Shimmer and Shine

In a land not so far away, in a time not too long ago, there was a little boy named Abraham. He lived with his mother and father in a place that was not unlike many others. Abraham’s world was full of love. He had friends and relatives that adored him, a cat, a dog, and plenty of toys. Abraham had everything that a little boy could have, but for some reason he felt like something was missing. To him, his life was like a bowl of vanilla ice cream with no syrup. Despite his somewhat bland predicament, he had faith that he would find the excitement that he craved. He knew that one day he would find a land of shimmer and shine that was waiting just for him. 
On Abraham’s eighteenth birthday he decided to begin his quest to fulfill his destiny. “Mother”, he said, “I am going to fulfill my destiny.” Her eyes were heavy as she replied “But you have family and friends that love you very much. Why are you not happy here Abraham?” When he left, his mother cried for three days and three nights.
Abraham felt exhilarated as his plane took flight. “Finally”, he thought, “I am going to fulfill my destiny. I will not let anything stop me. I will never quit.” While looking out the window he wondered how his family would do without him there. “They must understand,” he thought, “I am a man who needs to follow his heart. I am sure that they will be fine.” 
When Abraham put his feet upon soil once again, he felt like an adventurer conquering a new unexplored land. He had never seen a place so exotic. There were lush green fields, beautiful flowers, and picturesque mountains. The island was enclosed by a powerful ocean whose waves crashed upon the shore repeatedly, like a metronome supplied by Mother Nature. “I will be happy now that I am surrounded by all of this beauty”, thought Abraham. He spent the next few weeks seeing all that his new home had to offer. He danced in the green fields, smelled the beautiful flowers and climbed the picturesque mountains. 
Soon Abraham began to feel like something was missing. He thought about how nice it would be to share all of this beauty with someone special. It was not too long before he met Mina. She had golden skin and long flowing black hair that looked like onyx. “Why do you look so sad?” asked Mina. “I am not sad”, replied Abraham, “I am living my destiny.” He thought about how happy he would be now that he had met Mina. They had wonderful times together. She showed him special places on the island that he never knew existed. “You are so lucky to have grown up in such a paradise”, he said. “To me,” she said, “It is just home”. 
As time passed Abraham was faced with many of life’s enduring realities; one of them being the need for money. “We have no money”, cried Abraham. “We have everything that we need”, replied Mina, “we have food, water, and most importantly, we have each other.” While Abraham did love Mina, he knew that there was something more for him. He left to find work and earn his way. Mina cried for two days and two nights.
Abraham realized that there was not much work to be had on the island, so he used what little money he had left to buy a plane ticket to a big city. He searched relentlessly hoping to find a good job with a fair wage. Finally he came across a small bakery with a help wanted sign in the window. Petre, the owner, decided to take a chance on him despite his lack of experience. 'I will be very happy now that I have a job,' thought Abraham. He proved to be a very efficient baker. Petre found that with his new assistant, he could produce many more baked goods than before. Consequently, his business became much more profitable and he rewarded Abraham handsomely. Petre was also very happy because he would now be able send his three daughters to college.
Abraham enjoyed his job and was appreciative of the raise that he had been given, but sometimes his hands would hurt at the end of a long day. At times he wondered if he was deserving of a more glamorous career. He would look at the patrons of the shop and wonder how they could afford to spend money on expensive pastries and exotic coffee’s. One day, while Abraham was kneading dough, a strange man walked into the shop. He was well manicured, handsomely dressed, and could obviously buy this little store if he had wanted. “Why do you work so hard boy?” he asked Abraham. “Because I need to make my fortune”, he replied. The man told Abraham that he could teach him to make his fortune and that his hands would not have to hurt anymore. Later that day Abraham told his boss that he would be leaving. Petre cried for one day and one night. 
As it turned out, the strange man had some rather strange ways of making money. For instance, he would never work on a rainy day or in the same town twice. He would sell watches of gold for prices that were far less than could be found anywhere. He taught Abraham how to sell watches to people who didn’t even want them. Soon thereafter the young fortune seeker became the best salesman that the strange man had ever had. One day, after Abraham had sold watches to three brothers, there was an unexpected rain storm. To the brothers’ amazement, the gold watches were not gold anymore. They beat Abraham and took almost all of his fortune. When Abraham left, the strange man did not cry.
On his bus ride home his thoughts journeyed back over his past adventures. He thought of Mina, Petre, the strange man, and the three brothers. He then thought of his mother, his family and his friends back home. He felt a warmth in his heart that he had not felt since he was a little boy. It was very early in the morning when his bus pulled into its destination and the morning dew still blanketed the town. It shimmered and shined like nothing that Abraham had ever seen. It shimmered and shined just for him.