All In A Name

This is the story of a young man who had a great wish. The boy had lived a fragile childhood. Many days and nights he stood at the base of an immense hill, weeping out his frustrations. He wished and he wished …all he wanted was to be big and powerful. Many hours were spent sobbing in misery against the knotted bark of a great tree.

One day while asking the sky once more for his wish, he was met by a wise elderly man. The grizzled traveler had stopped to comfort the boy, but the child was so deep in his suffering he was unaware of the man's presence. The bent old man sat patiently waiting for the boy to notice him.

Soon the boy lifted his head, sniffing and wiping at his eyes. Startled to see the ragged traveler sitting so near, the child jumped to his feet, frightened that the other might mean him harm. The old man hastened to reassure the boy that he was safe and asked him to relax and share what was troubling him. Reluctantly, the boy let all of his unhappiness flow out.

"Everyone thinks I'm stupid," he wailed. "Even my mother calls me a dummy. I don't have any friends and even strangers make fun of me. I wish I was never born!"

The aged man sat and listened patiently until the boy, spent from emotion, quieted and slumped to the ground beside him. After a moment, the old man said, "I am called Myer. I am on a journey of

Light. You have heard of me?"

The boy shook his head.

"No matter," the man smiled - displaying a mouth full of stained and broken teeth. His smile

widened into a shameless grin, obviously not concerned or self-conscious of his decayed and toothless condition.

"This calls for a gift," he said, joyously slapping his thigh. Reaching for his walking stick, he slowly rose to stand before the boy. "When I learn your name this gift will be yours," he stated, reaching into a deep pocket of his tattered coat.

Hesitantly, the boy uttered, "My real name is Daniel, but my family calls me Dumb Danny.”

Bowing before the boy, Myer stretched out a hand and lay it gently on the child's bony shoulder. "Greetings Daniel, my boy. Yours is a special name - it means 'God is my Judge'." Removing his hand from Daniel's shoulder he said, "There is only one condition to receiving this gift."

The boy cocked his head curiously, awaiting the next statement. "You must agree to keep it, only until you reach eighteen years and then you must pass it on to another …you will know who at the time. Do you agree?”

The child nodded cautiously.

Myer pulled his hand from beneath his coat and held it out, fist closed, toward the boy. Daniel

extended his own, palm up, and the old man handed him the gift. It was a shiny green stone. Daniel cradled it carefully in his hand, turning it over with the other. It glistened in the twilight. "It's beautiful," Daniel murmured.

"This gem holds a great legend," the man said softly. "This is the very stone which won the War of Lux.” Although the boy had never heard of this war he felt impressed with the man's obvious reverence for this fact.

“Keep this stone in your pants pocket and the next time your hear mean-spirited words directed toward you, reach into your pocket and cradle the stone in your hand for at least thirty seconds. You must not reveal it; just hold it for the count of thirty before moving or speaking a word. Can you do that?"

"Yes," Daniel declared, admiring the shiny object in his palm. "I can do that.”

"Remember, you must remain holding the gem for at least thirty seconds before reacting in any way.”

The boy nodded seriously.

The next day as Daniel was walking to the store for his mother, two of the neighborhood boys stepped in front of him demanding to know where he was going.

"To the store," he said timidly.

"Great!" the larger of the two boys shouted, "Then you can buy us a candy bar!"

"I can't, I don't have any money.”

Grabbing Daniel's hand, the bully twisted the dollar bill from his grasp and held it up. "Hey, what's this - looks like money to me!

"'That's my mother's money," Daniel cried out. "She'll kill me if I lose it!"

"Aw that's tough, mommy's-boy!" he said roughly, shoving Daniel to the ground.

As the bully stood over him laughing, Daniel felt the stone pressing against his thigh. Suddenly remembering what the old man had told him, he shoved his hand into the pocket, wrapped his fingers around the gem and began counting.

