Blood is thicker than water, just like how faith is greater than hope. Seeing is believing they say, but sometimes the greatest truth hides in plain sight. This story is about a man named Carlos who had no legs but still was not scared to walk.
Carlos from birth has been unable to use his legs, the only way he could move around was with the aid of a wooden board thick enough to support his weight and had two pairs of wheels attached to it. He would then use his hand as a paddle, scooping the ground underneath him and powering the wheels to move.
He had no friends except for the neighborhood dog, named Bingo, that comes visiting once in a while. He did everything by himself despite his disability. He cooked, he washed, and he worked as a roadside beggar just so that he could survive.
He lived alone in a big house left behind by his parents before they died. And even though he was their only child, his uncles who were already successful didn't think twice before ceasing every property his parents left behind from him, leaving only the house in his possession.
But Carlos wasn't bothered about this at all. He kept being hopeful and prayerful for better days. Every single night before he put himself to bed, he would say a very short prayer, for the lord to smile upon him, and give him the strength he needs to move on in life.
One day, while he was under a tree washing his dirty clothes, he heard the happy barking of a dog. He looked towards the entrance to his home and he saw bingo running happily towards him with his tail wagging and an envelope in his mouth. Once he reached Carlos, he dropped the envelope on the ground which Carlos without hesitation opened up and read.
The letter was an invite for all young men of the town old enough to marry. The message stated that all men eligible for married should appear before the king the next day as he would be choosing a husband amongst them for his daughter.
On reading the letter, Carlos threw it aside and continued with his washing, but bingo ran to it and brought it right back to him. Carlos took it again from the dog and tossed it away and the dog replied the same way.
After a few minutes of fetch, Carlos started talking to the dog. With tears in his eyes, he proclaimed himself useless and a burden to society.
"Don't remind me of how useless I am Bingo, I have no legs to stand on.", Carlos said, in a voice that trembled with fear.
"And why not ?", A second voice replied.
Carlos quickly raised his head which was bowed at the moment to see his new visitor, but there was no one in the compound except himself and the dog.
He looked at the dog with tears still in his eyes and with a smile on his face he asked playfully, "Did you say anything Bingo?".
"Yes, I did"
"Jesus!!, Blood of Jesus!!!", Carlos shouted immediately and jumped to his feet, staggering and running like an alcoholic before he fell back down.
"And why not?", Bingo asked again, still sitting at the position he was in before Carlos ran. "Are you not also a man, or did God make you the wrong way".
It was at this moment that Carlos realized he just walked.
Carlos stared in silence, he was unsure of what to make of the moment, "who..or what are you ?" He countered.
"Relax Carlos, I have been sent by GOD to grant your payers life".
"But, you are a dog.."
"I know... The Lord works in mysterious ways.."
The was a brief moment of silence before Bingo spoke again,
"Walk..."
"What??."
"I said walk, or do you prefer to chase your dreams on a wooden board with wheels?".
"No.."
"Then, walk!", Bingo replied in a bark that jolted Carlos back to his feet.
And slowly, but steadily, Carlos began to gain proper use of his legs.
After four hours of learning to walk, Carlos became in control of his legs. He was so happy that he ran straight to Bingo and hugged me.
"Don't thank me, thank the Lord...and make sure you are at the palace tomorrow morning...the lord has favored you."
That night Carlos slept peacefully and happily.
The next morning, Carlos woke up with a smile on his face, his dreams, his wish, and his prayers had been answered. He pulled the blanket away from his body and tried to get out of his bed when he noticed something. His legs were nubbed, he couldn't feel anything from his waist down. His heart began to race, he secretly prayed that all that happened yesterday was not a dream. He tried again to move his legs, but still nothing, so, he laid back on his bed, staring at the ceiling until tears slowly began to flow from his eyes.
He laid in bed for almost an hour, until he noticed the invitation on the drawer close to his bed, he rolled over and picked it up, he read it ten times, over and over again until, he decided he would answer the king's invitation, after all, what does he have to lose.
That afternoon, Carlos, arrived at the king's palace, which was already filled with numerous healthy-looking men. He Instantly became intimidated and made to leave when the king arrived and ordered that the gates be shut and initiated the start of the contest.
" I presume some of you are wondering why you are here, and you probably believe you have committed an offense, but do not worry, you are all safe... As you all know the princess, my daughter, has reached the age of marriage and as the culture demands, she is to pick a husband of her choice. And that's why you are all here,....you are all prospective suitors but only one of you will have my daughter's hand..." The king paused as soon as he spotted Carlos who was sitting crippled on his wooden board with wheels.
"Young lad, how did you get in here?". The king asked.
"Your highness, I ....I...I ... came ..throo", Carlos tried to utter the words his body spoke quickly as he pointed to the entrance.
