The Touch Stone- Part one

The Touch Stone

By Paul McCann

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It was a cold Saturday evening in the prison cell and morning was a long time off . 

The jingle of  the prison guards keys and the click clack of his steel shawed heels cut through the silence as the inmates were drifting off to sleep . Every night before the guard did his rounds Jack would begin meditating and holding the touch stone that was given to him by Tinley , a Tibetan Monk from China who had visited the prison to introduce  meditation technique’s to the inmates of the prison  .

Anytime Jack felt troubled he would hold the touch stone and gently hum three notes in  concession  over and over until he was clam and relaxed . Jack found just by meditating he could escape the walls of his prison cell . In his meditation Jack would imagine he was an eagle flying through the sky outside the confines of the prison . He had found an escape not many could ever have known . The touch stone had a strange soothing effect that allowed him to cope with most everything that put him on edge .

The years had passed slowly and in the morning Jack was going to leave the cold prison life behind . He had done his time and now he was at last going to be a freeman  .

When  Sunday came Jack , walked out the front door of the prison . He was collected by the driver of a  community service bus who took him to a half way house where he was to commence a resettlement program .

He asked the driver if he could do him a small favour and drive up the mountain road just for a brief stop . The driver agreed and knew how it must have felt to be locked up inside for years . The bus came to a rest on  the side of the road near the top of the mountain and Jack took the touch stone to a place and left it there in the morning sun  . For him the stone had no more use , it had done its job and he hoped maybe someone else might find  it . As he walked away he felt as if an enormous weight had been lifted off his shoulders . The little community bus made its way back down the  mountain road again as the sun in the sky shone down .

On the top of the mountain the touch stone began to glow and as it did it attracted an eagle who swooped down and took the stone in its talons but after a while the stone became too heavy and as a result the eagle lost its grip on the stone and it fell to the ground landing with a splash in the local swimming pool . Fortunately, being  a Sunday the pool was closed so nobody got hit on the head .

The very next morning a regular swimmer by the name of Sam arrived at the pool to do some laps . Just before he dove into the pool he noticed something glowing at the bottom of the pool . He wasn’t sure what it was thinking it was a reflection of the sun and in any case he went to investigate . Shortly afterwards he retrieved the stone  from the floor of the pool . He grabbed the stone and the to surface with it in his hands . Sam had recently been diagnosed with cancer and the moment he held the stone he felt something explode inside . He knew something had happened that he couldn’t ever explain , almost as if a healing had come over him  . He quickly put the stone in his grip bag and had a few laps of the pool . After his swim he went to visit his doctor .

 

It was a cold and wet Monday and he was glad to get inside the doctors where a large crowd of people were waiting to see him . There was some talk between mothers who had just left their school children at school . 
There were old men coughing and turning the pages of their newspapers and some older women with walking sticks made their way into the waiting room . The doctor hadn’t arrived yet to see any of his patients who all sat patiently waiting in the waiting room .

The receptionist smiled at every one who walked in .

“Sweet surrender . “

An old woman sighed , 
A tiny baby screamed for a feed . 
A small girl on her mother’s knees sneezed as she was joined by a middle aged man who sneezed and then followed that with a nagging cough .

A man with his arm in plaster made a fist and said, “I’ve got an itch I can’t scratch .“

The man beside him replied , “I’ve got a sneeze that won’t come. “

Sam looked around and saw some of the people in there had already given thoughts of digging their own graves while they waited .

The receptionist put on the radio to distract everyone from getting distracted . The top of the hour came and the news presenter read a report about something so terrible that everybody went quiet to hear the story .

“This morning on a busy city street , an innocent man in his twenties was killed by a man armed with a machete . As he tried to escape a bystander grappled with the crazed attacker and held him until the police arrived “
 
The hungry baby in the waiting room began to cry again and it was difficult to hear the rest of the ten o’clock news . Sam whispered to himself , “Who needs it anyway”

