Friday, October 24, 2008

A Gift

A Gift
Leoz Jonah was sipping hot coffee from his favourite yellow mug, enjoying the satisfactory from the aroma of the thick brown liquid. He took a glimpse at his wristwatch; it was 4:11 am. A brand new day had silently arrived yet he did not realize it. “What a long exhausting night,” Leoz Jonah throw his sight far away from his office window and gluttonously seeking for the sign of a new day. 8 hours of fighting with the Death Evil with his remarkably outstanding surgery skill, a suicide patient was given a second chance to see the sunrise of tomorrows. Jonah Dawn relieved a sigh, thinking of the greatly depressed suicidal patient. Deep in his heart, he was praying earnestly for his patient’s emotionally and physically recovery. A calm voice arouse in his heart, this was a voice that had given him words of encouragement, and a bellyful of disappointment, 25 years ago. “Heal your patients with double-edged sword...” Leoz Jonah smiled at his old days, and the beautiful sunrise. Sunrise and sunrise, the everlasting beauty of the sun still conquering his heart; Years after years, the scattered pieces of his stories still occupy a place in his memory box while his hair was started turning grey. He took out a moth-eaten small rectangular paper box from his table drawer: it was a gift, a gift that supposed to be presented to someone. As he blew off the dust on it, he unlocked the memory box of 25 years ago. He took out a book from it, and slowly flipped the fragile pages.
********
.
It was a sunny day. Birds were singing on the branches, celebrating the good weather; Winds were directing a graceful dance of the grasses, adding on colour to the extraordinary symphony. Jonah Dawn’s heart was filled with joy, for him, everyday was provided with opportunities and at the same time, the uncertainty gave him a sense of adventurous. This optimistic characteristic really promised him a quite-smooth-sailing in his college life; neither a mountain of biology reference books and assignments could ever stop him moving on nor the sophisticatedly complicated calculus could put off the burning fire in his heart. Having realised he would never be an eagle; he strongly believed by exerting more effort in his studies, he could make a difference in his future, even though he was just a chicken. Through this journey, he was not walking alone. With him, there are Philip Leon, Stephen Timothy, and Don Amos. They were once strangers using the same road everyday yet they did not know each other, however, there was one very special person who tight them together. He was the illusive magician who had successfully ignited their enthusiasm towards debate and the great chemist whom Jonah Dawn admired; He used none of the colourful chemical substances in laboratory yet he could initiate an invisible chemical reaction which melted their icy heart walls, leading to the formation of a wonderful relationship- it was called friendship. The very first page in Jonah Dawn’s stories book was written, when he first met this extremely unique person.
********
..
“Good morning, Mr Speaker sir. As the Prime Minister of government team, I would like to define “terrorists” as a group of people who have different ideology and they use hard methods such as bombing and nuclear weapon attack to impose high profile influence in the society...”, Jonah Dawn took a deep breath before he continued. He took a quick glance on the yellow shirt guy who was sitting right in front of him. Jonah Dawn’s confidence was collapsing when he noticed that guy was shaking his head, he wanted to continue his speech but those words could not be thrown out as if they were stuck in his throat. He froze at the spot and there was a long hesitant. Four pairs of eyes were focused on Jonah Dawn; three of them were trying to give encouragement, but the last pairs of emotionless eyes, Jonah Dawn could not fathom out what message they were carrying. This was their third mock debate, a preparation for Jonah Dawn, Philip Leon, Stephen Timothy, and Don Amos, before they went for a battle- the battle of minds. The whole training process was not an enjoyable one; 15 minutes for brainstorming and 7 minutes to present arguments. Jonah Dawn was having a hard time to cope with this exhausting training. His optimistic was started to turn sour as he realised his poor command in English would stop him to spur forward, and he started wondering whether he could be a debater. Jonah Dawn failed to continue with his speech, he folded the paper in his hand and went back to his seat. Feeling defeated, the intention of running away began to sprout out.
