Story of wisdom vs .....

"IMANI AND THE WISE MAN"

THIS IS THE STORY OF IMANI AND HIS SEARCH FOR THE MEANING OF FAITH.

IMANI LIVED IN A JUNGLE CITY WHERE THE TRAFFIC SLITHERED LIKE A SNAKE ON THE PROW. WHERE POISONOUS LIZARDS ROAMED WITH A VENOM AS DEADLY AS A THOUSAND MARTINI'S. WHERE FLYING THINGS STUNG WITH THE NUMBING POWER OF HEROIN AND EACH NIGHT WAS FILLED WITH CREATURES, EACH WITH THEIR OWN DEFENSES AND OFFENSES. IMANI WAS DAY AND NIGHT FRIGHTENED! HE WAS NEITHER BEAST NOR CREATURE... HE WAS JUST HIS FEAR. IT WAS WHILE HE WAS IN HIS FEAR, AND THE CONFUSION THAT IS FEAR'S ACCOMPLICE, THAT IMANI HAPPENED UPON A WISE MAN.

"OH WISE MAN", IMANI SAID, "I AM SO FRIGHTENED FOR THE SNAKES ARE CLOSE AND THE LIZARDS NEAR AND THE LIONS AND THETIGERS AND THE FLYING THINGS",IMANI QUAKED."HELP ME OH WISE MAN", lMANI PLEADED. "HAVE FAITH", THE WISE MAN REPLIED CALMLY. WHAT DO YOU MEAN...FAITH?", IMANI ASKED WITH A JERK.

"FAITH IS FAITH",WAS THE MATTER OF FACT REPLY.

"YOU MEAN IGNORE ALL OF THIS", IMANI RESPONDED.

"NO NOT THAT ", WAS THE WISE MAN'S ANSWER."WELL IF IT'S NOT THAT, THAN WHAT IS IT, WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU MEAN, FAITH", lMANI CONFUSEDLY PRODDED.

"COME WITH ME AND I'LL SHOW YOU ", THE WISE MAN SUGGESTED, AS HE STARTED TO WALK. WITH THAT, lMANI AND THE WISE MAN HEADED TOWARD THE HEART OF THE MATTER, THE DEEPEST PART OF THE JUNGLE CITY.

IT WASN'T LONG BEFORE A BLUE AND WHITE SNAKE SLITHERED CLOSE AND OPENING IT'S MOUTH WIDE CONSUMED SOMETHING NEAR, AND LIKE A BUS, MOVED ON. IT MOVED ON DIRECTLY TOWARD IMANI AND THE WISE MAN. IMANI FROZE, MOTIONLESS FROM FEAR, TRANQUILIZED BY THE PROSPECT, OVERWHELMED BY THE IMPENDING DOOM.

ALMOST INAUDIBLY IMANI UTTERED, "GIVE ME FAITH OH WISE MAN".

WITH THAT, THE WISE MAN QUICKLY RESPONDED CALMLY SAYING, "MOVE", AND HE GAVE IMANI A PUSH OUT THE WAY OF THE APPROACHING SNAKE.

"BUT I ASKED FOR FAITH AND YOU GAVE ME A PUSH", IMANI SAID TO THE WISE MAN DISTURBINGLY.

"IT'S BEST TO HAVE FAITH BUT SINCE YOU DONT HAVE THAT YET, IT'S WISE TO MOVE ASIDE" , WAS THE WISE MAN'S REPLY.

"I CAN SHOW YOU THE WISE THING TO DO BUT I CAN'T DO FAITH FOR YOU", HE CONTINUED.

"WELL ARE YOU GOING TO SHOW ME WHAT FAITH IS OR AREN'T YOU ", IMANI IMPATIENTLY INQUIRED OF THE WISE MAN.

"FOLLOW ME", WAS THE WISE MAN'S RESPONSE AS HE STARTED TO WALK.

OFF THEY WENT, WITH IMANI FOLLOWING CLOSELY IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE WISE MAN. AFTER A SHORT TIME THEY CAME UPON A CAVE CARVED INTO A BUILDING LIKE HILL SIDE OF ROCKS.

THEY ENTERED THE CAVE, THE WISE MAN WAS IN THE LEAD. UPON ENTERING, IMANI WAS QUICK TO NOTICE THE LIZARDIN THE CORNERTHE ONE WITH THE VENOM OF A THOUSAND MARTINI'S. NO SOONER HAD IMANI SPOTTED THE LIZARD, THE LIZARD SPOTTED IMANI AND INITIATED A CHARGE TOWARD HE AND THE WISE MAN. IT SO STARTLED IMANI THAT HE FROZE IN HIS TRACKS, AS IF INTOXICATED BY THE SPECTOR OF THE CHARGING LIZARD.

ALMOST INAUDIBLY IMANI COULD BE HEARD SAYING, "I REALLY NEED FAITH NOW".

WITH THAT, THE WISE MAN PULLED IMANI FROM THE PATH OF THE CHARGING LIZARD AND THE LIZARD CRASHED INTO THE CAVE'S WALL JUST NEXT TO IMANI'S RIGID FORM. IMANI LOOKED DOWN AT THE UNCONSCIOUS LIZARD AND THAN, AT THE HAND OF THE WISE MAN THAT SILL HAD HOLD OF HIS ARM.

" DON'T TELL ME ", IMANI SAID RATHER SHEEPISHLY, "I SHOULD HAVE MOVED ".

