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     Down to the Sea

For Patito, walking up the mountain was difficult. Even though countless feet had already gone this way, forming a trail of sorts, there were still many obstacles for a little boy to face.

There were the rocks that were always sliding and rolling down the slope. And there were patches of loose dirt where small feet and short legs could not get purchase. There were also the weeds, here and there, that reached with long thorns to grab a boy's pants and shirt, while poking at his eyes and scratching his face.

The first few steps were pretty easy, way down at the bottom. However, as he went higher and higher, Patito grew very tired and wanted to go back home. Yet he knew that he must go all the way up to the top, and then across, through the trees and great rocks up there, and then all the way down the other side into the small valley that would lead him to the sea.

This was not the first time he had made this journey. And it would not be the last.

He leaned forward into the climb and walked as fast as he could, wanting to put this part of the trip behind him. He tried to take bigger steps but every effort he put into going faster seemed to cost him, both in energy and in injuries. He often slid or stumbled. So he decided to just keep a steady pace.

The mountain was very big, especially for a small boy. It towered high over the village, up almost into the clouds themselves. And now he was going all the way up and over the mountain and out to the sea. He needed to make the long journey in a very short time, and this was the shortest way.

He prayed as he made his way up the steep trail. "Jesus, God of my father and mother, please help me to get to the sea and back home again in time to help my grandfather. He's very ill, You know. He needs the medicine so he can get well again. Please help my feet to go very quickly. Please help me to stay strong and to have good courage. Thank You, Lord of my father."

The boy did not know very much about God. But he had heard that God could hear the prayers of even a small child. A priest had come to their village in the years before he was born, and had told the people about the God who made everything. Unlike the gods that the people had known before, the priest had said that the great God of the sky and of the earth and of the stars in heaven -- the great God of everything -- had come down to visit the earth long years ago.

The priest told the village people that this God loves all people so much that while He was here, He went around everywhere doing good things. He healed sick people, and made the blind to see again, and even made the dead people alive again.

The boy's mother and father had been happy to learn about the great God called Jesus. And then they had wept when they heard about how He had died on a wooden post. But then they had been very glad to hear that He did not stay dead in the ground. They were so happy to know that He was now alive forever, up in the heavens above the stars.

The priest had told the people many wonderful things, and had wanted to teach the people how to read and write. But he had died after just a year or two in the village. And no one had ever come to take his place. No one had even come to see what had happened to him. So his body is still buried on the side of the mountain, in a place surrounded by many flowers and wild birds.

After the priest died, some of the people returned to the old gods they had always known. But others had continued to believe in the Jesus who loves all people. Patito's father and mother believed in the great God, Jesus. So the boy would sometimes pray to Jesus, the God of his father and mother. And at other times he would ask the other gods to help him.

But today Patito needed to be sure that he did well. His father was away in the deep woods with the other men, hunting for food and cutting trees. And his mother had to stay home and take care of the garden, and his baby sister, and Patito's sick grandfather. So it was up to Patito to go to the small port on the sea where the medicine place was. And he must hurry because it was a very long way.

And so today, he prayed to the very great God, Jesus.

But the journey up the big mountain was very hard. And his knees were hurting from the many times he had already fallen. One of them was bleeding. But Patito was very brave. He pushed on, step after step.

After a long, long time, he was finally nearing the top. And he thought of stopping under a small tree by the trail to rest. The sun was very hot overhead. And the boy had not brought any water with him. A water jug would've been too heavy for him to carry up the mountain. So he was very tired and very sore from the long walk up the side of the mountain.

But then he heard children's voices above him. They were laughing and talking and playing. And so he went on, making his way to the top to see who was up there. Maybe they would have some water. Maybe they would give him a cool drink.

Even though he was very close to the top, the rest of the trail up the slope was hard going, and took all his strength. Patito's little legs were aching by the time he finally reached a level place where he could see across the top of the mountain.

Stopping and looking, the boy saw big rocks that were taller than trees, and he saw the shrubs and trees and high grasses that grew across the top of the mountain. But he saw no people, no children. So he went on, moving faster now, hoping to catch up with the voices he had heard on the trail just below. The going was much easier now, and the boy's legs began to feel better as he ran through the tall grass and between the rocks and trees.

Patito did stop by a small spring in a cool shade of some giant trees. He flopped down on his belly to drink some of the cold water there. It tasted so good, and felt so good on his face, that he jumped right into the middle of the pond and splashed in the water for a few minutes, allowing the wonderful cold to sooth his scrapes, cuts and his sore feet.