********

Philip Leon threw himself onto his soft bed. A tedious week again with endless tests and infinite assignments, and he was using 85% of his energy in saturating his brain with required general knowledge for debate. Within two weeks time, he was going to make his dream come true. A dream of becoming a debater, standing on the stage to present sound arguments, to give concrete rebuttals to trash the opposition teams down. Philip Leon found debate very interesting as words were used as weapons to fight against each others. No blood no pain throughout the process of winning the trophy. Philip Leon was a talented debater, even though he was a newbie in the game, he played well for each game he involved. There was a big contrast between Philip Leon and his partner, Jonah Dawn. They met each other because of debate and their friendship was nearly broken because of the same reason. While the fire of debate of burning within Philip Leon and pushing him to move forwards in a frantic speed, somehow he forgot to look around to seek his partner, to see how far he had been left behind, or to pull him up when he had fallen. One week before the debate tournament, he was surprised by his partner’s decision, a sudden voice to tear down their covenant to run after their shared dream. “ I cannot run the race with you anymore. You could have been better without a lousy partner like me.” The solemn voice of Jonah Dawn was playing in his mind. At the midst of wilderness, a message was sent to the yellow shirt guy, their couch their senior, Joash Marvel.
********
….
Stephen Timothy bite into his egg sandwich, at the same time, he was trying to solve a very complicated question. “There is no time to lose.” Stephen Timothy kept reminding himself. He was busy scribbling on a piece of paper while his teeth were grinding his lunch: two regurgitations were taking place at once. It was a hectic life and he found it difficult to keep up with others’ paces, especially when he took a brave step to join the debate competition with Don Amos. Stephen Timothy’s determination was shaking when he took himself as a turtle among sprinters, seeing that there was only minor improvement shown by himself throughout the debate training session. Messed up in a step, Stephen Timothy failed in solving the question. He scratched his head in frustration; a thought to pull out from the debate sprang out. All he wanted was to get everything right on the track. He looked at his previous chemistry test paper; he only scored a mere 45%. He sighed. He took out his hand phone and typed two messages: respectively to Joash Marvel and Don Amos. Silently, he talked to Him:” You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am. I am not ready for this challenge, give me more times to grow, o Lord.” Having fed by the words of God, he soaked himself into the fantasy world of Core Mathematics after keeping his dream in his secret box.
********
…..
It was a rainy night. The drops from sky carried strong elegiac feeling .Don Amos was taking a shower. The little bathroom was filled with the fragrance of shower gel that he used. It was Don Amos’s favourite lavender’s smell, an anti-stress antigen. He smirked at himself, yes, he needed to combat with his overflowing anxiety and stress especially after nodding his head as a sign of agreement to be Stephen Timothy’s debate partner. The debate training session was a nightmare; it revealed their weaknesses nakedly in front of everyone, and they had to be prepared to be criticised mercilessly by the short guy whom had rich debate experiences. Don Amos had forgotten how many times he had been discouraged after every mock debates, he wondered how broken his heart could be. His zeal for debate was gradually decolourized due to the lonely journey, being forgotten and left in the lurch. Having a hard time of struggling, he let himself hit by the freezing cold water, trying to loosen his over-stretched nerves. Perhaps, God felt his sorrow and decided to give him a break; Don Amos received a message from his partner:” Don, I wish to stop here. I cannot continue any further. I’m sorry for letting this race unfinished...” Don Amos looked at the dark sky, there was countless of blinking stars. It was a peaceful night that led him into a deep thought. “It is finished.” Don Amos murmured. Silently, an angel blowing a gentle breeze to wipe the crystal beads on his face. It might be an end of the path yet there was another waiting for him, long time ago, even before he was born.
********
……
It was a dead silence in the room. Joash Marvel’s pale white serious face made him looked no more than a ruthless dictator. It was a terrible night for him. All four of his sheep caught him with great surprise by telling him their decisions to pull out from the debate tournament. He was driven by disappointment; all this while he had been sacrificing his precious times in couching his four juniors and taught them generously whatever he knew. He was deeply depressed, thinking of the way he had trained them. “Am I too harsh towards them? Have I given my best to them all this while?” These questions were turning around in his mind. Terribly struck with dismay, he knelt down on his knees and sought the Almighty One. Feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit, he heard a voice:” My son, even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty. Rejoice my son, and believe in me.” Comforted, Joash Marvel pondered over the two messages that he had received from his juniors. He made a decision, or perhaps God made it for him. No one knows .A gentle press on the key pads of his PC, Joash Marvel never know it was the message that changed everything.
********
…….