Before he got to ten, a strong gust of wind came up and blew the dollar bill out of the bully's hand, setting it down only inches from Daniel's right foot. Whipping his hand back out of his pocket, Daniel quickly grabbed for the bill, but just as he reached for it the bully whisked it away again and ran down the road. The bill was lost for good.

Daniel hid his face in his hands and cried. "It's not fair, it's not fair!"

That night while he lay in bed, sore from the beating his mother had given him, he thought about what had happened. When he awoke the next morning, he remembered the dream. In his dream the old man was standing before him asking over and over again, "How long did you count ...how long did you count?" It was then the boy realized he had only held the stone for about seven seconds before jerking his hand out of his pocket to grab for the dollar bill. But, he reasoned to himself, if I hadn't reached for the bill the bully would have snatched it away. So if I held the stone longer, I still would have lost it. Even so, he determined to do better next time.

Later that day, he was sitting by the creek watching for water striders, when his ten year old

neighbor, Jack, ambled toward him. "Hey dummy," he shouted. "Wacha doin?"

"Nothin" Daniel said, hoping he would soon leave.

"I heard you blubbering last night, what happened anyway?”

"Nothin," he repeated.

Slapping him hard on the shoulder Jack said, "C'mon, fess up dummy - ya gotta beatin, huh?"

Irritated by Daniel's silence, Jack reached out and smacked him once more, hard on the shoulder. When he again received no response, the young tormentor jumped to his feet, dancing around chanting, "Danny got a whippin, Danny got a whippin - what a baby! Danny the dummy is a baby - little baby Danny!”

It was then that Daniel remembered the stone in his pocket. Without moving the rest of his body from where he lay, he slowly dug his hand inside his pocket until he felt the smooth stone. Wrapping his fist around it, he began to count.

"Little baby Danny," Jack continued to chant, "never grew up!"

After a few more moments of cruel teasing, Jack became bored and annoyed that Daniel wasn't responding. With hostile intent, Jack veered angrily toward Daniel's body, but in his blind rage he hadn't noticed the tree branch on the ground in front of him and tripped, falling flat on his face! He arose, bloodied and embarrassed, and with wounded pride stormed off.

As he watched Jack stomp off, Daniel's count reached "thirty" and taking his hand off the stone he grinned with pleasure at the satisfying turn of events. Jumping up and down, he shouted, 'I get it, I get it!"

So impressed by the way things had turned out, he promised himself his next encounter would be experienced from this new perception. He began whistling as he strode back down the path toward town.

As Daniel passed by the front door of the local bank, his mother, who was leaving the building, collided with him. "Hey what the devil!" his mother cursed. "Danny! What are you doing here - I told you to clean the chicken coop today!"

Infuriated, she reached out a fist and forcefully hit her son on top of his head. Immediately, Daniel's hand dove into the pocket of his jeans and wrapped it around the precious gem. As his mother's hand rose again, poised for a second blow, her foot slipped out from under her and she hit the ground, scattering papers everywhere.

Daniel's fingers remained wrapped around the stone as he continued to count, "eleven, twelve, thirteen..." 

His mother quickly straightened herself and lunged for him, ready to impart another firm blow to the child's head. But just at that moment, Mr. Samson, the mayor, walked out of the bank. Daniel's mother quickly withdrew her fist and stammered, "Oh, h …hello Mayor." The mayor tipped his hat to the woman and continued on his way.

By this time there were enough others nearby to cause his mother to retreat.

“Twenty eight, twenty nine, thirty!"

Daniel continued to use the precious stone over the years. There were more times than he could count in which the stone had come in handy - the more he used it, the more his life changed. There came a time when he found that it worked as well for his own anger as for other's.

Once, when he was sixteen, he had been accused and then punished, by his teacher for something

he had not done. In his frustration he lashed out, "But Mr. Devlin, it wasn't me! This is totally not fair …if you think I'm going to….”

His voice drifted off as his fingers found the stone. He realized that he couldn't count and talk at the same time. He watched as Mr. Devlin turned and walked away, seemingly unaware of Daniel's displeasure. This event and others helped Daniel to manage his temper and taught him at an early age what some never learn.

