pay a worker if the worker was ill, and he told the workers they would have to pay their own
medical expenses. He would not listen to anyone. The morale at the factory fell, and some of
our best workers quit. I could see what was happening. Some of the workers came to be to
complain about my uncle=s behavior, but I was not yet 21 and did not have the authority to
overrule my uncle. But I promised them that when I turned 21, I would take control of the
business and return to my father=s practices.
Well, I did turn 21 and went immediately to my uncle and told him that I wanted to take
control of the factory. I criticized him to his face for what he was doing to my father=s business
and to my life and the life of my brother.
He laughed at me. He told me that the way my father=s will was written, all four children
had to have turned 21 before they could assume control of the business. I told him that I did not
believe him, but he went to his desk and pulled out a letter from our father=s lawyer that
supported his position. The lawyer had said that he was sure that this was what my father wanted
because it would prevent one child from making substantial changes to the business before all of
the children could take part in decisions.
In the meantime, my uncle was making changes I am sure all of us would have
disapproved of. I suspected that he hoped to persuade my sisters to back him against my brother
and me by offering them bribes and sweet promises for a life of wealth and leisure without
responsibility. It was still eight years before my youngest sister Janet would turn 21. Thus, my
uncle had time to consolidate his position and assure himself of control of our business and
wealth indefinitely.
I was heartbroken and now hated my uncle with all my heart. I dropped out of the
university so that I would not have to let him drive me there. I stopped talking to both him and
my aunt. I watched with horror as he worked to bring my sisters under his sway. I tried to talk
James into plotting with me to bring our uncle down, but he would have none of it. He just
wanted to be left alone and did not want to be drawn into the turmoil that he sensed was
destroying my peace and perhaps my soul.
And so I was alone. It would be eight more years before I could legally move against my
uncle. Perhaps by then he would have won over the loyalty of my sisters and insure the neutrality
of my brother. I could not bear to stay in the house. I knew that if I stayed, I risked a complete
collapse. My uncle would have liked that because then he could have put me away in an asylum
and crowed that I was unfit to work in the business.
And so I left. I took all the money from my personal savings account. I bought this used
car, and I set out to explore the world. I don=t know where I am going, or what I will find, but in
about seven years from now, I will return to my home to see what has become of it, my uncle and
aunt, and my sisters and brother. And I will try to gain control of our family business, if it still
exists by then.
David paused. I asked what he would do if the house was no longer there, or the
business had collapsed, or his siblings had turned against him.
loss. But at least I will have tried.@
I asked, AWill you have tried if you do not go back and fight?@
Again he was silent, and his face became a mask of sadness. AI have thought of that
many times. Did I abandon those I love by running away? Would my beloved parents have
approved of my taking an easier course by running away from the problem, rather than staying
home and trying to solve it?
ABut I know my weakness, and I know that it would not have helped my cause if I had
lost my health or my mind in the struggle. And I had no one to lean on. My uncle and aunt were
against me, and my brother only wanted to avoid conflict. My sisters were still young and still
loved and trusted my aunt and uncle because they were not mistreated as I had been. So I fled,
and here I am. Will you condemn me?@
ANo, my dear friend David,@ I replied. ALove does not condemn. You did what you
believed you had to do. Perhaps we will find some of the love you lost in one another as we
continue our journey together, at least for a little while.@
A Fork in the Road
David and I sat in silence for some time. I was saddened by his story. It made me
wonder once again if I should have stayed with my parents and made the best of it. But then I
could no longer bear what I saw as their inability to love me. And now I could not return until I
had fulfilled my promise to Samuel and Martha, and I could not yet return because I realized
more than ever how much more I needed to learn about love. If I ever learn to love, perhaps I
could teach my parents to love, or, at the least, I could love them even if I did not feel their love
for me.
Finally, I broke the silence. AWe ought to get started soon, even if we don=t know where
we are going. Besides, we have not had breakfast yet so we also need to find a place to eat.@
AYes, you are right. But if we don=t know where we are going, how do get there?@ David
replied with a chuckle.
AGoing straight down this road will eventually get us someplace,@ I countered, as I
slipped out of the back seat where I had slept and plopped myself in the passenger seat beside
David.
We drove for a number of miles with nothing but trees on both sides of the road. It was
still early morning. Only two other vehicles, a car and a truck, passed us going in the other
direction, and we saw no other cars on the road in front.
After what seemed like an eternity, but which was really only some forty minutes, we
came to a fork. On the right the road continued through the forest, but on the left the we could
see open fields and even a house in the distance.
AWell, which way?@ David asked.