The park was filled with giggling of four kids. They were jumping here and there, chasing after one another happily. At the corner of the park, there was an unhappy young man sitting on the swing. Laughter and sorrow clashed in the peaceful evening, stirring up the uneasiness in his heart. Today, he made a cowardly decision, he chose to run away; he ran away from facing his giants, and he let his cowardice conquering his soul. “Jonah Dawn, you are a chicken!” A satanic voice was trying to push him to the abyss. Tears was burst out from his eyes, mixing with unimaginable disappointment; Being disappointed by his own gutless action, and the absent of words of encouragement from a special person. Deep in Jonah Dawn’s heart, he was not really wanted to give up in the first place. He was a man who always kept his words and breaking a promise was definitely against his principle. Driven by the curiosity on the depth of friendship and the longing for words of encouragement, however, Jonah Dawn put everyone into a test. It was a stupid mistake. He forgot to measure the value of himself before setting the test and now he had to bear the heavy consequences of it. Yesterday night, he read a message. “ I wish to talk to you personally. Meet at X-Cafe, 7am.” It was a message that appeared on Philip Leon’s hand phone’s screen, only. Jonah Dawn had been waiting for a similar message to come in, yet his hand phone remained silent, for the whole night.
********
……..
Jonah Dawn’s eyes was trying to avoid meeting Joash Marvel’s, it was six months after the battle of minds. All the bitterness was being stirred up whenever Joash Marvel’s shadow was seen, voice was heard. Understandable, no one would like to see a person whom was a reminder of one’s failure. Joash Marvel was the haunting ghost for Jonah Dawn, a person whom Jonah Dawn wished he could evaporate from the earth. However, the Creator was a joker, whom wisdom was difficult to be fathomed and far beyond Jonah Dawn’s understandings. Almost every single day after the unhappy event, Joash Marvel appeared in front of Jonah Dawn, jumping here and there like an over-excited short leg frog. Interestingly, God did a miracle by putting Jonah Dawn in Joash Marvel’s home church, as if a Father swinging a disgusting frog in front of a screaming daughter- During the particular Sunday service, Jonah Dawn was deeply touched by Holy Spirit. He forgot how much tears he had poured out through the service, yet he still remember the reassurance from God. “I know I have the plan for you, they are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” A gentle voice arouse from the bottom of his heart as Jonah Dawn was worshipping. God’s work was indescribable; Jonah Dawn had to admit it. He never think that he will settle down in New Life Restoration Centre, a place which he could call as a home, a place where he could trace a trivial sense of belonging. After all, he just tried to be sporting and accept the invitation from his friends, Philip Leon and Stephen Timothy, in the beginning, he never expect the result.
********
………
“Lord, I’m amazed by you. Lord, I’m amazed by you, how you love me…” Jonah Dawn was crooning gently in the balcony. He was worshipping in the morning when the sun still had not wake up. It was exactly one year after the painful experience; Jonah Dawn had grown stronger in Christ and had tried his best to give Him undivided attention. His wound was gradually bound up by the Healing Hands, yet Jonah Dawn knew there was something missing, when he realised that he failed to face Joash Marvel. The Almighty One spoke to Jonah Dawn through a book which lied on Philip Leon’s writing desk, a meaningful book entitled “The Kite Runner” by Hussein Khalid, a book which owner named Joash Marvel. Perhaps God knew Jonah Dawn’s “must-read-every-good-book” habit, and He purposely placed one on Philip Leon’s desk, on the day when Jonah Dawn was wondering whether he should join the battle once again, his eyes were attracted by the book. He greedily picked up the book and swallowed everything in his mind within two days, and he found something that touched his soul-the similarity between himself and Amir, the main character, they were both coward. They flew away from their giants yet Amir had successfully made his redemption in the end. The ending of the story intrigued Jonah Dawn to do the same thing, fight and win him back. Jonah Dawn looked at the beautiful sunrise, he had made a decision. “May your kingdom come, may your will be done…” Jonah Dawn prayed wholeheartedly.
********
……….
The clock sounded 4:15pm. It was going to be Jonah Dawn and his partner’s third round in the debate’s tournament, few more minutes later, the motion would be released. The stagnant air was suffocating the debaters. Jonah Dawn was trying to cool his spine down by singing praises to Him, “I have got the life, I have got the melody, I have the Word, the Word of God; that set me free…” A gentle tap on his shoulder woke Jonah Dawn; he turned his eyes to the dark guy sitting comfortably beside him. Their eyes met in the air, and they smiled. The dark guy was an angel sent by God, Jonah Dawn supposed. Three days before the application submit deadline, Keith Krishnan approached Jonah Dawn and asked him to be his partner. Jonah Dawn bitter past was being stirred up by the coming of the battle, he was not confident towards his capability, all in all, his endurance to finish the race and stand up from where he had once fallen. Once again, a solemn voice reminded Jonah Dawn: “My son, I will not let the defeated remain defeated.” Jonah Dawn asked Keith Krishnan to meet up; he was thinking of pouring out his past on his going-to-be new partner- Keith Krishnan had the right to know before they started to run the race together. Before the motion was released, Jonah Dawn managed to take a glimpse on a yellow card, which was written by a special person, one year ago.
