The Story Spark for this was: Word Pairs. I chose ‘Ancient and New’ as my writing prompt. We had 25 minutes to write.
Elder thoughts
He was old, very old. One might even say he was ancient. You could tell by the sparse white hair trying to cover his head. The deep wrinkled face, with eyes worn from time spent, seeing too much hardship and pain. A thin, frail body barely able to sit, though there were plenty of cushions to support and comfort him. He was old.
But when he spoke, the sounds that came out of his mouth were melodic. The rhythm of his speech was spellbinding. The thoughts that he expressed showed the wisdom of the ages.
That is why people came to him. That is why they did what they could to help him survive. But that wasn’t always the case.
When he was new, he was like all children – curious, eager to learn, and at times stubborn. He took what he wanted and did not hold back when he didn’t get it.
As he grew older, he continued to grab for things that others found unattainable. He sought out conflict. He rebelled.
For that, he was shunned. He was not liked. He was put down. No one understood who he was.
Older still, his curiosity raised abundant questions that others couldn’t answer. They felt condescended to when he would then seek out the answers himself and then proudly share his results.
But things have a way of changing. Things often have a way of being viewed in a different light. There are two sides to every coin.
He had not changed, but he appeared to soften as children would come to him to ask for answers, knowing he had them. He was always willing to share.
He no longer asked many questions. He did his own research and found solutions. So when he offered what he had learned to others, they learned from him just as the children did.
He became their source of understanding.
His demeanor had changed as those who had known him as a child passed away. There was an inner sadness that comes from knowing that so many people have died without knowing who he was and what he brought to the community.
But as each new generation grew up, they honored him. The words he spoke became music to their ears. In truth, his voice may have sounded older, at least to him, but to his questioners and listeners, it was musical.
Such is the power of age. Such is the power of sharing the knowledge you have with others. Sharing to teach as one of them, not one above them. Sharing so that when they would share something back to him or others, we all learned.
He was old, but in our hearts, he was new.
