We found a quiet spot in the park, relatively quiet that is. Dunya festival in Rotterdam Central Park! Thousands of people of all nations were having a good time, music came from everywhere. Today Rotterdam is a village, everywhere one sees colleagues, known faces, even my ex comes along with our daughter.
A pen knife lay in the grass, a thick shiny thing with scissors, a screwdriver, a little saw and file. Oliver took it. ‘You always finds things’ i remarked and the penknife became the possession of my daughter. ‘We should take it to the police,’ she muttered but was glad despite her tweaking conscience. My ex moved on with the kid and we lay down again, remarking on the music and the beauty of the day.
There is a man in front of me, brushing through the grass with his feet. A woman comes up and explains about a lost penknife, – right here. Oliver and i remain silent. Now what? Suddenly the sun is too hot, the ground too hard, we move up a few meters into the shade and watch. We see all these people relaxed and happy, except the two of them, distressed searching the grass. They search for a long time, we remain silent.
That is how i added anger and frustration to a perfectly peaceful day. Now what? Let it go? Can’t! Remember how shame feels? The churning hotness of it. One tells oneself again and again ‘it’s too late to do something’ but never gets convinced.
Tuesday morning: time to get the kid to school. She is crying, i lost my favorite little elephant’. i hug her and the image of shuffling feet and grim faces is on my mind.
Based on “Would anyone know the difference” by Paulo Coelho
Please send your stories (250 words max.) for selection to paulocoelho.writer@gmail.com.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you for having the courage to share this story! I love talking with my kids about everything. Children teach me so much. I worried about making mistakes parenting. When my children turned 18 years of age, I invited each to forget everything I ever taught them, to go back to the beginning, and start again. This sounds controversial. But their dreams are not about me. They have their own paths to follow now, and if there was anything truthful or useful from my words or actions, they will remember or rediscover, on their own. It is never too late, I think. Even if simply having a difficult day, I go back to the beginning, and start it all over again. Thank You, Much Love and Caring
Ok,Carolena…Never mind. By mistake I was on your page. Thought who is this wonderful lady? Than I remembered you played the witch of Portobello. Very beautiful you are. Hope you are so happy as beautiful. Take care
Love
Alexandra
Gudrun, I agree about the confusion concerning the characters. However, what the story offers in the way of its content, what makes us think about the implied question of “what would you do?” is very good.
Thanks for sharing your story. Very nicely done.
Nanci
oeps, this is just a little confusing, montega is an e-mail adres and gudrun is my name,
thank you all for the nice reactions, i love to elaborate and it was challenging to use few words and still keep a storyline.
i didn’t succeed very well or Annie and Carolina would not have gotten lost in 288 words; that is very welcome feed back and i thank you both for it.
i like to talk about what makes us human; always attempting to get it right as we stumble and fall through our own lives.
There is this woman, she is my idol you might say, Pema Chodron is her name and she wrote that she didn’t learn a thing on how to cope with life when she read about the Saints, what really tought her were people that do bad things, those that hurt and steal, that don’t speak up when they should and look away when they need to be alert. It is stories about the pitfalls in life that teach me how to cope with the overwhelming sense of not living up to my own standards. Anyway, – what i meant to say is that we all make mistakes, – i make about 10 a day – and sometimes it’s really too late to do anything about it, and life goes on anyway, and the shame and the regrets you feel then, you can’t run away from them, so how do people cope, how do you cope?
I will tell this story to my kids in school and discuss it with them.
Thank you, dear Gudrun, beautifully said.
I always used to cry for my .. broken dolls and toys…
So, I know, we have to respect other people’s possessions. Value has nothing to do..
They could go back and pretend they have just found it … and make it up. ‘Better late than never’= Κάλλιο αργά παρά ποτέ, we Greeks say.
LOVE,
Thelma.
I loved this story. It reminds me: What goes around comes around…or better… you reap what you sow.
I wonder, in making a different decision to speak up and help those who have lost something find what they are looking for, that we in fact give a ‘universal deposit’ that grants a blessed withdrawl when we really need it.
Hi Gudrun,
I had a lovely ant Gudrun, rest her soul!
Yes, as the little elephant meant the world to your daughter, a little pen knife can mean the world to a man always carrying it in his pocket.
Thanks for your story,
Heart
PS My brother lived for a year in Rotterdam, and says its the best place on earth.
Montega, thank you for sharing this story, but since my dyslexia is at an apex, your story is confusing to me and I don’t understand what you are trying to say. I have jumbled the characters, don’t know who is who and all… My problem though not yours.
I’ve enjoyed reading you on the blog though.
love.
Dear Montega, thank you.I loved the happy end. Is true that we think that way at times,that is too late to repair our wrong deeds. But is not, always is a relief.
Love
Alexandra
How do you think the situation can be relieved Alexandra??
No, I was talking about the guilt. If we try to repair one bad action, that was caused by us, we will find the lost peace of mind.
I don’t understand Alexandra, mind elaborating?