Papa sat still as a rock, his tanned forehead, countenance majestic as if pottered by the very hand of Janus, looked like a monument carved into some distant mountain. Kyra squinted her little sapphire jewels trying to see what he was doing, but from a watch it appeared as if he was doing nothing. Advancing like a cat, she moved a little closer, pretending, hoping, she was as invisible as feline to mouse.
Gossip close and delighted with her Papa-like stealth, Kyra whispered words as doves to the sun of her eye and heart, to ears as beautiful as trellis rosed, “Whatcha doing big ears?”
Without turning his head, Papa smiled into the morning sun, his eyes as alive and joyful as the matutinal surf at Valla. “Shhhhhh, my teacher is at work. We must not disturb the lesson.”
Kyra tip-toed to his white tunic-ed side, and leaning over, placed her small porcelain arms upon his broad shoulder, her chin nestling into the nook of his neck, her midnight black hair, smooth as Grandma silk, fanning over nape latitudinous. In a small corner of the porch, between weathered wooden slates, silvery strings swayed in the gentle ocean breeze as if musical notes in harmony with the wind. In the center, mother spider, hourglass tight and shinning like a wet marble, spun home and hearth. “Oooooooh, she’s back.”
“Yes she is,” said Papa.
“Who’s back,” asked John.
“Oh, didn’t see you there. What did you say?”
“You said, ‘Ooooooh, she’s back.” John smiled with expectant eyes. “Who is she?”
“A spider.”
“A what?”
“You know, a spider. Anyway, when I was a little girl, about the age of Ariel, one morning Papa and I noticed a spider building a web on the deck. For days we watched her weave her web, and then, one morning, as if by magic, an egg sac appeared. We were so excited. She was going to have babies. And we had a front row seat. Well, the next morning we got up, and there was Grand, on the deck, broom in hand. Wasn’t her fault. She didn’t know. Suppose I would have done the same. Still, I cried my eyes out. You see, Grand had swept the spider and her web and those babies unborn right off the deck. I remember looking at Papa, and I learned the first of two lessons. He leaned down, wiped the tears from my cheeks and told me he loved me and that we had an opportunity, a chance to rise above the temporary emotions of the moment and see the bigger picture. He said what had been done, was done and that our responsibility was to let go what we could not change and instead we could honor the mother spider by showing the same love she had to her babies to Grand. Then he took my hand and we walked over to Grand, hugged her, and told her we loved her—actually, he told her he loved her. I was still crying.”
“Did she know what she had done or why you were crying?”
“She had no idea, nor did we tell her. As for my tears, Papa told her they were tears of love for all that she had done for us. And so, there we were, the three of us, in the morning sun, hugging and crying and I saw a love in old hands and wise hearts and my tears turned from sadness to something much deeper.”
“And the second lesson?”
“Well, the next morning, I got up a little later than normal and when I walked out to the deck, I saw Papa just sitting. Seems as if Grand didn’t kill the mother after all, although the egg sac was gone, she was back, rebuilding.”
“What did Papa say?”
“Never let what you can’t control, stop you from doing what you can. Even thought all her babies were taken away in the sweep of a broom, she didn’t give up, didn’t feel sorry for herself, but came right back.”
“Sounds to me like the same lesson.”
“Yes it does. Papa was like that.”
12 comments:
From a mere spider there is so much to learn.. I remember Richard II learning the same lesson , trying again, from a spider in a cave where he had hidden after fleeing from the battle field. The lesson made him go back to win the battle...
The same parable was taught by the apostles...
That is one powerful image...
We can learn so much, from spiders, from bees, from ants too!
Mona, like many of my Papa and Kyra chapters, this one is taken from my own life. The spider in question was on my front porch. I watched day after day her build her web and then lay her egg sac. Then one day, the whole web was just gone. Seems my daughter, with a fear of spiders, had taken a broom and wiped the whole enterprise away. I remember feeling disappointed and sad. Then, a few days later, the spider had reappeared and was rebuilding her web in the same spot. The lesson, in my mind, was crystal clear. I think of that spider often. Seems as if Kyra does too. :-D
I'm not familiar with the Richard II reference. Have to look that one up. :-)
Two beautiful lessons, Tree... Thank you...
Thank you Annie for taking the time to visit and comment. Blessings to you my friend. :-)
The appearance of Papa in a chapter and one knows there are treats ahead.
I do so love the way your mind works, how events and thoughts thereupon combine to inspire a chapter such as this one, where Papa is able to share and impart what he knows to Kyra, essentially giving her a head start, guiding her, opening her mind, nudging her until she finds her own understanding.
Two well-known truths, that there is no use crying over spilled milk and Never let what you can't do get in the way of what you can do as they are most often presented, as with so many other chapters throughout the story, the message is a simple one, but just as Papa recognizes each opportunity to nurture Kyra as it presents itself, so too you have a thread of genius that runs through you that allows you to not only observe the spider, to contemplate it's plight, but to hold it within and bring it out so beautifully here.
So full of love, the honouring of the mother spider by showing Grand their love for her, you show your heart in the writing of such things.
...coming back to this one, too touched to comment properly yet.
Great post - lots of wisdom within :)
It was Robert the Bruce and the spider:
http://www.aboutscotland.com/melbruce.html
'Braveheart' was the name of Bruce NOT Wallace. Unfortunately half the world thinks otherwise thanks to Mel **** Gibson! Sorry to have gone on about it but this one is personal ;)
I always love the Papa/Kyra exchanges. They're so poignant. And the fact that this one came from your own memories makes it even more special.
Thanks Deb. I remember watching that spider for more than a week and then coming home one day and it was gone, thanks to middle C and broom. :-D
The Kyra/Papa chapters are my faves too. :-)
Miladysa, thanks for the link. I like the way Robert was thinking. Smart man. :-D
Sweetest, always a pleasure to see one of your wonderfully engaged comments. I treasure them as jewels. :-)
Wow Tree... on first looking at this image I saw a side view of a woman's silhouette. Curved and sensual.
Chicky, I like the way your mind works. :-)
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