CROSS THE RED - all rights reserved @ 2005 Sign of inspiration & freedom. Challenge your stereotypes. Do you really need that extra dollar?
A Latvian story about the Lucky Coin. The main character, Ansis works in an old fashioned washroom, washing the backs of people for tips. Picture it, Ansis working in a hot, steamy room wearing a leather apron and wooden shoes washing the backs of his customers. He faithfully brushes and washes the backs of people all day long, yet no one gave him even a penny. “Today, my dear, I don't have anything for you”. “Thank you and see you next time”. These were goodbye phrases he often heard from his rich customers, who's backs he was washing daily. Ansis didn`t feel sorry for himself, he was patient. He knew that even angels are often left outside for hours in the freezing cold waiting. But the importunate Angel keeps knocking until the hardest of hearts finally lets them in. So Ansis also believes, that one day soon something good will come to him. He was patient, and knew that happiness would eventually come to him. Just like poor people that have hope of receiving a little gift and living a better, easier life. Happiness is great, but it doesn't fully satisfy everyone. Happiness always leaves some dreams unfulfilled. It knows how to make miracles, when people forget about their poorness and problems. When she (happiness) gives a warm hat, the poor man forgets about his freezing feet for a moment. When she gives away fresh bread, somebody forgets about the cold room. In the evening she walks around poor peoples houses and watches kids playing together in cold and dark rooms to keep warm. This is the happiness of poor people. God does not give them much by way of material possessions to satisfy them. When she departs, she leaves so many empty hands behind her. She smiles and feels insufficient, that she is unable to do enough for all of her people. Yet she leaves with a smile, until the next time when she comes again bearing some small gifts. After that, little Happiness walks into the forest and sees birds singing. She listens and feels the joy and satisfaction. It helps her to believe in happiness. She would resign and retire in a little house in the mountains. But sometimes she asked the Spirit of the Earth to make unbelievable things to happen in poor people lives, her people lives. Listen this! When Asnis went to see his face in the mirror, he found little, old Coin. He though: “My mom always told me to pick up everything what's better than nothing”, he thought so and put a little coin in his pocket. “Even, thou, its small, it is still my happiness to find a little coin” - he thought on the way back home. “What could I do, if I found the peace of gold, as big as that moon tonight?’ – he was talking to himself while looking at the full and round moon. “Silly, Ansi, you have already found me. Don`t I sparkle more than a gold already?” - moon asked. “Yes, you do sparkle, but you do not make me warm. If I had the golden peace as big as you are, I know what I would do. I would build a house with a nice red roof for my mom. In evenings she would have a lot of light candles and warm rooms, like they have in the priests` houses. She would never be hungry then. You talk about your gold, Moon, but what should I bring home tonight for my mom to eat?” – these were thoughts Ansis had in his mind on the way back home. He stopped at the bakery. “They always sell something for one coin”- he thought and came in. Baker just brought fresh and hot bread into the store room. “How much is 1 piece of the bread?” – Ansis asked. “2 pieces of bread per 1 coin” – said baker and put all pieces of the bread in a big basket. Ansis paid for 2 and went home. On his way home he started to eat one piece of bread. He was very hungry. When he finished 1 piece of bread, he became even more hungry. Ansis told himself “I cant eat another one, it is for mom”. But hungriness was so strong that he took one bite from mom`s bread. Then he thought that it will not be nice to give mom half of the bread and so he ate also mom`s peace of bread. “Oh, hell, if I had 1 more coin!” Ansis said and put his hand into an empty pocket. What a miracle! He found another coin! “Maybe this is the coin of happiness, Lucky Coin, which always stays in your pocket, even if you take it away?” Ansis thought and decided to go back to try it. He went back to the bakery and bought 2 more pieces of bred. Then he took the coin out of his pocket to pay. Another coin was still in the pocket! “ Wow! Now I know!” He bought all peaces of bread and happily went home. “Mom, mom, we will never stay without food anymore! I found the Lucky Coin!” – he said and gave the bag with bread to his old mom. He told her a story and showed the Lucky Coin. She looked at Lucky Coin and said: “They say that you have to dig deep for a happiness, but yours has fallen directly in your hands, son. Be careful and save it for the rest of your life”. Ansis couldn`t sleep that night and was staring at Lucky Coin. Next day he dressed up in his best Sundays` outfit and went to walk around. He looked at buildings and houses, stores and manufacturing plants – like it all belonged to him already. Next day he started to buy and build houses, storages, roads and cities. He became very wealthy and all days long he was just sitting in the room and taking never ending coins out of his pocket. Each moment coasted him a coin, so he was very concentrated to not do anything else. Sometimes his mom came to visit him. In such a times he quickly gave her some money and asked to leave, because he was so bossy to create another coins from the Lucky one. “ I don't have a time to talk to you, mom. Each moment and word costs me a coin”. She went back to her old house. Long time ago Ansis has been dreaming of buying a nice house to his mom. Now he was too bussy to even think about it. His owned new houses cost a lot of money that poor, old woman couldn't even think to live there. She couldn't understand her son, but she was proud of him. Ansis was so rich and famous – who could ask for more to happen with their children? In evenings she heard working people coming home from work. Then she remembered those old times, when Ansis came home from work, sit together with her and told her everything about his day. Then he didn't have much to worry, but in those worries was his heart... Many years passed by. Ansis owned half of the city and everybody called him Rich Ansis. Many people lived in his buildings. They didn't have much worries and problems. They stored a lot of their love and friendship in these buildings. Only Ansis didn't have anything else except Lucky Coin. Lucky Coin had became reddish from its frequent brushing. Ansis` mom has passed away and he didn't look for anybody else in his life. Relationships with people took too much time. He had became old, with long gray beard and spidery fingers counting golden and silver coins. Like a tree, who had always been straight, becomes old and dries out, also Ansis. Unbelievably, one Sunday he locked his coins in the iron basement and went outside to walk around the city. It was a wonderful day. People were smiling and families walked in parks. Their love was so visible and their hands were together. Rich Ansis wanted to stay away from them. He felt too rich and powerful to walk along these all people. His only friend was sleeping in his pocked. His only thoughts were about the Lucky Coin. He went down the path to little place close to lake. Blue and yellow butterflies were flying around, green grass and multiple color flowers were touching his shoes. Everything around was so live and beautiful. Ansis took off a hat and felt that this is really a wonderful place. He looked into the water and took the Lucky Coin in his hands. He was smiling and seeing his and coin`s picture mirroring in the water. He felt so happy! But exactly in this moment of his happiness Lucky Coin felt into the water. When the Lucky Coin hit the bottom of the lake, white little bubbles started to come up together with the red devil. “Good bye, Ansi” – said little red devil. Devil was laughing and his words sounded like water bubbles. “ Now I'm clean and you can go. I don't need you any more. All the dirt I had, now has stacked to your hands. See, how reddish you have brushed me! You think that you were a king? The king was I, but you – you just brushed my back. I know, Ansi, once you were dreaming about the rich and happy life. But what did you do? All you life you washed the poor little devil. You wanted to be a king, but stayed only a washing man, who you were before...” Then the flames came and took away little red devil. Ansis spread his arms and wanted to catch a devil, but he realized that only an empty and bad smell was all around him... On his way back home, he felt a strange sound in his ears, like if he was empty inside. It was how he ended his life – his heart didn't find new love and sweet power of giving couldn't straighten up spidery fingers, used to count coins. Little Happiness walked close to the place where Ansis lost the Lucky Coin. A silent tear of hers dropped into the water. Then she disappeared into woods... Author: Karlis Skalbe, Latvian author Approximate translation : Everita Dave – Worley January 2006