The Myth

Inspired by the introduction to "The Hero With A Thousand Faces" I wrote a myth. I wrote it for a special occasion, but through writing it, I grew up and the occasion was left in my past. But the myth is still present and alive, and that's a good reason to share it with anyone who might ever need it: I was woken up in the night with a cry. My baby was crying. I felt like crying myself. This cold, endless winter has drained all my energy and now my baby was ill and I knew that I can't postpone it anymore: I had to take him to the hospital. The time was midnight, the snow was covering the earth with a wind dragging it across the street. The hospital was 10 km away and there was no way to get there in the night like this except for walking all the way. I've dressed up, tried to console my baby a bit and went out of the door into the wind. The baby stopped crying, probably shocked by the cold and wind and we started our way. Monotonous walking made every minute the same, they were just passing by unnoticed. Luckily the wind stopped and the moon showed up among the clouds. Suddenly I've noticed a shine on the snow. I walked to the side of the road and to my surprise picked up a heavy gold bracelet covered with colorful stones. Nobody was around who could have claimed the ownership. I thought for a second and found no reason not to take it. The baby moved uneasily in my arms, apparently unhappy with me stopping and paying attention to something else. But I've put the bracelet on my wrist and we continued our way. The bracelet turned out to be quite uncomfortable addition, scratching my already tired arm, but its colorful shine was joyful and reminded of sun and happy days of summer. After minutes or hours of walking (everything is the same in the night) - I've heard steps behind and when I turned to see who it was - I saw - a stranger. You see, he was looking for the bracelet. It was a pity to part with the charming bracelet, but after all it was not mine. At least my journey was a bit easier now and I sighed with a bit of a relief - at least I do not have to carry the bracelet anymore, my wrist was already sore from it. I kept on walking, but the sound of steps behind me did not disappear. Finally the stranger came closer and suggested to walk with us, offering us company and protection. And by the way he wanted me to keep the bracelet as a present. It sounded weird and I tried to find an explanation in my own memory. It came quick and clear: a present is a sacrifice, but how do you make a sacrifice if you only have a bracelet? Right - give it to a stranger. So I accepted and put the bracelet back onto my wrist. It was even heavier now. And we walked and walked and walked. Finally I saw the lights of the hospital in front of us - it was not more than 1 km away - soon the journey would be over. Suddenly I felt something like a release - I looked to the side - my strange companion was gone and so was the bracelet. "What a weird dream" - I thought. After all, we've arrived to the hospital, it was warm and light. The sisters helped us to get comfortable in the room that was assigned to us. The treatment time passed easily and my baby got his smile and liveliness back. The only strange thing - the kind doctor who was looking after my baby wears the bracelet. Yes, that same one.