Temple: A New Journey Begins
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Kermit Griffin pulled into the yard at the Lowery farm. A passenger sat next to him asleep, a cane resting in the crook of his arm. Kermit reached over and brushed a stray white hair dangling near the old man's nose.
'He should have stayed home. This trip could very well kill him.'
Neither of the two men really understood why they made the trip in the first place. They only knew they needed to be here on this particular day.
"Hey Paul, we're here," Kermit gently nudged the sleeping man.
"Huh? We're here? Where is here?" Paul rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat up in his car seat to look around.
At that moment, a figure emerged from the house and stood on the front porch in the blazing sunlight. Kermit looked up to see who had existed and finally understood. He turned and looked at his friend. This trip had been worth it just to see the astonished look on Paul Blaisdell's face as he beheld his beloved son.
Kermit sat back and continued to watch as Paul silently opened the car door and slowly emerged. He watched his old friend walk with confidence, the cane not once touching the ground or supporting his weight. Kermit observed that Paul never once faltered as he kept his eyes focused on Peter's face. Then both were embracing and the spell was broken.
"My son, my son," Paul cried against the shoulder of his beloved child. "You've come back. I knew you would."
"Well, you know me. I'd come back from the dead if it meant seeing you and Mom again."
"Your mother didn't make it, Peter. She died last year. She tried to hang on, but the cancer was too much for her."
Tears formed in the younger man's eyes. "I'm sorry, Dad. I couldn't come home sooner. There was a reason."
"Peter, you don't have to explain, not to me."
"Me neither kid," Kermit approached at that moment and patted Peter on the back. "I'm just glad to see you're back where you belong. Have you seen KC yet?"
"No, I was just on my way up to the temple. It's nearly completed."
"Just as you predicted," Kermit stated.
"No, just as the Masters of Shambhala predicted," Peter corrected.
Paul gave both men a puzzled look.
"It's a long story," Kermit stated.
"We have the time," Paul said. "How far is this temple?"
"It's about a mile or two from here," Peter said. "If I still remember the way."
"We can talk while we walk," Paul said.
"Are you sure, Paul? The doctor said you shouldn't put too much weight on that leg."
"I'm fine, Kermit. I've been cooped up in that sardine can you call a car for too long. I need to stretch my legs. Besides, it can give us plenty of time to tell your stories and it will make the walk go by that much faster."
All agreed and they were soon heading away from the farm and up the road toward the temple. The walk was pleasant and the conversation filled the time as they continued on the path. Paul would ask questions and Kermit and Peter would answer in turn, filling in details where the other could not.
As they approached the road that skirted the lake, Paul stopped and drew in a breath. This was the first time that he had seen the temple since its destruction. Once he had traveled here in secret when Peter was a teenager. He came to this very spot to see if he could learn more about the angry child that he had taken into his home. To see the utter devastation brought understanding as to where the anger came from, and once understanding that, Paul could help the child release the anger and once again embrace the love of a family.
As minutes drug on, he became aware that two pairs of eyes were watching him.
"Is that what the temple looked like before it was destroyed?" Paul asked.
"Yeah," Peter answered. "It's funny but I thought I would never see that sight again. As a kid, I would have given anything to have my home back. Now that it is, I almost find myself wishing I was somewhere else, that this is no longer my home."
"Perhaps it isn't," Kermit offered. "Maybe you're not meant to go home but you need to be here for another reason."
"You're probably right. And I think I know what that reason is. I just hope it will turn out as well as my other reunions did."
Concludes with the Epilogue
Alisa Joaquin Copyright@2004.
This story cannot be reprinted or sold in any other form without strict permission from
the author. It is being distributed here solely for your enjoyment.
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