It read:
Dearest Jonah,
Cast your eyes on the mountains,
And see the chariots of fires,
And the legions of angels that fill the horizon.
Look, see, and know that the Lord is good. For He never fails, never short changes us, and never hides the best thing from us.
Joash
“God is good all the time...” ;Jonah Dawn murmured.
********
...........
It was a peaceful afternoon. Jonah Dawn looked at the blue sky, he saw an aeroplane. He could not hold back his welled eyes; and his precious tears dropped on his black cotton shirt. He could feel his contented soul souring high in the sky like an eagle, breaking free from the sorrow bondage and enjoying the fruit of freedom. Jonah Dawn and Keith Krishnan lost in the battle of minds, yet they managed to crown the honour as finalist. They had fought a good fight and finished the race, they supported each other through the rocky journey, and together they had fought like warriors. Looking at the trophies in their hands, they smiled again. Not at the shiny trophies but the walk they had embarked on, and the miraculous work which God had done on them. No one expected the ending, not even themselves. Obviously, God had chosen them to shine for Him and glorify His name in the heaven, even though they were only broken clay pots. There were three darling angels standing right in front of Jonah Dawn, they were not the winged creatures but they were the people who had given Jonah Dawn full support while he was running the race, they were Philip Leon, Stephen Timothy, and Don Amos, the people with angelic hearts. The winter season for Jonah Dawn had silently passed by, his spring times was coming. A blossom of new friendship with Keith Krishnan and the joy of the restored friendships; were causing a big gay flood within Jonah Dawn. There was one last thing that Jonah Dawn had to do: to face his ex- haunting ghost once again, and hand him one little thing, the most valuable gift which Jonah Dawn wanted to give Joash Marvel all this while. Jonah Dawn took a look at his trophy, he smiled again. “This time, I will look straight into your eyes...” Jonah Dawn told himself.
********
The unfinished coffee was cooled down in the adorable yellow mug. Leoz Jonah slowly put down the old book in his hand. It was his very first book, which entitled “A Gift”. Ironically, it was a gift that he failed to give to the targeted person, Madam Sherry, his English lecturer during his freshman year in Manipal University, India. It was not because Leoz Jonah liked her very much but it was her who taught him about reality, something closer to the real life, something we called favouritism. How much Leoz Jonah wanted her lecturer to realize that her attitude was nearly ruined his life by writing him off from her “apples list”, and throwing her cruel criticism with a smiling face. Leoz Jonah was always her targeted bull eyes for his never ending enthusiastic to debate with the lecturer. Leoz Jonah felt the strong urge to voice out his thought whenever he disagreed with Madam Sherry. Perhaps this was an inborn characteristic; Leoz Jonah was the flying dove, refused to be bound by constraint. Leoz Jonah’s principle was” no one should be forgotten, everyone is precious no matter who you are” Thus, he wrote his contradict idea in his book. Deep inside Leoz Jonah’s heart, he wanted to send this message to the lady whom left a great impact in his life in a very special way. He took out a piece of old newspaper from the box; it read” A lady was killed in a car crash…”.Leoz Jonah signed. One day before Leoz Dawn submitted his draft, Madam Sherry left the world; God brought her back to where she belonged. Having no opportunity to hand her the gift, Leoz Dawn changed the ending of his very first story. He had no chance to present the gift, yet Jonah Dawn had. He threw his sight at the beautiful morning, he smiled.
********
Simple words of mine:
It is my journey, not a beautiful story, yet a walk to remember. It was once started with unfulfilled expectation, bitterness, sorrow, and a broken soul. Worthless and imperfect, were my reflection. I wonder, how many times I had broken His heart, still Jesus loves me, and holds me in His arms. I wonder, how many times I had turned away from Him, still Jesus forgives me, and gives me other chance. I was redeemed for He has paid the price. I see this as a GIFT, the most precious gift a Father would give to His beloved children. He taught me how to forgive, how to love, how to give. Walking on this journey of faith, I am glad that I am walking with Him, I am not alone and I’ll never be. I pray that more and more empty souls will receive the GIFT with their hearts and start a journey of seeking the GIVER.
Amen.