The Gift

Last night I dreamed I was trapped beneath the earth in a dark and desolate cave. I had been walking a path through the woods with several friends; laughing, sharing, playfully enjoying life. Each of us meandering off course from time to time, I found myself occasionally worried that someone else would stumble and fall—never expecting that it would ever be me.

With each step to the left or to the right I felt empowered, immovable, invincible; with each step I wandered nearer the opening of this hidden cave. I fell. In the blink of an eye I was trapped. Bruised and tattered I could not accept this as defeat. At the top of my voice I cried out, 'Help me!', but no one heard. My friends simply continued along the path oblivious to my descent. Did they not care? Did they not realize that I had fallen? Again I cried out, 'Someone! Anyone! Please help me!' to deaf ears and eerie silence. Stranded and faced with the predicament I had unwittingly fallen into I knew that my only choice was to struggle forward. Perhaps there would be another way out of this cave. I pulled myself to my feet, limping slightly, but feeling encouraged by the bravado of the human spirit. I would never be defeated so easily! Certainly I would prove that despite my circumstances I COULD and WOULD survive.

I took my first step forward, straining as my eyes and weakened body adjusted to the dark and damp of this rocky terrain beneath the earth. Fear would overcome me if I stood still. I thought I heard someone calling me by name...surely I was hallucinating in vain hope. It was then that I spied it! Gold! It was GOLD sparkling in the distance just beyond my reach! Excitedly I lurched forward. It was such a short distance away, and although I could not see what might be lying in the path between the gold and I, I knew that with determination and strength I would obtain this prize. My friends would be so jealous; they would be sorry that they had abandoned me!

My next few steps were painful. I twisted my ankle, I stumbled, and I fell. I was cut and bleeding but determined to grasp the gold. If I took a moment to sit and rest I knew I would be able to press on. I sat down on a cold, sharp surface, slippery with the damp moisture of the cave. In this moment I looked around me, taking in the harsh reality of my situation. Gathering my thoughts, my strength, and courage I could see now that the path ahead of me was filled with treachery and pitfalls; things I would be able to avoid if approached with careful skill and foresight. Gold glittering in the distance, sparkling brighter than ever before, I was entranced. Glancing behind me at the narrow path leading back into the direction from whence I had came I could see that there was no real escape for me. Faced with the dilemma of the path ahead versus sitting still with the faint hope that someone would come along, the choice seemed ignorantly simplistic.

I began to crawl, creeping forward ever so slowly at first in fear that I might fall victim to the horrors of the path ahead. I could see the bones of other travelers who too had come this way; forgotten souls who lacked the determination or intelligence to reach the gold. I had no doubt that I was not like them. I would press on. Weary, cold, tired, and hurting every inch closer I came to the gold the further in the distance it seemed to move. Was I losing my mind? I slipped, I fell, and I was broken and torn. 'I must go on!' I cried...'I will not be defeated!' I had to have the gold.

My chest ached with each laboring breath I drew in, continually becoming more and more disoriented, struggling towards my prize. At last the gold was within reach. With my dying breath I raised my arm, clenched my fingers tightly around the scintillating, luminous prize I had so desperately and futilely fought for. Worthless, filthy shards of glass, coal, and dirt mixed with my blood—the gold had been nothing more than an illusion. Crying bitter tears I at last laid down my head, and gave up —waiting for death to claim me.

It was then that I heard a whisper. A soft and loving whisper.

'How could you?' I screamed! 'How could you leave me to die in this place? Why did you let me fall? Why would you not rescue me?'

My anger increased with each fleeting breath. All that glitters is Gold: the thought resounded in my head. Fools gold. A bitter lesson learned too late.

'My child,' he continued to whisper, 'I never left your side. I did not lead you to this place, and I could not take away your right of choice. I stood here with you, waiting and praying that you would allow me to save you. I love you, my precious one. Take my hand. I will carry you home.'

Lorelli