"Never mind, you will never win", the king said and moved on..." as I was saying, the chief priest has prepared a single task that will be judged by myself and the princess. So if you know that you are a stranger to magic please you may leave as that is a maximum required for you to advance to the next stage".
Once the king was done, the multitude of men that arrived instantly decreased to ten men, including Carlos. The men who knew nothing about magic were placed in an area where they could view all that was happening.
Carlos knew that he knew nothing about magic but the king's word sparked him up, he hated that he was being belittled because of his situation. So he stayed.
The chief priest arrived, wearing his mysterious black cloak and holding his magic staff in his hand. He looked at Carlos and smiled as he walked by, examining the men who remained.
"The task is simple....show me your magic. Make me believe." The chief priest said.
And so it began...
The first contestant stepped up, he walked to the king, the princess, and the chief priest who sat at a high table filled with various delicacies and varieties of drinks. He asked the king to spare him a jug of water and a glass cup which he did before he returned to the center of the room. There he sat down and meditated for about ten seconds before he stood up and picked up the jug of water and glass cup from the floor, he poured the water from the jug into the glass cup and stunned the people with his magical ability as the water in the cup instantly turn red. People began to murmur for a while until he drank from it. "This, how we make wine back in the house", he said with a weird big smile on his face. He walked up to the king and offered him a glass of wine which he accepted. The king complimented the taste and the contest moved on.
The next contestant came and instantly turned himself into a bat, but he was unable to revert. So the contest moved on... then came the third fourth and the ninth contestant, at this point. Carlos was already as tensed as possible, he knew no magic and to make matters worse he was crippled. Now, how was he going to explain wasting the king's time?
"Next ...", The chief priest's voice, interrupted Carlos' thought as the crowd cheered the performance. So, slowly and steadily Carlos rolled out on his board with wheels.
"Oh, look it's crippled....what kind of magic do you think he has in store for us ??.. maybe his magic is to make everybody LAME!!!....HAHAHA", the king remarked as the crowd joined him In laughter. But the chief priest smiled.
Carlos, couldn't do anything but watch as he got ridiculed. All that came into his mind was to pray. And so he bowed his head and prayed, "dear God do not put me to shame....Amen".
As soon as he raised his head, the neighborhood dog appeared out of nowhere with a bone in its mouth and a happily wagging tail. At this point the crowd thought that this was his magic, so they jumped and hailed him with cheers... But the king didn't seem impressed.
And so he began to talk with the dog.
"Where have you been?!", Carlos confronted Bingo the dog,
"I had other requests to answer, I didn't think you would come..", Bingo the dog replied.
"Well, you are right, I wouldn't have been here and I shouldn't be here, in case you haven't noticed... I still can't walk!!"
"Oh, yes ..about that..sorry...I, borrowed your bones why you were sleeping..", Bingo the dog said a little slower than usual.
"What?!"
"You know... I borrowed your bone to build your faith.."
"What?!..."
"Relax... You will walk again, all you need to do is just Believe.. oh yeah, Ummm... here's your bone ", the dog said, pushing the huge bone towards Carlos.
"What?!!"
"Okay, it seems like you are confused so let me explain, when you pray, you make a wish that goes directly to heaven. ..and to grant this wish God sends his miracle workers, it could be a person or an animal like me, who makes sure that the prayers and request of their client are answered..". Dog explained.
"Okay, but what does that have to do with the bone?", Carlos asked, less confused at the moment.
"Oh yes .. that's... that's a wishing bone, it's just like a Bible, but we dogs carry it because we can't read ...so, you know, it's like kind of a swap, bones for Bible, but then you have to make a wish and grab the bone before it vanishes permanently. And the only way you can do that is if you truly believe that the Lord Almighty has answered your prayer."
While the conversation continued, the king and the watchers around were truly mystified by this odd performance, a magician who can converse with animals. They could only hear what Carlos said but all they could hear from the dog was a normal dog bark.
"Good luck to you my boy, and hopefully, your faith and belief will make you whole again", Dog said before vanishing.
So, Carlos bowed his head as the audience watched him pray...
Moments later he reached for the bone, while his heart played the drum of tension. He grabbed onto the bone and immediately began to walk.
The king jumped to his feet, "what ??!..the cripple walks!!... impossible!".
The king walked down from the high table to embrace Carlos, who was still rejoicing with happiness.
"First, you climbed, a thousand flight of stairs into my palace, you summoned a canine creature and conversed with it...now you walk !!...what kind of sorcery is this?!"
"Dear king, it is the lord's doing, and it's marvelous in all ways"...
That day, Carlos didn't only go back home victorious, he returned with a joyful heart, a believing spirit, and legs that function properly.
Thanks for reading, I appreciate your support. Please, do leave a comment to help me improve. Getting better is the goal.
Thank you.
