and bring him back to them than to stay and let them love me in Robin=s place? If I left
them as Robin did, would not their sorrow be compounded? They would then have lost two sons
and be alone to grow older and more feeble with only one another as companions. I dared not
raise my questions with Samuel and Martha lest they think I was ungrateful for their taking me in
and because it might seem that I was seeking an excuse to run away.
One evening, about two months after I had arrived, we all were at dinner together. I had
noted that Samuel seemed to be moving more slowly as he worked that morning, and now I saw
that his face appeared more worn and haggard.
He turned to me. ASon, he said, AI sense that I may not have that much longer to live.@
ANo, no,@ Martha interjected forcefully, Adon=t even say such things. We are going to
grow old together.@
Samuel stretched out his left hand toward Martha. ANo, Martha, let me speak. We have
already grown old together. Our love for one another has stretched over sixty years in times good
and bad. But you and I will each die someday, even though we may not know when death will
take us.@
I saw tears forming in Martha=s eyes and begin to run down her cheeks. She tried to dry
them with her napkin, but then broke into open sobs. Samuel rose and walked to stand behind
her and placed his hands gently on her shoulders. ANo, Martha, I wish your tears would wash
away the sadness that we both feel, but my heart and the boy=s mirror both tell me that my time
on earth is drawing to a close.@
AWhat do you mean the mirror told you?@ Martha sniffled.
ADon=t you realize, dearest Martha, that the mirror allows us to see our reflection at some
point in the future? Your reflection was yourself at an older age. When I looked into the mirror,
I saw no reflection at all. You will outlive me, but I must make certain that you are well cared
for when I am gone.
AI do not know how much time I have left. Each day it is a greater struggle for me to
complete my work. Someday not long from now I may not be able to work at all.@
ABut we have Adam with us now to help with the work and take care of us when that time
comes,@ Martha countered.
ABeloved wife, humor me,@ said Samuel softly. AI must see Robin again and tell him that
I forgive him for what he did and for the anguish he caused us. He is our son and we don=t know
where he is, or anything about him now except that, according to the mirror, he is still alive. And
if he is alive, I want to reconcile with him. I do not want to die without seeing my son again.@
Martha turned her head to look up into her husband=s face. ABut we have Adam now. He
is our son.@
AYes, Martha, Adam is a great blessing to us. But I do not need to be reconciled with
Adam. He may have been sent to us, not to adopt as our son, but to help us find the our son who
ran away and bring him back to us before I die.@
AAnd if he can=t find Robin and bring him back to us, then we will have lost both Adam
and Robin.@ Martha started to cry again.
Samuel stood quietly for a moment. AYes, Martha, you are right. We do not want to lose
both our sons.@
Then he turned toward me and asked, AAdam, if we ask you to look for Robin and you
either cannot find him, or he will not come home with you, will you come back and stay with us
again?@
I felt tears forming in my eyes. I did not want to leave. I was enjoying my life here, and I
had finally found parents who loved me. But I knew Samuel was right. His loss of his beloved
son was an open wound that would not heal until he could once more embrace Robin and find
reconciliation.
AYes,@ I answered, AI will seek your son because you love him. And because you have
loved me, I will return to you, either with Robin or by myself if I cannot find him or he will not
return with me. How much time do you want me to spend on my search before I must come back
again?@
AI think I will still be able to do what I need to do for at least three months,@ Samuel
answered. ABy the end of three months, return, one way or another.@
Martha had stopped crying now that she had heard me say I would return. A@Son, please
do not stay away for more than three months. I could bear to lose a second son.@
I promised them that I would come back again in not more than three months, with or
without Robin.
Samuel walked out of the kitchen and return a short time later with an envelope. AHere is
money to last you for the time you will be gone. I will drive you in our car to the nearest town
where you will be able to find transportation to wherever else you want to go. I am hoping your
mirror will guide you to Robin.@
That night I slept poorly. I thought I heard footsteps outside my bedroom door and
suspected that Martha and Samuel had trouble sleeping. The next morning I rose as usual,
helped Samuel and then had breakfast. After breakfast, I went to my room and packed the and
clothes and other belongings in a knapsack that had belonged to Robin that Martha retrieved
from a hall closet. The mirror and the envelope that Samuel had given me I put in my shirt
pocket.
After an especially lavish lunch that Martha had fixed in my honor, I gave a tearful
farewell to Martha, hugging her tightly before going to the car with Samuel. I threw the
knapsack in the back seat and got in the front seat next to Samuel.
Samuel pulled out of the driveway and started down the dirt road that ran to nearest town,
creating a cloud of dust behind us. I looked back briefly and saw Martha standing in the
driveway wiping her eyes and waving goodbye.
