesday. Time to go to work again. Marcus got up, ate breakfast, and walked to work. He greeted some of his co-workers. “Good morning, Marcus!” Sielieth said in a cheery voice. He was in a good mood, and Marcus knew why.
The day went by quickly. The same boring routine, the same hard work…. Would something weird happen again today? Marcus almost expected it as he took his bag and left on his way home.
Nothing.
He came home and wondered if the second step might have been the last step. And steps to what? He didn’t even know what those animals were after. Maybe it was just a big joke. Making fun of Marcus, huh? Really mature.
Marcus lay in his bed, wondering about all the things that had happened. He felt better after helping out his boss the way he did, but he was curious if that was it, or if anything else was going to occur.
After a while, Marcus fell asleep….
An hour later, he was still sleeping…
Then he heard a weird sound. It was a “kaw” or “screech.” What could that be? He looked out the window and saw an eagle flying by.
“Cool!” Marcus exclaimed.
He ran downstairs, put his coat on and went outside. Where did the eagle go? Oh, there! He had never seen as close before as he did now. But then, after soaring through the sky, the eagle speedily flew at Marcus. Marcus dropped on the floor. Wow! That was close!
Suddenly, the eagle landed on a fence pole. It was huge… (the eagle, not the pole.) Its majestic feathers reflected the sunlight.
“Marcus Evolius, come with me.”
A talking eagle? But why would he be surprised, right? After hearing a talking pig and a talking firefly, a talking eagle wasn’t such a big deal.
“How do you know my name?” Marcus asked.
“Many know your name in this kingdom, but here they know nothing.”
“But… how come?” Marcus asked.
“No more questions,” the eagle said. “Hop on. I will take you, show you, and make you see.”
“Uhmm… is that safe?”
“Would I be suggesting it if it wasn’t?”
“Well…. Okay.”
Marcus jumped on the eagle’s back, and together they flew off. It was like he was flying himself. This was great! Seeing all the little town houses disappear in the distance as they went higher and higher.
“I am impressed,” Marcus said.
“You will be even more impressed when you realize where I am taking you,” the eagle added.
“Where are we going?” Marcus asked.
“Just wait. Patience is important for your future responsibilities.”
What was that supposed to mean? What responsibilities? Marcus scratched his head and after a few minutes, he just accepted he had to wait for the answer. The eagle wasn’t going to reveal much now anyway. Weird bird, being all mysterious… oh well.
“There!” the eagle said after two hours of flying. He pointed at a big castle that became visible after passing through a bunch of clouds.
“The royal castle of the Cross Kingdom?” Marcus said. “What does that have to do with anything?”
The castle looked beautiful. It had four towers, tons of decorations, and a humongous entrance. Marcus always dreamt of living there, but he didn’t even think he could ever go inside it, just to visit.
The eagle landed in front of the entrance. “Let’s go inside,” he said. The guards stopped him. “Who goes there?” they asked. Then they saw the eagle. “Oh, the king is expecting you,” they continued. Marcus began to feel a little strange inside. The king? They were going to see the king?
As they walked through the hallway, the eagle turned to him and said, “Do you know who your parents are?”
“Not exactly,” Marcus responded. “They live far away, that’s all I know.”
“You are of royal descent,” the eagle said boldly. “Your parents gave you away for adoption to protect you from danger. Your responsibilities are great, which is why I sent you two messengers to test you. They were there to find out if you were ready to know the truth. You see, you cannot run a kingdom righteously without a sense of equality or a without empathy. Even the king needs to realize that his role is to serve the kingdom, and thus, its inhabitants. The second test was there to learn if you had the selfless attitude to do what is right, despite of the reward that follows.”
Marcus couldn’t believe his ears. “So all that time, you were preparing me to come back?”
“Yes,” the eagle answered. “And now you are ready. Learning the truth is the last step.”
It was still sinking in that Marcus was the prince. A smile appeared on his face as he thought of how important he would become and how much good he could do. But then, his smile disappeared.
“Danger?” he said. “What kind of danger?”
“There is an evil wizard who wanted to possess the crown,” the eagle said as they kept walking to the throne room. “He is determined to take you out. We couldn’t risk it, so we hid you away until you were old enough to fight him.”
“And where is this wizard?” Marcus asked.
“We don’t know. We have an indication. That’s all. But we DO know he will be back to claim the throne. That’s where you must step in. You have to defeat him, because you are the rightful heir. Good. We are here. Please be quiet at first. Let me do the talking until I say that it’s okay.”
Day 5 and 6: The Reunion
The eagle knocked on the vast door of the throne roo
m. A guard opened up. “There you are. The king and queen are inside. They have been expecting you.”
“Good,” the eagle said as he entered the room. “Follow me, Marcus.”
The throne room was magnificent. Diamonds, crystals, sapphires, and tapestry ornamented the walls, the throne, the table, and the ceiling. Golden statues and sophisticated paintings were to be seen all around him. Marcus marveled at the details and was eager to meet his actual parents. There they were, each sitting on a large throne.
The king and queen! His parents!
“Your highness, your son is ready,” the eagle said when they approached the royal parents’ throne. The king stood up. “My son, is that really you?” The queen stood up too and came closer. Both parents grabbed Marcus’ face and took a close look. “Oh, my, you have your mother’s gorgeous eyes and my strong jaws. Welcome home son.” The king and queen embraced Marcus for about ten seconds. Marcus was glad he finally found out who his parents were. This was greater than he expected.
“Get the best china and roast a lamb for supper!” the king exclaimed. “My son has returned! Let there be a feast!”
Right after the king said that, a bunch of royal servants began to run around like crazy, trying to organize the emergency party the king just had announced.
“Come, son, let me show you your inheritance,” the king said. He put his arm around Marcus’ shoulder and walked him through the castle, showing him the bedroom, the hallways, the atrium, the castle wall, and the beautiful garden behind it. Marcus loved it. Could this day get any better?
After the tour, dinner was served. All Marcus’ favorite foods were there: Steak, green beans, sweet potatoes, roasted lamb in mint sauce, and delicious desserts like pudding, fresh tropical fruit, and little bite-sized baked goods.
“I am glad you came home,” Marcus’ mother said. “We love you so much. We were suffering when you were gone, but it was our only choice.”
“Which brings us to our next topic,” the king interrupted. “How old are you, son? You must be 22 by now, aren’t you?”