IT WAS AN uneventful night. I dropped onto my bed and in customary fashion I drifted into the unknown world called sleep. At some point in my slumber another phenomenon occurred.
It is that unexplained thing call dreams.
In my dreams I came into contact with a group of people who loved me so much that they offered me some nicely packaged gifts. Full of anticipation, I opened the first gift. To my initial dismay it was garbage, looking bad and smelling even worse than it looked. My benefactor saw the look on my face and calmly said: “Don’t see garbage,” pausing, “this is a gift of $21 million.”
He nudged me to open the next gift. My initial reluctance was now converted into haste. My next package was equally despicable if not worse. It was a watery, soggy, awful looking and smelly liquid. I tried not to let it spill on my hands. This time, my benefactor had a smile on his face as he softly said:
“This is worth $28 million.”
He then took my hands and led me from the rolling hills where he made the first two presentations to the base of what seemed like a valley. “Wow!” I exclaimed. “From the mountain to the low.”
The third gift was wrapped quite differently. It was a gift fitting for a king. By now I was an expert at opening generous gifts. This was a gift of crystal clear water. My benefactor then lectured me on the fact that Barbados can never survive without water. “This is the mother load of all gifts,” he informed.
“It will make you over $30 million each year.
I guarantee you that!” he emphasised.
The words of Julie Andrews’ song struck me right there: “Nothing comes from nothing, nothing ever could. Somewhere in my youth or childhood I must have done something good.”
At this point I awoke. Reality hit me; it was just a dream. But I loved being busy with my gifts rather than being depressed and low with headaches.
– Arrindel Evelyn