A City Apart
Samuel turned right off the dirt road on to a two-lane asphalt road that became a divided,
four-lane highway as the entered the outskirts of the town. We had driven about one hour when
Samuel pulled into the parking lot of a shopping center. AThis is where your mother and I come
to buy new clothes on those rare occasions when our old ones are too worn to wear,@ Samuel
observed. AThe people here are not at all friendly, but it the next nearest town is miles further
down the road.@
We both got out of the car and Samuel came toward me and embraced me, trying hard not
to show the emotion that was evident in his voice. AThis is where I will leave you, son. Do your
best to find Robin, but if you cannot find him, remember that you promised to return to our home
within three months. Martha and I are counting on you.@
I felt more alone and frightened than I had ever felt before in my life. I was further from
my real parents than ever both in distance and in feeling. Though I was still learning the meaning
of love, I was certain that I loved Martha and Samuel, and I knew that they loved me. Now I was
leaving behind the first real home I had known to try to find someone I had never met and was
not sure I would recognize him if I found him.
To make matters worse, although this town, whose name I still did not know, seemed of
modest size, I have never before been in a town this large, having lived almost all of my life
within walking distance of the home of my birth. I was lost in more ways than one, but I had
made a promise to Samuel and Martha that I intended to keep. That much I knew, though I could
not yet imagine ho
w I would keep it.
I watched mournfully as Samuel pulled out of the parking lot and headed for home.
So now I was on my own. What to do first? I had enough money to rent a room to sleep
in, but with only three months to find Robin, I could not remain long in one place. Perhaps
Robin was somewhere in this very town, but I doubted it because I saw no tall buildings here like
those that had appeared in my mirror.
As I stood there, I saw a man walking rapidly across the parking lot. Seeing that he
would pass close to me, I called, ASir, sir, could I ask you the name of this town?@ But he passed
quickly by without paying the least attention to either me or my question. Perhaps, I thought, he
was preoccupied with a deep concern, or so focused on what he intended to buy that his mind had
no room for anything else.
I walked to the intersection of two streets that bordered the lot and noted that I was at the
corner of Main and Elm. A woman stood there waiting to cross the street. AMa=am,@ I asked,
Awould you please tell me the name of this town?@
She looked at me with a perplexed expression. AYou are here and you don=t know where
you are? You are a strange child.@
I was about to explain my predicament, but the light changed and she stepped over the
curb and walked quickly to the other side of the street. Then it occurred to me that I didn=t need
to know where I was because where I was was not my final destination. Robin was not here, so I
had to move on. But move on to where?
The only tool I had to assist me was my mirror, so I took it from my shirt pocket and
spoke to it. AMirror, show me the way I must go to find Robin.@
The image in the mirror at first reflected the corner on which I was standing, but then the
image began to turn until I was looking down Main Street far into the distance. So that was it. I
had to go in the direction the mirror indicated. And then I would have to ask the mirror for
directions again. And again, and again, until it would finally lead me to Robin.
I crossed the street so I begin my journey, first down Main Street, and then . . . Well, I
would have to ask the mirror. I had only walked four blocks when I noticed a car parked by the
curb with its hood up and a man B the driver, I assumed B peering anxiously at the motor. The
man was young with blond hair, about my own height and of slender build.
I approached him. ASir, I don=t know much about cars, but if I can help you in some way,
I would be happy to do so.@
The man pulled his head out from under the hood and looked me over. AYou=re willing
to help me? You are the first person I=ve met in this entire town who offered to help me in any
way.
AI came from another town to this one because there were no jobs to be had where I was
living, and I hoped to find work here. But all I=ve found here are people who do not trust
strangers. In fact, I do believe that they do not even trust one another. They have been so
unfriendly to me that I was leaving this horrid place, but then, to top it all, my car broke down.@
Of course, I didn=t know the first thing about fixing a car, but I was still testing the
powers of my magic mirror, so I took the mirror out of my pocket and asked it what was wrong
with the car. The man looked at me like I had lost my mind, which perhaps I had, because I had
no idea what the mirror would do. To my surprise, the mirror displayed a gasoline service station
and someone pumping gas into a car that looked exactly like the one before me.
I asked the man, AHave you checked to see if you any gas?@
He appeared startled. ANo, that=s the one thing I haven=t checked.@ He opened a car door
and peered at the gas gauge. AI don=t know what you have in your hand, but that=s the problem.
I=m out of gas.@ And he laughed good-naturedly.
The two of us managed to maneuver the car into a gas station at the next corner, one that
looked exactly like the one in my mirror, and stopped it next to a pump. He filled his tank and
went into the station=s office to pay. When he emerged again, he asked me where I lived and
offered to give me a ride home.
I told him that I also was not from this town, and I, too, had found folks here less than
friendly. I told him that I was looking for someone and that I had to travel a long way down
Main Street to continue my search. He smiled and offered me a ride because the next town he
intended to visit was also in that
The Magic Mirror Page 4
