A Modern Day Parable - The Twins by Denepher Smith

The Twins: A Modern Day Parable by Denepher Smith

A certain woman gave birth to quadruplets; three boys and a girl. As they grew, they were close, always together. The played hard but sometimes fought harder. In the end they always came together in peace because there was one thing that they could all agree on: "We were born children of one mother" they would say and this was the one certainty which united them.

As they approached their nineteen birthday, they all chose to go their separate ways: to study, choose careers, make their way in life. As they waited at the train station to travel in different directions, the first born said " we must get together in a few years and discuss what we have found out about life, we will see what other truth there is out there on which we can agree". They all decided this was a good idea and so they separated.

The youngest went east. He became a doctor, a healer. Using skills which his mother had taught him, he studied long and hard. He revolutionised fields of medicine and had a huge following. People trusted him. If you took his medicine as he prescribed it you could get well from many disorders. Of course there were quacks who said that they had worked with him, used his name because of the kudos and gave out their own concoctions which of course did not work. Soon people were getting confused, felt cheated and questioned the integrity of the good doctor. When a grieving family complained that he was the cause of their deceased child's death, he was tried, found guilty and given a life sentence. Unexpectedly, a few days into his sentence, he was released from prison and continued his work. Although he drew more students round him, the damage had also been done. Many people found it difficult to separate the truth from the fiction about him. Many began listening to his students rather than to him.

The daughter, who had been born the second child, went north. She studied agriculture, married a farmer and together they developed a consuming interest in cattle, the earth and the interrelationship between the two. They breed and interbreed varieties of cows, sheep, pigs, hens, chickens. Grew orchards of old and new fruit; fields of varied vegetables. They had boom years and barns which over flowed; they had disease plagued years when they had to slaughter herds to prevent spread of disease. At first they felt helpless, they developed rituals to appease the forces of nature, initially without any success. As the years went by however; by careful observation they learnt techniques which enabled them to became successful at reducing the plague years and maximising the harvests. They utilised anything they could, invented new machines: they were mechanised, self sufficient, in control of their fate, they thought!

The middle son went south, worked hard and was successful at business for a few years. One day while flying home from a trip, his plane crashed over the desert; he alone survived. Bruised and battered he set off to try to reach safety. After a several hours he realised just how unlikely it was that he would ever be found alive. He was overcome by a great sense of isolation. On the second day dehydrated, disoriented and depressed, he came across a small watering hole. Along side it grew a tree, small nuts and vegetation which he could eat. The tree provided him with just enough shade from the Sun by day and he found that if he dug into the sand and covered himself with leaves at night, he was kept warm. He determined this place was his best chance of survival. He crossed his legs, sat down and reflected on what had happened. Days and nights he sat, rationing his water, conserving his strength, listening to his heart beat, feeling the flow of his own breath, heat, cold and the crawling of insects on his skin. He experienced altered states of mind and being as his brain and body adjusted and accommodated to his situation. His hair and beard grew, the sun weathered his skin. He knew that this could not last indefinitely: either death would come or he would be rescued, his present state was impermanent. From this knowledge, he drew strength, became at peace, shared his watering hole with whatever creatures came near because he recognised that they too shared his struggle for life. Eventually he was rescued and took home with him this new way of thinking and being; he became a Philosopher.

The first born had always appeared to be their mother's favourite son, he set of west. He too became a business man. He had formulas for success which he applied, many were family secrets which had been passed onto him. Wherever he went however there was always rivalry and resentment at his success; tragedy struck time and time again. In one town his wife and daughter were attacked. The family moved elsewhere transferred their assets and his business. A few years later his son was murdered. It broke his heart, he became very bitter. Why was this happening to him, his mother's favoured son? Never again would he allow it, he would fight back, fire with fire, everyone, anyone who threatened him and his. He found land, built a city and fortified it. Every assault on his dignity was answered, every affront dealt with. When his methods were questioned, he answered in all cases: "It was self defence!".

The years passed, the quads neared their sixtieth year, They had not seen each other in all this time. The first born remembered what he had suggested and sent an emails to the rest. Arrangements were made to meet on the same station platform from which they had taken their leave all those years ago. Each sibling accepted the invitation and agreed to be there. The day came and at the agreed time they all arrived. The business man from the west had brought his body guards with him. They walked along side him, hands on holstered hips. The doctor from the east was there but no one recognised him anymore. In fact as he waited, he saw on the platform wall a poster with the face of someone else claiming to be him. The impostor offered a new brand of one of the doctor's old medicines for an exorbitant fee. The doctor shook his head in sadness. The Farmer's wife was there. Now rich and fat yet fashionable, she asked her chauffeur to wait as she stepped from her gleaming Mercedes. The philosopher shuffled in dressed in simple clothes. Years of crossing his legs and the time he had spent in the desert had flexed some of his joints. He wore his hair and beard short these days, his skin remained weathered.

They looked around these four: Jew (& or Muslim), Christian, Atheist, Buddhist, searching for a familiar face. They looked at each other; they looked through each other. They passed and re passed but no recognition struck. After an half hour had passed, they began to leave, each deciding that the others just had not bothered. Each concluded that the only certainty that they shared, though true was no longer relevant, no longer a point of unity. They had nothing further to discuss, no final truth to find.... together.