Every time the door opened everyone hoped it would be the doctor . 
An old woman who could barely walk came into the waiting room . 
She needed someone to assist her to sit down but there was no empty chair . Sam couldn’t resist . He stood up and walked over and helped the woman to sit in his chair then he stood by the window and started to think about his life and somehow he felt he was lucky to have this moment in  time just waiting , like everyone else to see the doctor . It gave him an opportunity to reflect on where he was in his life . 
He somehow knew his sickness had left him and he was able to redefine his existence . For a long time he been sick of being sick but now he had a new feeling . He looked around the waiting room at people who had lost  the glow of life and he saw the gloom in their eyes , he felt a pity for them as they sat there looking glum with their heads hung down and for the hungry baby and for those who couldn’t breathe . He thought life should not be so sad and people shouldn’t have to be kept waiting with their coughs and sneezes . Then he thought about the stone in his bag and how all of a sudden he had all this thinking and wished he could share a kind reassuring word or two with all those sick people . He wanted to cheer everyone up and then it came to him , 
Sam spoke quietly enough so everyone could hear . 
Don’t live with fear .

“I wonder when the doctor will arrive to see us ?” 
He said .

But nobody answered . 
Then it came to him . He went outside and took the stone from his bag and prayed for those people in the waiting room who were sick in mind or body and he knew as he prayed that those sick people would be healed .

That made Sam feel better to be aware of how he was able to help some people who were sick . It was at this point when the doctor arrived ,

Sam went back inside the waiting room and heard the doctor apologise for being late . The doctor went into his room and called in the old lady who was sitting in Sam‘s seat . The doctor smiled at everyone else .

Finally it was Sam’s turn to go in and he took a seat beside the doctors large desk and said .
“ Doc I’m cured  . It’s a miracle . “ He said . 

The doctor wrote him a referral for an x-ray and told Sam to go there straight away . Sam thanked him and did as he asked . 
When he got to the x-ray and pathology unit he took a seat in the waiting room . As  he sat in the waiting room he looked at all of the people there . A young  medical student in a wheel chair  . She approached him and confirmed Sam’s personal details before the x-ray . Sam waited only a brief time and was told that there was no change from the previous x-ray . The cancer was still there but Sam knew how he felt and he knew he was healed .  As he left the medical centre , he walked quickly to Trench Street . His mind was on other things and in that moment , he crossed over the road without stopping to look . A heavy truck was coming through from Alice Avenue and had no chance of stopping in time to avoid Sam who was propelled head first into a pole on the side of the road . His bag was flung open and the stone flew like a bullet from the bag and on top the side of the road where it came to rest at an open drain hole in the gutter . No one had noticed the stone as most of the crowd were focused on Sam who lay motionless on the road . When the ambulance and police arrived Sam had already died . The police spoke to bystanders who all gave their account of the accident. That evening the news of Sam’s death made headline news .  Night time came on a Monday when Sam said his goodbye to the world .

 

 

It was lunch time on a frosty Tuesday morning and sidewalks were busy with people on their way to work and school . Shop keepers were opening up and early morning coffee vans were doing a brisk trade . Trains were rolling in to different platforms at Redemption Station and outside people were running to catch their connection with a government bus . Tuesdays were a special occasion for Clive , Craig , Harry and Al because it was a free day from their studies at University and every Tuesday at midday , inside the Mad hatters Tea Room  the four lads would meet to have linch together . Tuesdays at Mad Hatters was special as well because between midday and one o’clock it was happy hour when all the food was half price . A perfect venue for four scrounging students . The four university students were known as the four philosophers . They always had a regular lunch together and as they ate they would discuss the theme of the day that was presented by the speaker of that week . It was then up to the other three in the group to solve the riddle or address the problem raised  .  Every week a new speaker in sequence took his turn to present the topic. This Tuesday’s speaker was Clive who always had an issue with the other three in the group talking over each other and he frequently had to interrupt the group to try to get them to speak in turn. So this Tuesday as Clive made his way into the city on the train he came up with an idea to use some device that would keep order during their weekly discussion .His first idea was to bring a bell and when anybody wanted to speak they would have to ring the bell but thought it over and realised ringing a bell inside Mad Hatters would be a too much of a distraction in the restaurant  . Then he thought about using a torch he could shine on one of the group and that person could talk . As the train pulled into Redemption Station Clive lifted his bag off the floor and put on his woollen hat and gloves . When Clive got off the train he felt the cold and was glad he brought his hat and gloves . He made his way through the Concourse to the city street and crossed over at the intersection of Trench Street and Alice Avenue . As he walked across he saw a stone , about the size of a fist lying there in front of a drain hole in the gutter . He thought to himself  , Oh yes that’s exactly what I need . Clive bend down and lifted the stone from its resting place and put it in his bag .  Lunch time came and Clive sat in the usual spot  and was joined by the other three . He had the stone sitting in the centre of the table and just before he started the theme for the day Clive lifted the rock and said ,

“Today we have a new rule , anyone who wants to speak has to lift the stone and hold it . No one else can speak while that person holds the stone and must wait until the stone is put back on the table.”

