The Shadow

HİS GRANDFATHER was working on the field at daytimes. Dealing with the soil was a job he was doing for years. He has missed him. When his school is closed down a vacation, he went to his grandfather. With the morning ezan (call for prayer) they woke up and went to the field. He always found it enjoying to be alone with the nature. They worked together till the noon. When the sun reached to the top they gave a break to take breath and eat. They sat under the shadow of a tree started to eat what they brought from their home.

His grandfather asked: ‘What do you see?’ pointing a little further.

He answered: ‘A stone.’

‘What else?’

‘It looks like a millstone.’

Then he stacked a dry piece of branch to the ground asked: ‘What do you see now?’

‘A rod which is stacked to the ground’

He could not understand why his grandfather was asking these but he enjoyed it. It looked like a game.

This time he asked: ‘Is there any difference between them?

‘Of course, one of them is a rod, other one is a stone.’

‘Isn’t there any other difference? Look closer.’

He could not understand what his grandfather tried to tell. He shook his head in the meaning of “No”.

His grandfather removed the rod and stacked it next to the stone. Then he asked again:

‘Is there a difference now?’

What he could only see was the shadow of the branch. He said: ‘The rod has a shadow.’

His grandfather said: ‘Yes, it has a shadow but the stone doesn’t.’

Still, he couldn’t understand what his grandfather wanted to tell him.

He said: ‘My son, always choose the ones which have shadows and fruits. The ones which don’t have any shadow are not good for himself and for others. Don’t give any value to those who are lying like this stone’

He started to understand the issue as his grandfather started to tell his experiences depending on years.

He said: ‘Don’t forget. You can only benefit from the ones which have shadow. There is no benefit from the ones which are close to dunya (the world). Always stay away from the things which are not useful. The benefit is above. Both shadow and the fruit come from there.’

With the last shines of the sun, they stopped working and started to go home. He thought about the things that his grandfather told him.

Watching the sunset…

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Tranlated by Omer Ozyasli – omer.ozyasli@gmail.com

  03.04.2011

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