In a small town, there lived two brothers. The older brother
named Abel and his younger, Adan. Abel and Adan were fishermen.
Abel had lost his sight during his early days working in a mine.
For at least twenty years, he had finally saved up enough for the
purchase of a tiny boardwalk, by the river. He was proud of
himself, constantly telling his younger brother, about his miner
days and his wonderful acquisition. "This is the best spot! The
water is deep and the fishes are plenty!"Abel always saying to
Adan. Life was simple. Each morning they would sit by the wooden
planks, count their catch, satisfied with all they have. Usually a
good day would fetch a basket full. At the end of the day, they
would head to the marketplace where they sold for cash.
One fine morning, Adan and his brother set off to make their daily
catch. As they were waiting patiently for their bite, Adan took
notice of a new guy. The man, stout looking, was fishing over the
opposite bank. Adan has never seen him around before. He saw that
the man was busy bringing in his line, each time, full of fishes,
tossing them into the baskets he brought. By mid day, he already
had two baskets full. Adan and his brother had barely met their
halfway mark!
As the Sun set, Adan patiently observed as the man leave with three
baskets full of trouts when they ended the day with only two third
a basket.
On their way back, Adan thought to himself. "The new fella looked
novice. Surely he is not as skilful as him but how was he able to
gather so many fishes on the same day? Moreover, Abel already had
the best spot available!" He was confused and he began to have
doubts about his brother's judgements and if that man, in fact, had
occupied a better location.
So, the following day, Adan continued to observe the new guy as he
returned to the same spot on the opposite bank of the river. True
enough, he was again making catches after catches. He grew more
excited each time the man brought his lines up. Adan eyes were
fixed on him the entire day. And by the end of the day, they
managed to leave with only a half a basket.
This strange phenomenon that Adan had thought was happening went on
for a week. Adan had wanted very much to give himself a try and
switch over to the opposite side to fish, but ended up disposing
the idea as he felt doing so would sadden Abel. Abel needed him by
his side, at his boardwalk.
It was the tenth day since the new man came along. As the brothers
were packing their lines to leave, Abel said to Adan. "My younger
brother. It puzzled me as much as it had puzzled you. Our catch is
decreasing each day. This is not normal." Upon hearing this, Adan
was glad yet hesistant to speak as Abel, had, broken the silence.
Sensing that, Abel tells his younger brother,"You can leave if you
wish to. I know you are worried about me. I can cope alone. I will
be better alone."
Abel's words shocked him. He felt discomfort in his heart. He was
disappointed that Abel had misunderstood his intentions."Brother, I
do not want to leave you here. What would you do if I had
left?"
Abel calmly said to Adan,"But you have to. If you don't, we will
starve. This is a good season but we are bringing in fewer each
time. Do you know why, my dear brother?" By this time Adan was
about to reveal to his brother about the man he saw when Abel
added,"It's been a long time since anyone had fished here apart
from the both of us. You know, Adan, I can't convince you that we
have and are in the best spot by the river, but I have lived to
know that, with an uncertain heart you have, the same
patience we no longer share, the fishes will not bite a distracted
line as a bird will never build its nest on a wavering tree. So I
say to you, it's better you leave than to stay on this ground and
habour thoughts about the greener pasture over the other side. And
as each time you do not receive the harvest you desire, you will be
reminded. You will not feel justified."
Sometimes, departure or separation is essential for growth.
For those in love, if one day your partner choose to leave to
seek better pasture, let them go. Only by doing that Love can grow.
Holding back will only bring about dissatisfaction for both.
As the saying goes, "If you love her, you got to set her free.
If she comes back, only then you know she's yours to keep"
God Bless