" NOW YOU'RE STARTING TO WISE UP ", THE WISE MAN STATED CALMLY WHILE STEPPING OVER THE UNCONSCIOUS LIZARD AT THEIR FEET. THE PAIR MADE A DETERMINED EXIT FROM THE CAVE, LIKE A NUN FROM A BAR.

IMANI, RELIEVED TO BE ON THE OUTSIDE, TOOK A DEEP BREATH OF THE NIGHT AIR. NO SOONER HAD HE EXHALED,... WHEN HE HEARD A BUZZING. THERE, COMING THROUGH THE NIGHT IN THEIR DIRECTION, WAS ONE OF THOSE FLYING THINGS, THOSE THINGS WITH A STING AS DEBILITATING AS HEROIN.

"GET DOWN! ", IMANI SHOUTED AS HE AND THE WISE MAN DROPPED TO THE GROUND JUST IN TIME TO AVOID THE STING OF THE FLYING THING AS IT PASSED OVERHEAD DISAPPEARING AMONG THE STREET LIKE CORRIDORS OF THE JUNGLE.

" NOW THAT WAS WISE IMANI ",THE WISE MAN SAID WITH A BIT OF INFLECTION IN HIS VOICE.

AS THE NIGHT WENT ON IMANI AND THE WISE MAN FACED A SUCCESSION OF CREATURES, AND WITH EACH ONE, IMANI ACTED WISELY. IT WAS AFTER THEIR SIXTH CONFRONTATION THAT IMANI WAS NOTICEABLY LESS FEARFUL. SO MUCH LESS, THAT HE STARTED TO WONDER IF HE REALLY NEEDED FAITH AT ALL. HE WAS THINKING AT THIS POINT THAT, MAYBE... JUST MAYBE WISDOM WAS ALL HE NEEDED.

NO SOONER HAD THOSE THOUGHTS CROSSED HIS MIND WHEN, FROM OUT OF THE BUSHES, JUMPED A HYPERAGGRESSIVE, I'M GONNA EAT YOU, YOU'RE BLEEP IS MINE, KIND OF A LION. THE LION WAS CARRYING ON IT'S BACK ALL KINDS OF LION TOOLS FROM PENCILS TO HAMMER JACKS AND EVEN AN ASSORTMENT OF DISEASES. THE LAST THING IMANI NOTICED BEFORE TURNING AWAY WAS A NAME TAG THAT THIS MOST FEROCIOUS LION WAS WEARING. PRINTED IN BOLD LETTERS, IT READ... REALITY!!!

USING THE WISE RESPONSE THAT HE HAD BEEN TAUGHT EARLIER HE TOOK OFF. IMANI AND THE WISE MAN RAN FOR ALL THEY WERE WORTH. UNLIKE THE OTHER THREATS IMANI AND THE WISE MAN HAD BEEN FACED WITH, THIS ONE DIDN'T END WHEN THEY MOVED... REALITY WAS GETTING CLOSER AND CLOSER!

IMANI NOTICING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES AND THE PREVIOUS ONES, FELT THE RESURGENCE OF THAT OLD FAMILIAR FEAR.

" QUICK, UP THIS TREE !", THE WISE MAN SHOUTED BACK TO IMANI. IMANI AND THE WISE MAN CLIMBED THE TREE TO IT'S HIGHEST LIMB.ONCE THERE, THE WISE MAN DIRECTED IMANI TO THE VERY END OF THE LIMB. BEHIND IMANI WAS NOTHING BUT CLOUDS. THE WISE MAN HAD FOLLOWED IMANI OUT ONTO THE LIMB AND WAS STANDING NEXT TO IMANI BETWEEN HE AND THE LION BELOW.

FOR A MINUTE OR TWO IMANI THOUGHT POSSIBLY THEY WERE SAFE FROM THE PURSUING LION, BUT THAN HE NOTICED THE LION WAS LAYING DOWN HIS LION TOOLS AT THE BASE OF THE TREE, AND, BARING HIS TEETH, STARTED UP THE TREE AFTER THEM.

NOW IMANI WAS SHAKING SO BADLY HE COULD HARDLY STAY ON THE LIMB.

SPEAKING TO THE WISE MAN, HIS VOICE SHAKING, HE ASKED, "WHAT'S THE WISE THING TO DO?"

"HAVE FAITH ", THE WISE MAN REPLIED, HIS VOICE SHAKING WITH FEAR TOO.

BY THIS TIME,THE LION WAS ON THE LIMB AND WITH AN ANGRY GROWL HE SUNK HIS TEETH INTO THE WISE MAN, WHO, WITH ONE LAST RAISE OF THE ARM DIRECTED IMANI OFF THE LIMB.&
IMANI, SO FRIGHTENED AT WHAT WAS TAKING PLACE TO THE WISE MAN AND RESPONDING TO THE DIRECTION HE STEPPED BACKWARD OFF THE LIMB YET, TO HIS ASTONISHMENT, HE DIDN'T FALL. IMANI JUST STOOD THERE ASTHE LION CONTINUED  TO DEVOUR THE WISE MAN.
THE WISE MAN  MANAGED TO LOOK IN THE DIRECTION OF IMANI NOW STANDING SOLID ON THIN AIR, SAID FAINTLY, WITH HIS DIEING BREATH, " THIS IS YOUR ANSWER IMANI I AM WISE AND YET THE LION IS EATING ME BUT YOU HAVE WILLINGLY STEPPED BACK ONTO THIN AIR ONLY TO FIND U DIDN'T FALL, YOU are standing on FAITH NOW AND I AM LEFT WITH REALITY"! ...Pop'