A cup of tea is priceless

The young boy asked the old man: by which means does one find satisfaction? The youthful boy was looking for an answer he himself couldn’t yet see. This might have been due to his long workload day after day or his rather poor eyesight that didn’t let him see the world correctly without his thick glass. The infamous thick glasses that everyone mocked him for.

The old man whose hearing was lost in the hands of time only heard “satisfaction” come from the young man and he suddenly remembered his youth. He recalled his strength, his courage and his companionship with his loving wife. He conjures up the spirits to speak and while doing so, clears his voice loudly to let the little boy know it is story time.

The teenage male hears his voice outside the man's hut and hurries over. With his machete still in his hand, he opens the door to the elder and sees him in his bed. The clay hut is almost barren of seats and only a small room buffers the entrance to the elders bedroom. Every young man knows if he survives the bite of the snake, he knows he will then live long enough to be condemned to a bed. He wishes he could be condemned to a bed.

Alongside the elder laid one poorly built wooden chair. The chair originally had four legs but one broke and so one had to balance to properly find a seat. After the old man had finally mustered up some strength he stood up on the bed in a supine position and asked the young man to bring him some tea. The young man knew of the elder’s needs and had already chopped up lemon leaves for the man's tea. He added water and some cane extract to a clay cup and handed it to his elder. The elder was now ready to talk to the little boy.

“Sit down young man and let me tell you about satisfaction; for, one can describe a shadow but knows not the figure that entails it.” “Enlighten me sir.” “What is it that stops you from enlightening yourself?” “I’m afraid my youthful ignorance has blissed me with momentary joy but my lack of knowledge has failed to liberate me from my captive state.” “Why must you believe that one knows nothing in his youth? When I was youthful, knowledge was plentiful and the clan found satisfaction within me!” “Yes sir, but the clan showers those of great strength with fortune, fame and those of great harvest. I am a jack of trade yet mastered none of the clans desires. My loneliness finds me no different than a sickle to wheat.” “Why must you look outside and not inside to find satisfaction.” “I have no lens to look inside my own mind. These lenses on my eyes were given to me to envision the leader I would be and see the upset I have become. When I harvest on the river waters, I only see the failed frail fraudulent lie I have become. Not even Oedipus could have severed such a curse!” “Why must you compare yourself to others so often? You look at other’s beautiful harvest and fail to enjoy yours.”

The room sat in silence, the only sound that could be heard was of the distant waterfall cascading.

The little boy sat there stumped in his quest to find his answer and so he asked the elder for an activity to do. He wanted to feel strong and desirable, complete a hard task that only Hercules himself could do. The elder told him that if he was to ever feel complete he had to go to the cave of the oracle.

“Elder, what is the cave of the oracle?” “The cave is that which grants an old man his wisdom and his knowledge. One beeches the oracle upon finding empty hair in his head and runs to find the oracle himself. He roars and fights strongly against one but it is only to give one fortune and fame. They say the oracle was so strong that they often zoomorph his shape into that of a man engulfed in fur. He lays burrowed in the winter and only comes out to eat. He stays strong eating berries and fatty fish; bearing huge teeth and nails the size of claws.” “What must I do to ever satisfy the oracle into giving me the fame and wealth I desire?” “One must slowly enter his cave, throw one's weapons at the walls, and strike both knees into the ground and prepare for his blessings.” “Is that it? It surely cannot be that simple!” “It is, but only if you are pure hearted for, the oracle blesses only those that serve others before himself. You, my child served me before you served yourself, thus, I find that you are ready”

The little boy was at his feet at once and ready to venture toward the oracle to find his fortune and fame. He asked the elder where to find him and the elder from his bed pointed toward the chair. He told him to break off one of the three remaining legs and there awaited his map towards the oracle. The boy slashed a leg with his machete and opened the piece of wood. Inside lay a papyrus inked filled map with a path towards the oracle. He thanked the elder for his wisdom and went out with his machete and his heart to find the oracle. Once the boy left, just as he closed the door behind him, the elder drew a quick smile to his face and went to sleep.

A couple of moons passed and a young woman knocked on his door. “Hello sir, I read the sign outside, I have some tea. The elder suddenly awakened, said in a loud voice, “Oh dear come in what brings you here?” She stood just outside his room; her thin body sculpted a small silhouette shadow that he could see from his chamber. Her voice was low but soft, youthfully bountiful. “I just read the sign and wanted to know what that word is and how it can give me what I want.” “For that you need to sit down and give me some tea dear.”

She glanced inside the empty room. There laid a bed with the elder sitting supine with his arms crossed one another and upon his chest, a small broken chair, and mugs around the bed. Quite a few. She asked him where exactly to sit down and he just pointed at the chair. She chose to stand up and inquired him about the said oracle. “Who is it, what is it?” “The oracle is a man, strong and rich. He lives in a cave but only wants those pure of heart to visit him." "Everyone knows that no one is rich within the mountains. Only the poors sustain themselves here and all those that enrich themselves move toward civilized land.” “The word isn’t as black and white as you would want it to be and oftentimes you youthful individuals miss that.” “Why should I believe you? Your skin is frail, your hair shallow, and your property deshelved. What exactly is lying in between your words old man? Within my words lies nothing but truth and placed upon my heart may a speak strike me down and a blade find my head if I lie.” “If you swear upon thyself, then where can I find him. What must I barter with this man to be given riches?” “The oracle is a reasonable man, one must be barren of arms and knees before him to let him examine your heart. Only then may he bring prosperity to your being.” “Whilst I would love to be more doubtful of your words, my situation is dire. Where is this man?” “He lies on a map, written by the ancient Egyptians, it lies inside the leg of my chair, break it and inside it you will find the map. She broke a leg of the chair, found the papyrus paper, and headed out the door in a hurry. Once she closed the door, the man smiled and went to bed.

A couple of moons passed and more and more people came attracted to the sign outside that read, “Give me tea and I will bring you a fortune!” People that wanted to escape the dangerous forest had to travel past mountains to get to safety over in the civilized land. Oftentimes, these people were poor and needed money to pay the toll to enter said land. The elder in his spare time when people weren’t around would make mugs and leave them outside. He would buy the fake furniture off of streetvenders whenever he would take the steamship to the large cities. People often wondered where he got the money for his large expenditures. Within the city he would always take luxury car rides to the bars and splurge on women. For whatever beauty he lacked, his wallet would make up for it. He popped bottles, bought jewelry for his women of the nighttime, and would often be dressed in the shiniest of fox coats. He loved his life and he only had to go back to his shelter for the winter to put up the sign again and sit down waiting for his visitors. People never knew what exactly he did but rumors spread that he was paid to take care of the president’s bear. The huge creature needed a lot of food and needed to be fed huge quantities of meat to be satisfied. All the young men that had previously acquired the job exhausted themselves trying to catch food for the bear. He was huge and oftentimes while feeding him, they fell prey to the animal. Everyone agreed that such a task would be impossible for an old man, right?