AI suppose,@ I answered, Aif we want to find some place to eat, we should leave the
forest.@
AWell, that might be a good theory, but why don=t you ask your mirror?@ David
suggested.
I wondered what I should ask the mirror. My goal was to find Robin, while both of us in
the present moment wanted something to eat. These two intentions might conflict with one
another since Robin might not be in the direction of the closest restaurant. But eating was
important, and I could always ask the mirror to get me back on track after breakfast, so I took the
mirror out of my shirt pocket and asked, AWhich direction should we go to find a place for
breakfast?@
Contrary to my expectations, the mirror showed us driving down the road to the right, the
one that continued through the forest. AI hope there is a restaurant somewhere in those trees,@ I
quipped.
AWell,@ said David as he turned the car right, Alet=s hope your mirror knows what it=s
doing.@
ADavid,@ I said, Athis reminds me of the forest through which I fled my home. I wonder if
this forest too is enchanted.@
I had told David about my encounter with the strange man who had given me the magic
mirror, and how the path back to my house had closed behind me. Though I tried to put on a
brave front, I was becoming increasingly uneasy. I dared no
t look in the rearview mirror for fear
that the road in back of us had disappeared.
Now a clearing appeared on the right ahead of us, just as a clearing had once appeared for
me. David slowed the car as we approached, hoping that we had found a restaurant. But he
gasped when we reached the clearing. There, set back from the road, was a magnificent mansion,
one larger and more elegant than I had ever before seen.
AGood Lord,@ David said in a half-whisper, Athat=s my house. How did it get here?@
I told David that I thought we should get out and see for ourselves what the house held for
us, although I was not as frightened as he seemed to be because of my previous experience. We
followed a walk from the road to the front door. All the while David=s eyes darted about trying
to find some detail that distinguished this house from the house he had left behind.
We rang the door bell and heard its pleasant melody reverberate inside, but no one came
to greet us. I told David to see if the door was unlocked, and as I expected, it was. David
gingerly pushed the door open. AWhy the inside is just like my house. AI can=t believe it. What
are we to do?@
I assured him that no harm would come to us, although I suppose I was a bit less than
convincing because this was his house, not mine, and I could not be sure what we would find
inside. We stepped inside.
I suggested we go to the dining room. David gingerly followed the hallway and turned
left into a formal dining room on which a table sat laden with food. At the table were five plates.
Surely two were for me and David, but were the other four for David=s siblings? Or were others
coming to join us?
We ate and drank our fill. We had indeed found a place to have a breakfast unlike any we
could have bought as the finest restaurant. We settled into our chairs to relax after such an
excellent feast when a tall man entered the room. David stood up with a look of terror on his
face.
AUncle Ned,@ David half-shrieked. AI=m sorry to have intruded like this. We=ll leave at
once.@
ANo, my child,@ the man answered, Ayou need not leave yet. Yes, I look like your Uncle
Ned, but I am what Uncle Ned might become, not what he is. You are entirely safe with me.@
I could see that David was still apprehensive, but he relaxed a bit when he saw that the
man was not angry. AThen why am I here, and why are you here? If this is not my house, then
what is it?@
AMy beloved David,@ the man answered, Ayou have many questions. But you these are
not the questions to which you need answers. You loved your parents and your parents loved
you. You love your brother and your sisters, and they love you as well. You left them because
you have not yet learned how to control your anger and your hatred. That is what you must learn.
AThe man Adam who travels with you is also learning. His mission is to learn how to
love so that he can eventually return to his parents. Your mission also is to learn how to love, to
love even those you have good reason to despise and who despise you.
AYou will one day be a great leader and the patriarch of your family, but you were not
prepared for that role yet, and so you ran away. In your travels, you will, if you are open to it,
learn how both how to love and to lead as one who loves. For only love can overcome hatred,
and only love can overcome evil.
AStay with Adam on his journey. Your friendship will support you both, and in your
adventures together, you will both learn what is necessary. But, remember, you cannot learn
unless you are willing to learn. And you cannot love without being willing to sacrifice. You can
Adam will learn together.
AYou must go now. Both this house and I must soon disappear. Go.@
The man vanished. David and I literally ran back down the hallway, out the front door,
and on to the path leading to the road. We looked back to see the house begin to dissolve and the
forest close in on it. We reached the car. The house was completely gone and the forest had
reclaimed the clearing where it had stood.
We both jumped into the car and David started the engine. Suddenly, we realized that we
were back at the fork in the road. But there was no longer any fork in the road. There was only
the road ahead. We sat speechless for a long time as we drove on.
Hardwick
We drove on for some time, stopping only for breakfast and to fill the gas tank.
Whenever we came