He was amazed, time after time, that simply by delaying his reactions he was saved an unpleasant experience. Also, there seemed to be magic in this shiny gem. So many times, he was rescued from harm as others were forced to back off and withdraw their hurtful intent. This indeed was some special rock!

Time passed and the stone became a trusted friend. With its presence, Daniel always felt safe and powerful. He took it everywhere he went. When he swam in the lake he could feel its weight safely closed within his zippered pocket. At night he slept with it under his pillow. When he bathed, it sat on the side of the tub within reach of his arm.

Over the years, Daniel grew to be a kind and loving soul. He learned to allow his mother and others their weaknesses without taking on those limitations himself. Because he always felt protected, he had become courageous and generous to others. He was truly loved and respected by everyone.

One day as he walked down the trail to the river, Daniel spied a stooped old man shuffling his way toward him. He knew immediately it was Myer, whom he had not seen for all these years. He had always wanted to thank the elderly sage who had gifted him with the stone that had changed his life.

"Myer!" he cried out. "Myer! It's me Daniel!"

Hurrying up to the tattered old gentleman, Daniel reached out and hugged the dear soul to his chest. By now Daniel towered above his bent old friend. He was several years a teenager and had grown tall and strong.

"My, my, my, look at you young man," Myer cooed. “Haven't you stretched up a bit?" smiling his toothless grin.

"I'm so happy to see you Myer," Daniel said kindly. "I always wanted to thank you for the gift of the magic stone.”

Myer patted the strong shoulder of his younger friend. Taking a step back, he peered affectionately at Daniel saying, "Oh the stone's not magic …it's simply a tool."

Carefully setting himself down on a soft clump of grass, Myer looked up toward his young companion and with a twinkle in his eye asked, "So my friend, what has the stone taught you?"

Daniel settled himself down beside Myer and said thoughtfully, "To be brave.”

"Hmm, yes - go on." Myer nodded.

Realizing this was going to require a deeper contemplation, Daniel allowed his eyes to gaze off toward the horizon and after a moment said, "It has taught me patience and that I'm never alone ...that I have a force within me and the ability to change any situation for the good of all."

"Goodness!" Myer praised. "Well said!" Daniel's cheeks reddened in appreciation.

The old man continued, "So, let me ask you …if you knew back then, before we met, what you know now, would you still need the stone?"

Daniel realized he had never thought of that possibility. When he finally answered he said, "Well, I guess not …I mean, if I knew I could do everything without the stone that I did with it, I guess I wouldn't need it.” 

Pleased with this new-found realization, he jumped to his feet, standing proudly before his old friend.

"Good Daniel - good." Myer said soothingly. Then reaching for his walking stick he rose painfully to his feet, pausing momentarily as if to gather strength. Then thrusting his hand, palm up, toward Daniel he said grinning, "Alright then …give it here!"

Stunned, Daniel stammered, "Wh …what ...what do you mean?"

"Oh, I see you've forgotten our bargain, eh?" Still smiling, he tilted his head slightly, as if asking for a reply.

Daniel, not sure what Myer was getting at replied, "Our bargain? I, I’m….”

"Yes, my friend, what day is this?"

"April 21st …tomorrow's my birthday.

"Yes, and which birthday is it, might I ask?"

"My eighteenth. Uh …Oh!" he said, remembering. "I had forgotten."

Slumping against the tree, Daniel felt deflated and suddenly frightened. He had successfully stored that memory somewhere in the back of his mind and managed to deny this moment would ever really come to pass, especially since he had not seen his friend since that day so long ago.

Daniel took several deep breaths before looking back at Myer. "Now I remember - of course I will be happy to return….”

His voice drifted off as he relived the memory of Myer's statement so many years before. "But, I thought I was supposed to pass it on to someone else - who?”

"Since you now remember the bargain, you will also remember what else I told you, right?"

Pausing, Daniel thought back. "Yes …you said I would know who to gift it to when the time came.”

"Indeed!" Myer exclaimed.