 

The group all decided to try out the stone and got started after ordering some seafood and salad .

Clive lifted the stone and started to talk .

“ There are so many questions but not enough answers . Mystery does not use logic and intellect cannot fathom the ways of super nature . Who can tell me how a man can become an eagle or how can terminal cancer disappear from someone’s body and yet still be present there in an x-ray . “

 

The other three listened in awe and were speechless . Clive down the stone and Harry picked it up and immediately felt inspired to talk .

 

“Sometimes in this life , we all need an escape hatch . Our  imagination is very powerful we have the ability to transform ourselves into an eagle that can soar through the sky . In deep meditation people have said they have visited ancient tribes and places .”

Harry put the stone down and everyone looked a little shocked .

Al reached out and lifted the stone , he too became inspired and words flowed from him in a natural way .

“ Faith is an unseen seed that grows within the spirit . Healing is one of the unseen gifts given to those who have faith . You prove a miracle has happened , just believe it’s true as they are the unseen works of God .  So if God has removed a cancer from a man ,  believe it’s true . Miracles are the evidence of Gods hand at work . We are only human and we can’t see the unseen . If X-rays cannot show the spirit within then how do we expect to see the miracle of a cancer that was healed . ”

Al put the stone down and no one spoke .There was silence .

The waitress brought some food to the table and the four all began to eat .

Without any of them noticing the waitress removed the stone from the table and tossed it into the rubbish .

After the philosopher’s finished their seafood Clive asked  ,

“Now what were we talking about ?”

No one could remember , it was as if the discussion had never happened .

Craig asked ,

“What was the theme Clive for today ?

Clive replied ,

“ I was wanting to discuss food and how culture plays a role in what we eat .

Now where is the stone I brought with me ?“

They all looked for the stone but it was gone . Clive called one of the waiting staff and asked to speak with the waitress who brought their food but she had already gone home . In place of the stone Clive proposed that the group used the salt cellar as the device to keep the discussion in order . All agreed .

Al lifted the salt cellar and said ,

“Here’s some food for thought , every Tuesday the four of us eat together, that is one way that we communicate our acceptance of who we are and it strengthens our bond of friendship through the food we eat .“

They all spoke in turn and after an hour they paid the bill and left Mad Hatters all the wealthier for the experience . Then they said goodbye and went their separate ways with no recollection of the deep and meaningful conversation they had when they held the touch stone . Without even knowing , something inside each of them had changed  . Their minds had been opened and now their lives would change from that moment . They soon would all benefit from the knowledge that had been passed on to them  .

 

 

It was just after midnight on a wild wet Wednesday and the cold dark city streets were a merciless place . In an alleyway , a hungry homeless man was going through the rubbish bins behind Mad Hatters restaurant . As he searched through some garbage bags he found some half eaten steaks and rice dishes . As he continued to look through the garbage bags he pulled out the touch stone from one . There was a  warmth about it and the tramp held on to it with his cold numb fingers before walking  away to the park where he stayed at night . He walked over to the old wooden bandstand , and pulled out the old cardboard box that he had hidden away and then he lay himself down to sleep for the night . The park was his home where he lived alone and no one ever bothered him there . During the night the stone kept him warm and brought him a comforting presence that he had never felt before . He slept deeply and dreamt that he was a King living in a beautiful palace with many servants to cater for all his needs . He had a wife and a family who loved him very much and  they were all a very happy family indeed .

In the morning when he awoke the wind around him tossed papers into the air and the sound of traffic on the street told him it was morning rush hour time . He quickly made his way to the civic walkway where he begged for money each morning .

He sat down at his usual spot and placed the stone in front of him .

It was very unusual for anyone to stop and say hello but suddenly a well dressed man in a suit stopped and spoke ,

“Good morning . How are you ?”

The tramp replied .

“I’m hungry but still alive . How are you sir ?

End Of Part 1

Link to part 2

https://www.abctales.com/story/mcscraic/touchstone-part-two