NewSecret
04-01-2015, 06:00 PM
I went to my favorite pub one Friday once the sun had gone down.
The newly built pub, entitled, "Our Formal Night Tyme Brewery" was
not even a year standing, being erected in 1892. I was somewhat
younger then as I am now and with a brighter fire within me in
those days than there is within me these days.
The weeks work was done and I was unwinding as I'd always unwound
on Fridays. My family at home was well use to the weekly retreat
for me when I'd go to the pub.
I took my seat at the bar then ordered myself a scotch on the
rocks to loosen up. The bartender, Victor, was happy to serve the
drink, being in the ever good mood he was always in and everything
seemed to go according to habit.
When I was done with the scotch I ordered a tankard of beer then
went about drinking it. Very shortly a skinny man with a bow tie
and a slick suit sat in the next seat over and turned towards me,
ready to conversate. I nodded in acknowledgement at him and took
another drink of my beer.
He revealed from his inner jacket a small picture in a wooden
frame no more than seven inches tall and four inches wide. He said,
"What I hold in my hand is no ordinary picture."
I replied, "And what is the significance of your relic?"
He said, "There contains inside this picture a secret of great
value." He showed me how perfectly sealed the picture was,
turning it around front and back while holding it up to the light
of the hanging lantern above our heads. His own image in the same
clothes as he wore was on the picture. Appearing like a highly
detailed drawing.
I agreed with him and said, "Yes, I can see that your picture is
sealed well, but what of your claim that it contains a secret?"
He proceeded cautiously, fearing skepticism from me, but told me
his tale anyway, "You see, this picture has a power of it's own
that depends upon one thing only to make the miracle of it's
myth work. That thing is that for me to enjoy the power of it's
secret is to pass it on to someone else. Don't get me wrong, I'd
witnessed the power of the secret several times before accepting
it for my own good. I was with a group of friends who were
explorers. They uncovered this item in a crumbling castle
somewhere in Romania. Along with it, inside the rusted chest, was
a note made of thin paper, written in Latin that disintegrated
when they tried to lift it out of the chest, but not before they
read what was written upon it."
I said to him with a half-smirk, not really believing his tall
tale, "And what was written on the note?" I finished off my first
beer with a gulp then ordered a second one.
He said, "A poem was written upon it and went like this."
"Do not hold onto this for a full day
The blessings upon you will then play
When the picture upon this has full changed
You will know who must take it on their own way
For a secret within this can be revealed
The blessings continue when the picture is sealed
Break it apart then you will know the deal
The secret within will reinvent the wheel"
"So you see!" He exclaimed, turning the picture over to show me
it again then said, "It has changed!"
I looked down at the picture and yes, I felt a jolt of surprise to
see that I was in the picture now, not him! I was in the picture
exactly as I was at the bar, with my tankard of beer.
It was phenomenal. I didn't know what to say. I laughed in
amazement. "You know." I said, "You are quite the character. Never
in my life had I seen such a stunning trick."
He replied, "Now that you believe me and you've heard the lyric,
I will now make the offer for you to take it over a game of darts.
I am now at a crossroads of choice concerning this picture. If I
let you have it as the picture of you on it now indicates then I
will receive the blessings that are as I witnessed them with my
friends, very lavish blessings of miraculous splendor. Or, I
could choose to not pass on the picture and break it to find the
secret that is so great that it would 'reinvent the wheel' so to
speak. Both choices are very attractive and if I choose one or
the other, I benefit. So it's a win-win situation. What say you?
Would you like to play a game of darts over this relic?"
I nodded in agreement, "Yes, I will accept your challenge!"
We then left the bar for the dart board across the room.
The newly built pub, entitled, "Our Formal Night Tyme Brewery" was
not even a year standing, being erected in 1892. I was somewhat
younger then as I am now and with a brighter fire within me in
those days than there is within me these days.
The weeks work was done and I was unwinding as I'd always unwound
on Fridays. My family at home was well use to the weekly retreat
for me when I'd go to the pub.
I took my seat at the bar then ordered myself a scotch on the
rocks to loosen up. The bartender, Victor, was happy to serve the
drink, being in the ever good mood he was always in and everything
seemed to go according to habit.
When I was done with the scotch I ordered a tankard of beer then
went about drinking it. Very shortly a skinny man with a bow tie
and a slick suit sat in the next seat over and turned towards me,
ready to conversate. I nodded in acknowledgement at him and took
another drink of my beer.
He revealed from his inner jacket a small picture in a wooden
frame no more than seven inches tall and four inches wide. He said,
"What I hold in my hand is no ordinary picture."
I replied, "And what is the significance of your relic?"
He said, "There contains inside this picture a secret of great
value." He showed me how perfectly sealed the picture was,
turning it around front and back while holding it up to the light
of the hanging lantern above our heads. His own image in the same
clothes as he wore was on the picture. Appearing like a highly
detailed drawing.
I agreed with him and said, "Yes, I can see that your picture is
sealed well, but what of your claim that it contains a secret?"
He proceeded cautiously, fearing skepticism from me, but told me
his tale anyway, "You see, this picture has a power of it's own
that depends upon one thing only to make the miracle of it's
myth work. That thing is that for me to enjoy the power of it's
secret is to pass it on to someone else. Don't get me wrong, I'd
witnessed the power of the secret several times before accepting
it for my own good. I was with a group of friends who were
explorers. They uncovered this item in a crumbling castle
somewhere in Romania. Along with it, inside the rusted chest, was
a note made of thin paper, written in Latin that disintegrated
when they tried to lift it out of the chest, but not before they
read what was written upon it."
I said to him with a half-smirk, not really believing his tall
tale, "And what was written on the note?" I finished off my first
beer with a gulp then ordered a second one.
He said, "A poem was written upon it and went like this."
"Do not hold onto this for a full day
The blessings upon you will then play
When the picture upon this has full changed
You will know who must take it on their own way
For a secret within this can be revealed
The blessings continue when the picture is sealed
Break it apart then you will know the deal
The secret within will reinvent the wheel"
"So you see!" He exclaimed, turning the picture over to show me
it again then said, "It has changed!"
I looked down at the picture and yes, I felt a jolt of surprise to
see that I was in the picture now, not him! I was in the picture
exactly as I was at the bar, with my tankard of beer.
It was phenomenal. I didn't know what to say. I laughed in
amazement. "You know." I said, "You are quite the character. Never
in my life had I seen such a stunning trick."
He replied, "Now that you believe me and you've heard the lyric,
I will now make the offer for you to take it over a game of darts.
I am now at a crossroads of choice concerning this picture. If I
let you have it as the picture of you on it now indicates then I
will receive the blessings that are as I witnessed them with my
friends, very lavish blessings of miraculous splendor. Or, I
could choose to not pass on the picture and break it to find the
secret that is so great that it would 'reinvent the wheel' so to
speak. Both choices are very attractive and if I choose one or
the other, I benefit. So it's a win-win situation. What say you?
Would you like to play a game of darts over this relic?"
I nodded in agreement, "Yes, I will accept your challenge!"
We then left the bar for the dart board across the room.