The Pearl of Peace
Timothy Paterson
Copyright 2012 Timothy Paterson
Irene awakened feeling totally refreshed, but she wanted to go back to sleep to finish her dream. For the past three nights, she had dreamt the same wonderful dream.
In her dream, Irene found herself in a field of beautiful wildflowers. As she walked through the field, she felt happy and carefree. She came up to a patch of lush green grass, with a small stream flowing through it.
As Irene watched the bubbling water flow, she saw something lying on the bottom of the streambed. She reached in and picked it up. At first, she thought it was a stone, but it was too perfectly round. It was the size of a baseball and looked white with a silvery luster to it. It looked like a giant pearl.
As Irene held the pearl in the palm of her hand, it started to glow with a soft white light. As it glowed, Irene felt a strange feeling of peace and serenity flow throughout her entire body.
Irene heard a voice, but saw no one. The voice spoke to Irene. “Irene, this pearl is a gift for you and for all of mankind. Use it well. The world you live in is filled with hate and evil. People have a great capacity for love and understanding. Love will help bring peace and understanding to the world.”
“Take this gift and help mankind to exist peacefully on this planet. Like peace, this pearl is fragile and delicate. Take good care of it.”
The voice disappeared and Irene found herself alone once again. As she stood there in the middle of the beautiful green meadow, a small deer appeared and Irene slowly walked towards it. She reached out slowly and gently touched the deer. The love and peace from the deer transferred to the animal. The deer walked closer to Irene and laid his head on her shoulder.
That was the last thing that Irene saw before she woke up. Irene wandered what the dreams meant. The same dream for three days in a row was no coincidence.
Irene was still trying to figure out what her dreams meant, as she walked into the kitchen, to get breakfast.
She was not paying attention to where she was going, and she bumped into her brother David, causing him to spill orange juice all over the counter and the floor. “Why don’t you watch where you’re going, klutz!” said David. David was thirteen, a year older than Irene was.
Irene helped David clean up the mess and said “I’m sorry, David. I was daydreaming.” “No kidding! That’s the story of your life.”
Their mother walked into the kitchen and told them to hurry up or they would miss the school bus. “Your father will be here in the morning to pick you up for the weekend,” she told them. “So make sure you pack your things tonight.”
Irene and David’s parents had been separated for a month. They had already filed the papers for divorce. Both David and Irene hoped that their parents would reconcile. It was especially hard on David, because he had always been close to his father, and now he rarely saw him. David had become more quick tempered and angry. His grades were slipping as well.
That afternoon, after school, Irene decided to walk home instead of riding the bus. On the way home, Irene walked through a little park that she had never noticed before.
As Irene walked through the park, she thought it looked vaguely familiar. As she proceeded through a field of wildflowers, she saw a patch of luscious green grass with a small stream running through it.
Suddenly, she recognized it as the place in her dreams. Irene started searching the stream; her eyes stopped searching, when she saw the giant pearl from her dream. Nervously, she reached into the cool water and carefully cradled the pearl in her hand.
The pearl glistened in the bright sunlight. Just like in her dreams, the pearl started glowing. Irene was engulfed with a feeling of love, peace and happiness that she had never known before. She was completely overwhelmed.
When Irene looked at her watch, she realized that she had been standing there, for over an hour, though it had seemed like just a few minutes. She carefully placed the pearl in her backpack and started walking home.
When Irene was just a few blocks from her house, she came face to face with a growling dog. Irene discovered that she was not afraid. She stood still and called to the dog. When she was close enough, she carefully put her hand on the dog’s neck.
Instantly, the dog stopped growling and started licking Irene’s face and wagging its tail. Irene realized that like the deer in her dream, the dog had become friendly when she touched it.
Irene was very excited and ran the rest of the way home. When she walked into the house, David started yelling at her. “Where have you been?’ he asked. You should have been home a couple of hours ago. Mom is out looking for you, right now, and she is mad with a capitol ‘M’.
Irene just stood there, smiling at David. “The most wonderful thing has happened,” she said. “Didn’t you hear me?” asked David. Mom is going to kill you and then ground your body for life.”
As David kept ranting and raving, Irene walked up to him with open arms. As she started to hug David, he had a strange look on his face that said ‘Are you crazy?’, but as Irene’s arms closed around him, David felt a wave of love and compassion flow through his body.
Suddenly, David’s tone changed. “Are you okay, Rena (which was what her family called her)? We thought something bad had happened to you.” Then, David gave his sister a hug that made her feel how much love he felt for her.
After the hug, David asked Irene what was happening. “I feel very strange,” he said, “but strange in a wonderful way.”
Irene quickly explained about her dreams and about the pearl that she had found that afternoon. When David held the pearl in his hands, he too became filled with more love and peace than he had ever known. As the emotions flowed through his body, tears started flowing out. David, who never cried, had tears running down his cheeks, but he did not care. He was not the least bit embarrassed.
As they stood there talking, they heard their mother’s car pull into the garage. Irene quickly took the pearl and put it back into her backpack. “This has to be our secret, David,” she said. “We can’t tell anyone, not even our parents.” David agreed.
When their mother walked into the room, she was furious. When she saw Irene, she started yelling. “Rena, I am so angry with you right now,” Before she could say another word, Irene gave her a big hug and said “I am so sorry, Mom. I decided to walk home and I found this beautiful park. I just lost track of time.
Irene’s hug filled her mother with love and peace. Her anger turned to concern for her daughter. “Don’t ever scare me like that again, Rena,” she said. “I thought that something awful had happened to you.” Then, the two of them hugged for a long time. This was the first time in several months that Irene and her mother had been this close emotionally. When their parents had begun fighting, it had driven a wedge into the family.
That evening, the three of them had the best time ever. That night, after their mother had gone to sleep, Irene knocked on David’s door. When he opened it, Irene walked in and sat on his bed. “David”, she began, “this magic pearl turns anger and hate into love and compassion. Maybe, if we hug both Mom and Dad, tomorrow morning, they will feel the love and compassion that they once felt for each other.”
David agreed that it was worth a try. Irene gave him a hug and then went back to her bedroom. Soon, she was fast asleep.
In the morning, Irene woke up. She quickly showered, dressed and walked downstairs to help make breakfast. She felt a little strange. “Had she had that strange dream again?” she thought. “Or did it really come true?”
As David
sat down at the table, Irene accidentally knocked the syrup over and some spilled on David’s shirt. Irene told David that she was sorry and braced herself for David’s anger, as it was his favorite shirt. She was shocked, when the only thing he said was, “Don’t worry about it. It was an accident. I’ll just wear another shirt.”
Irene pulled David aside and asked him if anything unusual had happened the day before. He told her about the pearl and she realized that she was not dreaming. Her dream had come true.
After breakfast, Irene and David cleaned up the kitchen and then got their things ready to take to their dad’s house when he picked them up.
When their father arrived, the first thing that Irene did, was give him a great big hug. She could feel the positive energy flow into him. Then, David gave him a big hug as well. He did not usually hug his dad. His dad might put his arm around David’s shoulders, but that was as far as it went. Today, when they hugged, they were both expressing their love for each other.
When their mother entered the room, both Irene and David hugged their mom goodbye at the same time. They noticed that when their parents looked at each other, there was a spark in their eyes that had died out a long time ago. Now, it was back again.
Their mom and dad made small talk; it was awkward for both of
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