Long ago,
Once we learned how to write,
We lived in the mountains beyond the reaches of the sky.
We learned what we could not when we did not read,
And we honored wisdom at the peaks.
We called the mountains the silent stones,
But once in a while,
The spirit in the mountain would speak,
Leaving messages for the people who had strayed off their path.
A reminder that everyone's destiny is written in stone.
Unlike most of the men in town,
Zika was not a quarryman.
He did not strike at the rocks of the mountain day after day.
Zika was a teacher,
Instructing all of the students about the important things in life,
The stories of the gods and goddesses,
How to read the mountains and the rocks,
And how to be still.
Zika felt there were no other areas of study worth his or the students' time.
Zika's wife,
Dodon,
Always laughed and said that Zika should open his mind to other possibilities,
Rather than constantly dwelling on that which never changes.
But there was comfort for Zika in absolutes,
In knowing that every day would be the same.
But after returning home from the school one afternoon,
He saw Dodon packing her bags.
She said that she had received word from a messenger that her sister was very ill.
Although the journey was at least two weeks each way,
If the mountains weren't carrying snow,
Dodon was determined to visit her sister,
Not seen since he and Dodon were married.
Zika did not like this plan,
But could clearly see that his wife wanted desperately to go.
He marked four weeks on his calendar,
Kissed his wife,
And wished with all his heart that she would have safe travels.
Zika went to school every day his wife was gone and taught the students the same information he taught at this exact time every year.
He ate alone,
Went to bed alone,
And was always dismayed when he woke up to an empty house.
When the fourth week arrived,
Zika put up banners and welcoming decorations for Dodon.
They were still displayed on the fifth,
Tenth,
And fourteenth week.
Zika did not tell anyone he was worried about Dodon,
About the wolves and bears and other creatures that lived on the mountain,
But he never had to.
By the fourth week,
Zika had started standing on the stretch of grass where the town's plateau descends down the mountain.
Named Hero's Pass,
For anyone who would take it had to be very brave,
Zika stood there every night until the sun went behind the peaks,
Waiting for Dodon to come home.
Some of the townspeople thought Zika was romantic,
Waiting for a wife who clearly was never returning.
Others thought it showed that the town's teacher,
Who only taught the same thing every year,
Was really a simpleton after all.
When winter came,
Zika could only stand outside for a few minutes before retreating home to warmth,
But he still stood at the pass,
Looking for Dodon.
One night he stayed out too long,
And two townspeople had to carry him home,
Frost-covered and blue,
To place him in front of the fire.
While he warmed and slept through the blizzard,
The mountain placed a stone in front of Zika's house.
The townspeople woke before Zika,
And when he did awake,
He saw several dozen people standing in front of his home.
The stone was a statue in the shape of a man,
Not unlike Zika standing at the pass,
But this one had words all over.
There were no chisel marks that Zika could see.
It was as if the mountain had poured this rock into a mold to harden into stone in the snow.
Zika made his way through the crowd and began reading the stone.
He taught his students about these stones,
But this was only the second one he had seen in his life.
But his bore phrases,
Like never to return.
Not an impasse,
And gone forever.
On the statue man's back,
Elegantly written was the phrase,
Death most needed.
Zika found the stone interesting from an academic standpoint,
But the townspeople were perplexed.
For months they had assumed that Doden had died on the mountain,
Or decided to never return.
Given the choice,
Many of them would not return to live with an inflexible stodgy man like Zika.
The confusion,
Then,
Was why the stone had arrived.
But after the novelty wore off,
The people returned to their business,
And began accepting that the stone seemed to have always been there.
However,
Zika still spent his nights at Hero's Pass,
Waiting for Doden to return.
One of the other teachers joined him once,
And explained that the stone would remain there forever until Zika learned what it had to say.
He even suggested that Zika put his ear to the cold rock,
In case the stone had a story to tell.
Zika only half listened to all the advice,
Keeping his eyes on the pass.
Several months after the statue had arrived,
Zika's smartest student joined him one night at the pass.
She had notes with her,
And wanted his undivided attention.
She made Zika turn his back to the pass,
And look at her while she spoke.
You have taught us at school to look at all directions in the everything.
I believe you are not understanding what the stone is telling you.
The message isn't about your wife.
It isn't about her being dead or never returning.
You taught us the greatest and most memorable stories of the gods and goddesses were stories of change.
This stone is your story of change.
You're at an impasse teaching the same thing every year.
A death most welcome would be your old self,
The person you are now,
Going away and a new version of Zika taking its place.
Once that change would happen,
You could never return,
And would be gone forever.
Zika,
Fighting to not turn back around and look at the pass,
Told his student hoarsely but politely,
I don't care about the stone.
I'm waiting for my wife.
The student looked at him sadly and said,
That needs to change too.
If you want to wait,
You can,
But you can't lose yourself while you do it.
You have to change and teach us new things and become a better person.
It doesn't mean you aren't still waiting.
You would be waiting,
With purpose.
When the student was finished,
She smiled gently at her teacher and then returned to town.
Zika,
Who appeared to have not listened at all,
Stood at the pass,
Considering every word she had said.
When the sun went behind the peaks,
He returned home alone,
As he had done for many months.
The next morning,
Zika startled his students by skipping his lecture on the gods and goddesses,
For a lecture instead on plants and herbs.
The students were so amazed at learning something different,
That not a single one noticed that the stone was gone from in front of Zika's house.
He was still alone at night,
But now he read about other ways to study the world and excited himself with what he could teach his students next.
He still stood at the pass most evenings,
But started leaving for home while the sun was still just above the peaks.
The townspeople began to believe that Zika was starting to heal from the loss of his wife,
But were saddened again when he put up birthday decorations for Dodon.
His best student came by to thank Zika for the new classes and was surprised when Zika,
The truly learned,
Thanked her in return for her insight.
You have taught the town so much over the years,
Zika.
I hardly deserve your thanks.
We have all learned much from you.
Hmm,
Said Zika,
I have recently taught you all how to wait.
The student was horrified.
Zika still believed he just had to wait long enough and Dodon would return.
He hadn't healed at all.
But she gave a small,
Polite smile,
Thanked Zika again,
And left.
What she missed was the slow climb of a woman with a newly healed broken leg coming over Heroes Pass just in time to see her birthday decorations being displayed by her husband,
Who had learned that yes,
Change can benefit almost everyone.
But sometimes,
You just need to wait.
