“You will not believe what happened to me today” Jaki sidled up to mama
“Ah child, you returned so early. What happened to your face?” Papa asked as he noticed the welt across his face”
“I hurried back as I could not get across town”. Little Jaki replied in an angry quivering voice
“What happened?”
“They chased and tried beating me up so I ran away as fast as I could”
“who?”
“the townspeople at the marketplace”
“who would dare treat my son that way?” Papa bellowed indignantly
“the painful thing was that the same people who praised me last week were same who kicked me today”
“praised you last week?” what are you talking about?” Papa wanted to know
“when I left home and realised people were walking past me without saying anything, I found it surprising. Then I decided to test if it was merely I or something was wrong with the people bypassing me. So I went to the Vegetable stands to see if they would give me some carrots, all the same they shooed me away. Thereafter, I went to the clothes merchants who also ignored me. Seeing as there were some clothes outside I then laid on them to rest a bit before continuing. To my horror, the sellers came out and began to chase me away”
“it is I. Do you not recognise me? I am Jaki” I stared at them in amazement
“who is Jaki and why do you think you can thread on our merchandise” the traders yelled back in anger they wielded sticks
“I am the one the other day you were tossing all your clothes on the ground for me to walk on. I was carrying that man and we went all over the town”
But they beat me harder with the sticks and chased me further out of the market
“you what!!!? Papa yelled
“oh no dear child, you did not” wailed mama as she nuzzled his brows
Jaki soberly cowered in a corner. “what did I do wrong papa?”
“you thought last week was about you dear boy? It was not. It was all about your passenger. The man you were carrying on your back through the streets”
“Was it?” Little Jaki was astounded as his eyes bulged
“come, dear boy let me explain it to you. You were only a vessel – there are alternative vessels for various uses – holding, storing, conveying. You were a tool for the master to get from one point to the other in fulfilment of his mission. Yet without him you are merely a donkey”