The Woman, the Paper and the Green Container

“Life isn’t what they tell you, boy. I’ll tell you the Truth, do you want to know? Go get something for me first. When you come back, I’ll tell you everything”

The boy was young. To him the woman seemed like someone who knew things, she had a certain feel to her, a Magic Woman of sorts, someone who had secrets. The boy didn’t have any particular plans that afternoon and so he agreed to run the errand. The air was warm and dry, the streets were bustling and smelled like roasted chicken and human sweat. The woman had a shop down an alleyway near where the boy liked to search for lost treasures and street animals to feed. The woman had been watching the boy, unknown to him, for weeks and had taken a liking to him. She liked how he fed the animals and picked up things other people had forgotten and left behind. She felt he was respectful and appreciated his efforts. She tore off a piece of paper from her small black notebook, wrote something down on it and handed it to him.

The boy took the paper and listened as she told him, “Take a right at the corner shop with the melons and keep going until you see the green flag. When you arrive, give the man who opens the door the piece of paper.” The boy agreed. He put the paper in his pocket and the bell on the door chimed as he left the woman’s shop. He walked out of the alleyway and onto the main street. There were people on bikes and street dogs wandering, a man selling hats, a woman selling flowers, a dress shop and a butcher. As he passed the corner shop with melons outside he admired their round shape and distinct shells. The boy kept thinking about what the woman had told him about Life and wondered what she meant. His parents didn’t say much. They were quiet people and worked hard, the boy was often alone. As he looked up at the sky he noticed the sun had lowered and thought he must be getting close. Gazing up at the myriad of different colored flags waving in the wind, he remembered the woman had told him the green flag he was looking for would remind him of fire. As soon as the memory came to him, he looked up at a torn green flag that resembled a flame as it flapped in the wind. Under the green flag was a golden door with a red bell. The boy rang the bell. A few minutes later, the knob turned quietly as the door creaked open. A gentle faced old man appeared. He had kind eyes and wrinkled but soft looking hands. The boy handed the old man the piece of paper the woman had given to him. As the old man opened the folded paper the boy noticed a slight smile in the man’s face and knew he was pleased. The man looked down at him and invited the boy inside. The shop was dark with only a single candle burning. It appeared to the boy the man was not selling anything. The room seemed empty but at the same time full and the boy had a sense to not ask. The Man told the boy to wait as he walked to the very back of the shop, disappearing behind a single beaded door. A few minutes later, the man reappeared with a small package wrapped in brown paper. The boy gave the man a slight bow as he took the package and left the shop. The door creaking on his way out. The day was ending and the boy decided to run back. He was hungry and felt curious and excited to learn what the woman would tell him. When he arrived back at the woman’s shop, he found the door closed and the blinds pulled down, the door; locked. Confused but at this point very hungry, the boy ran home for dinner deciding to bring the woman her package in the morning. She must have been tired and gone home, he thought. The next morning, the shop was closed again. Blinds pulled down, door locked. For 3 days, each morning the boy came to the shop, and each morning found the blinds pulled down and the door locked. On the fourth day the boy found the shop open and the woman inside. When he gave her the package she smiled seeing how he had not yet opened it. “You are patient.” She told him. “Are you ready to know everything?” She asked. The boy looked up at the woman and with his eyes said yes. She led him to a small courtyard where pink flowers hung from an arbor and a bright yellow canary lived in a cage in the corner. There was an iron table with two iron chairs, and they both sat down. They sat for a very long time without a word. Even the canary was quiet. Afternoon was approaching and the boy was tired of sitting. He looked over at the woman. “I’m hungry” he said. “Ok.” The woman replied. Disappointed, the boy left the courtyard and set off to find his lunch. A few days later the boy received a package. Inside there was a folded piece of paper and a green container. As the boy opened the note he recognized it was the same paper from the woman’s small black notebook. It was a very soft kind of paper, with gold markings, very unique. On the paper, written with delicate blue ink, read a note: “Everything you need for Life you can find in Silence. And in this green container.” The boy smiled.

Years later the boy had grown into a man. He was a kind and gentle man and had met a woman he loved. When the woman he loved asked him about his life, the boy who was now a man responded, “When I was young a mysterious woman told me everything I needed for Life was in Silence and I believed her. In Silence I found my calling to care for animals and became a Veterinarian. The same mysterious woman also gave me a green container and in it was $20,000. This money made it possible for me to go to Veterinary School.”

The woman the boy who was now a man loved stared back at him in amazement.

“Why did this woman give you these gifts?” she asked in bewilderment.

“I picked up a package for her.” the boy who was now a man responded.

“What was in the package?” his love asked.

“I never found out.” The boy who was now a man smiled.