But he did not forget his mission. Soon he was up and going again.

Refreshed by the water in the spring, Patito made good time crossing the top of the mountain. Suddenly, he stood looking down at the beautiful green valley below. And beyond that, Patito could see the sparkling water of the sea. But as he looked down the long slope, he saw no signs of other people, no children running and playing.

He started down. This side of the mountain was so much greener than the other side, where Patito's village was. And the pathway was easier, too. So he ran some of the distance, and then settled into a brisk walk down the slope to the beautiful valley.

It was late afternoon when Patito finally arrived at the port. It was a small town, but people were coming and going all around him. He was so tired that he barely noticed the sparkling blue water to his right, that stretched out as far as the eyes could see. He was determined to get to the medicine place without delay.

Finally, he saw it just ahead: a small red building on the water's edge. He ran the rest of the distance and then up the steps to the door.

Inside, the first thing Patito saw was a large yellow cat, curled asleep on an oval rug near an opposite wall. Then he saw the woman behind the desk. It was the nice doctor lady who had helped him before.

Doctor Brindle looked up from the report she was reading and saw the small boy as he entered. She recognized his little face at once and smiled.

"Hello, Patito!" she said. Then she took another look at Patito and saw how exhausted he was. "Here, come sit in this chair. I'll get you something to drink."

Patito fell back into the big soft chair. It felt so good to finally sit down! When the lady returned with a soft drink, he thanked her for it and then he tried to drink all of it at once. He did manage to drink half without stopping for air.

She waited patiently while he gulped down the soda, and then Doctor Brindle asked if he had come for medicine again. Patito told her about his grandfather and the fever that would not go away.

The doctor asked the boy more questions, deciding what kind of medicine the grandfather might be needing. And then she went into another room again, and soon returned with a sandwich for the boy. He took it and ate it hungrily.

Dr. Brindle's office was only a small clinic. There was no hospital in the small port town. But there was one in the city, about 50 miles away. While Patito ate his sandwich, the doctor arranged to have one of her assistants, young man, return with the boy over the mountain to his village.

"Patito, this is Alberto," Dr. Brindle said. "He'll go with you to your village, to see if he can help your grandfather." Then she prepared a place for Patito to sleep. He would return home in the morning.

The trip home the next day was not like Patito's journey to the sea.  The sky was barely light when the two left for Patito's village.  Alberto carried Patito on his shoulders much of the way up the green slope and then let him run across the top of the mountain. Even the pathway down the other side was easier, it seemed, when someone was there to help out. Parts of it were even fun, when Patito could slide down the loose soil toward home.

They reached the boy's village around noon. And Alberto was able to visit with Patito's grandfather, and give him some of the medicine he'd brought. It appeared that the doctor had sent the right medication, because in a few hours the fever was beginning to break, and the old man was able to sit up and talk. It did not seem that he would need to be taken to the hospital.

Patito could see that the great God, Jesus, had heard and answered his prayers. He had made good time in getting to the medicine place. And the nice doctor lady had sent good medicines that helped his grandfather, just as Patito had asked in his prayers.

Alberto stayed the night in the village. The next morning, after looking in on his patient and leaving some additional medicine, he started back up the mountain trail toward the clinic. Patito's mother sent him with mashed sweet potatoes, beans, and rice wrapped in large green leaves.

Patito walked a short ways up the mountain with Alberto. And then he stopped. "Thank you for coming to help us. May the God of my father and mother go with you," Patito said, reaching out his hand as he'd seen some of the grown men do.

Alberto shook Patito's hand, smiling and saying, "You're welcome, Patito! May God be with you, also." And then the two parted company.

Back home, Patito watched his grandfather who was already getting up and walking around. And he thought about how Jesus, the God of his father and mother, had helped him. He went out to a quiet place behind the small house, where he could be alone, and he prayed again. "Thank You, great God, Jesus. Thank You for hearing me when I asked for Your help. You are good, just as the priest said. From now on, I will take You as my God, just as my father and mother have done. And I will always pray only to You."

Out front, the village children were in another game. Patito could hear them running and screaming, chasing a small rubber ball across the large open ground in the center of the village. Their laughter finally captured Patito's full attention, and so he ran to join in the fun.



 

©2004 Jim Sutton