COROMIND ISSUE 18 JUN24 ONLINEVERSION - Flipbook - Page 27
Amir’s Bag
Of Marbles
To say Noah loved music and his violin is an
understatement. His passion for both had him
skipping meals, losing sleep and wandering the
昀椀elds and forests, 昀椀ddling away the hours in
practice. A young teenager, he was enrolled at
Waihi College where he joined the school orchestra.
Unfortunately, his passion just wasn’t enough. For
all the time sacri昀椀ced and spent in practice, he just
wasn’t a very good violin player and so was given
only a minor role at the back of the string section.
This left him feeling discouraged and frustrated
and he fervently prayed for a miracle to change
things.
As a distraction, he would visit the second-hand
shops and browse through the shelves and piles of
abandoned and unwanted collectables and books.
He rarely found anything interesting, but on one
particular occasion he came across an old tattered
book with a picture of musical instruments on
the front cover. He quickly 昀氀ipped through it and
decided it was a worthy 昀椀nd to add to his collection
and sought out Odette, the eccentric store owner.
“Well, hello Noah, have you found something you’d
like today?” she asked in her usual calm, yet eerie,
voice.
“Yes, I have found this old book,” he replied. “But it
was in the ten dollar section, and I am afraid I only
have two dollars to spend?”
Odette looked deeply into his eyes, sighed and said
with a smile, “I can see you truly want this book.
You can have it, and one day, when you can a昀昀ord it,
come back and pay the rest. But don’t forget young
man!” and then she turned and shu昀툀ed away.
The sun was setting so he headed home for
dinner. He would take a closer look at the book
later that evening. After a terribly frustrating
practice session, he decided to re-investigate the
old book and proceeded to 昀氀ip through it more
diligently. It was just 昀椀lled with pictures of musical
instruments and descriptions, until he reached
the end and found a hollowed out section in the
last pages. There within, was a small, green pouch
with three small dried raisins and a small scroll.
What a strange thing to 昀椀nd in a book, thought
Noah, and felt a little intrigued by this point. He
carefully unravelled the scroll and there, written
Th攀爀e is no best,
漀渀ly b攀琀 t攀爀
in a beautiful handwriting, was a simple message:
“To the 昀椀nder of this book comes the gift of three
wishes. Choose wisely and be very careful what
you wish for.”
With nothing to lose, he swallowed one of the
raisins and made a wish – that he would one day
become the best violin player in New Zealand! In
time, he blossomed into a handsome young man,
and sure enough his talent multiplied his listeners
as he excelled with every practice session. It wasn’t
long before he won numerous awards, became
famous, and was undoubtedly the best violin
player in the country. He enjoyed his fortune and
fame, but it still wasn’t enough. He desired to be
the best violin player known, internationally
recognised and hugely successful. He had two
more raisins and so that evening he swallowed
another. In the following years, he achieved
worldwide recognition as the best violin player of
his generation and enjoyed the a昀툀uent lifestyle
that came with it, eventually settling down in the
English countryside.
Time passed, everything was perfect, yet deep
down inside, his pride, greed and desire to be
the ‘best of the best’ still haunted him. He often
wondered if he really was the best violin player
that existed. That night, he opened a bottle of his
昀椀nest wine and swallowed the last raisin, made
his wish, shortly after which he went to sleep. The
following morning he woke up late, shivering and
cold, only to 昀椀nd himself in a small musty caravan
wearing soiled clothes and covered by an old dirty
blanket. He looked outside and saw a group of
Romany Gipsies gathered around a 昀椀re, tuning up
their instruments. One of them called out to him,
laughing, “Hey Noah, had a little too much last
night? Hurry up, grab your violin and come on over
to the 昀椀re. We are about to start the music and we
really need you!” And that’s when he realised the
folly of his desires. He had never returned to repay
Odette and it 昀椀nally dawned on him – there is no
best … only better.
Words by
Amir Yussof
Coromind | 26