Growing Young
The wolf had gone so far from his home- all in an attempt to subdue the money of the world and become wealthy. But in spite of all he owned as the CEO of a multinational corporation (and he owned much), never had he felt this poverty of the heart before.The richest wolf in all of Arizona, the most knowledgeable (considering his multiple Ph. D.s and myriad degrees) and still there was this nagging concern burning outside of his soul and nothing the wolf could do would ever extinguish the fire. Sure, Daniel Rising Sun had learned so many secrets on his way to success and accomplished much to nurse his pride, his father's words came back to him at this moment.
"What good is it for someone to earn the world at the cost of his soul?."
Having gained so much money and prestige, Daniel had never realized how many times he had done things which while not entirely illegal were nevertheless, unethical. All the former business partners and associates he had leapt over to make millions while not sharing with the ones who brought him there, to say nothing of his lack of regard for the poor who his father had told him he "would always have to provide for." And some of the poor included his family, still languishing on the reservation, not a twenty-mile drive from his stately mansion. It seemed to Mr. Rising Sun that all those things he had done and learned in becoming a multi-millionaire had a profound impact on the wolf's heart.
"What's wrong?" his wife an attractive vixen by the name of Melinda would ask. She more than most people would be able to see Daniel's moments of weakness even though he considered it an un-masculine thing to cry. "Something is wrong with you- I can tell" she would say and he would, of course deny it. But there would be no denying it this time. Daniel had succeeded beyond his wildest dreams at making himself rich but he had forgotten the social contract and the results were leaving him in misery. This was the day that he would have an unscheduled homecoming and talk to his father, a man who he had grown distant to as the years had progressed. He took his car, not the expensive German one he had picked up that cost him several hundred thousand but rather the old clunker from his college days. He was coming back to the home of his cubhood and anything that expensive would be insulting to the poor remnants of the Crow Nation. Things were bleeding and falling apart not just at the reservation, but in the wolf's heart as well.
He saw the trailer his father had lived in, an abode so humble and shabby that Daniel could not help but feel wracked in guilt as he beheld it. This was where his father called home and Daniel ought to be ashamed of it- this entire trailer could actually fit into Daniel's guest bedroom. This was abject poverty! And he saw his father, the exact opposite of everything that he was. Where Daniel was young, handsome, and neatly manicured with only the best and most expensive of clothes, his father Joseph was old- beneath the fur the sun had placed a skin cancer here, a burn there, and his paws were calloused through years of construction. He was wearing a Western button-up shirt, faded and torn blue jeans and a bolo tie -it was the most exquisite suit Joseph had ever worn or could ever afford.
"Son," his cracked voice began and Daniel just assumed he was going to be given the tongue-lashing of being the selfish bastard he knew he was. "I could never hate you, my blood runs through your veins. I sense you would have come."
"But Father, why are you not hating me for all that I've done. Or left undone for you and your friends and family. I am a self-centered idiot and yet you don't chastise me or yell at me or..." Daniel had much to say but his father knew exactly how to respond.
"Look around you â€"is this not punishment enough for your selfish ways? You have the money to help us and you only choose to enrich yourself." And Daniel knew everything Joseph Rising Sun said was true and that made him for the first time, cry. And he buried his muzzle in his father's fancy Western shirt and release all the tears that he had been saving. This was the moment in his life where all the silver he had accumulated in life was turning to dross before his very eyes. Not even all the money in the world could buy empathy- as a matter of fact, owning everything had blinded him to the fact that he was indeed his brother's, or in this case his father's keeper. He had seen the very best the world had ever to offer and now he realized it wasn't worth the cost of obtaining it. There was suffering in his own world yet he was unwilling, though certainly not unable, to stop it. And that inaction brought him to tears.
And through the back of his mind, Daniel thought about the old adage that ‘big boys don't cry' but now at this moment, he knew that was a lie.
"You know what you must do. You are a cub no longer- you have made quite a number of mistakes and you've grown old. But..." he paused, allowing his son time to collect himself "you have a loving father who will mold you into someone who cares, someone who gives, someone with a love for others, more than yourself." And then Daniel knew that all those lonely, wretched nights the still-small voice inside was calling him back home. In retrospect, it was stupid to have waited so long but thankfully a father's love could outweigh the wolf's foolish pride.
"Take me back, I wanted to be successful for my own sake but the first time around, I never really did become your son. I saw the outside world as a successful place, a place of money, and wanted to run away from home the moment I got the chance. I'm still your son."
"See you have been broken now but I will build up these broken pieces into a better individual." And when he heard those words, Daniel knew that while much had to be learned but this was just a part of growing young.