"But my birthday's tomorrow and I have no idea….”

Myer stepped closer and placed a gnarled hand on the boy's shoulder, speaking warmly, "You will, my boy …you will." Then straightening himself as much as he could, he said tenderly, "I must go Daniel."

"Oh no, please …I’ve waited so many years, couldn't you stay for a while? Or I could….”

"I'll see you again, I promise - it's written in the stars." Myer smiled, offering his hand.

Ignoring the handshake, Daniel leaned forward and once again, hugged the old man tight.

"Thank you Myer," Daniel said, his voice thick with emotion. "I don't know how to ...uh, thank you.”

Releasing his beloved friend, he turned his face to the cliffside, hoping to hide his trembling lip.

“You're welcome ...Daniel the Brave." Myer whispered.

Daniel stood without moving, head turned upward to the sky, eyes closed. His mind reeled with feelings and questions. A few moments later, wiping his eyes, he turned back toward the spot where he last saw Myer - but he was gone.

Daniel's eyes searched the trail in both directions, puzzled that the old man couldn't be seen. How on earth? He couldn't believe that feeble old fellow could possibly have disappeared so quickly. That's impossible. Where...?

Closing his eyes, he sunk to the ground where the old man had been sitting and sighed out his frustration. As had become his habit, whenever he was stressed, his hand found its way into his pocket and he cradled the smooth surface of the beloved magic rock. He sat for hours, thinking, remembering, contemplating.

The next morning, Daniel woke early, knowing what day it was. This was the last day he would have his magic stone with him. He almost wished he could ignore the day's birthday festivities and maybe it would all stay the same, but he had agreed to meet Angela at noon tor a celebration lunch. He warmed at the thought of Angela. How lucky he had been to have found such an Angel - remembering smiling when she told him her name meant "Messenger of God." How perfect, he thought at the time, and after knowing her for the past year, he felt it was a perfect fit.

"Bye Mom!" he yelled as he left the house, fully aware that he would receive no answer.

He made his way down the winding path to the street. At the bottom of the driveway he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. At first he thought it was a cat or dog, but soon realized he was looking at a little boy, his body partially obscured by the garbage cans and trash. The boy was curled up in a fetal position, crying. Daniel felt a lump in his throat as he stepped closer to the sobbing child.

"Here …here," he said in a soothing voice. The boy jumped to his feet, eyes wild and afraid.

"No…no, " Daniel said quickly, as he reached toward the boy, "I won't hurt you.”

He stood calmly, with his arm extended, until the boy became more composed and he felt a swelling of compassion for this little lost soul.

"My name's Daniel, what's yours?" he offered.

The boy, wiping his runny nose on his dirty sleeve, shyly stuttered, "My-my name's N-N-Nathan" and looking down at his shoeless feet said sadly, "My d-d-dad c-c-calls me n-n-nutty Nathan.” 

With this difficult proclamation, he began crying again. Without thinking, Daniel kneeled down and wrapped his arms around the shivering child.

"There, there, no one's going to harm you …ever again."

Somewhat surprised by what he heard himself saying, Daniel's body trembled as he became aware of what this seemingly chance meeting was to mean for him and the boy. He knew that very instant, that this was the one he would gift with the "magic" stone.

Daniel was a few minutes late meeting Angela at their favorite restaurant. He rushed through the doorway, glancing about to see it she had already seated herself. When he saw her sitting at their usual table, he took in a deep breath of appreciation.

She was wearing her peacock blue blouse (his favorite color) and the plaid skirt they had picked out together on her last birthday. He felt a rush of love for her, smiling to himself as she tenderly held the vase of flowers to her face, breathing in their fragrance.

How lucky can one guy be?

As had been his habit for the last eight years, he reached into his pocket for the stone and for a split second his heart leapt in panic when he found his pocket empty. Then calming himself, he smiled as he remembered the look of gratitude on the little boy's face as he admired the shiny green stone.

Daniel's last words to him had been, "I'll see you again, I promise - it's written in the stars.”