Chapter 15: The Drunkard's Healing
The Grapevine Tavern sat snugly between two oak trees in the town of Old Sim. It was the early morning and all the shops were ready to be opened for business. The owner of the tavern, Ludwig, made his way over to the building, fumbling in his cloak pocket for the keys. Once he got to the door, he took two quick glances to the side, checking to see if anyone was watching. He placed the key in the lock and turned it. The moment the lock clicked, a small creature came running up to him, pulling at his cloak, and begging for him to hurry up.
"Get off of me, Theafan, no more handouts for you!"
The small creature was a fennec fox. His fur was dappled with dirt and reeked with body odor. The cloak he wore was tattered and his eyes were not the normal brown they should have been: they were yellow, a clear sign of a disease. His teeth were rotten from the years of neglect and his breath was a heavy redolence of strong drink.
"Please," he said dropping to his knees, "I need liquor...I ran out yesterday, my body has been aching for it all night...give my just a taste to calm me!"
Ludwig opened the door and quickly went through; the fennec fox wasn't far behind. "You always want something for free. You got any money?"
"You know I don't! You've given me a bottle before. I need another one. Give it to me– PLEASE!"
Ludwig went behind the counter were all the bottles of liquor rested. Theafan climbed up onto a stool, nearly falling over, but he managed to get on top.
"You‘re pathetic," said Ludwig, " Get lost, Theafan. I don't want anything to do with you."
"Come on, just give me that bottle right there...I'll go away after that I promise."
"What‘s wrong with you, are you stupid?" said Ludwig, "Yeah, that‘s what‘s you are---- a stupid drunkard! You better be gone when I come back or so help me I'll turn you over to the authorities."
Ludwig left the counter momentarily to grab some papers from his office. Theafan hopped up on the counter and eyed all the bottles of wine on the shelf. He was thinking of taking one or maybe two; his hands shook with the anticipation of tasting the liquor he wanted so badly. He reached over the counter to grab a bottle neck just as Ludwig came back in the room. There was a brief moment of shock from both of them. Theafan grabbed the bottle and made a dash for the door; Ludwig took hold off an empty bottle and threw it at him. The bottle missed, shattering into pieces at the side of the door and the fennec fox ran out the tavern.
Theafan darted through the morning crowd not caring who he bumped into. An alley provided a safe haven for him to pursue his lust. He pulled at the cork of the bottle with is nails and teeth, but it remained in place. Finally, he smacked the neck against a building wall until it broke. Some of the wine spattered on the wall and ground. The bottle was finished off in five minutes and he licked the wine from his hands that had ran from his mouth during the drunken splurge.
After he was done with the bottle, he tossed it aside very much like his life; giving no care to his health or mental state made his existence a landfill of a broken soul. Mornings were spent begging for money so he could by wine, and the nights were spent alone wondering if there was more to life than this. But today would change his life forever, and it started out with a sharp stabbing pain in his side. At first it was annoying, for it came and went by and by, but gradually it grew to such severity that it brought the fennec fox to his knees. He manage to rise and stumbled into the busy byways of the city. He grabbed one citizen by the tail and asked for help.
"Doctor!"
"What?"
"Doctor...I need a doctor!" said Theafan.
The citizens pulled his tail away and ignored the fox's plea. He tried again and again for help, but his call was unanswered. Finally some merciful soul pointed him in the direction of the local doctor. The fox stumbled over to office, despite the occasionally pain that impeded his progress. Theafan knocked on the door. The doctor‘s lack of speed, forced Theafan to pounded on the door until it came ajar. The fox pushed himself in and collapsed on the floor. The doctor, committed to his oath, assisted his new patient. "What's wrong?" asked the doctor.
"Pain—in my side— help!"
The doctor got him to his feet. Theafan was placed in a chair. The doctor checked the fox's eyes, tongue, and touched the side where the pain was. The fox yelled at the top of his lungs and took a swipe at him for agitating his ailment. The doctor began to interrogate him.
"How long have you had this?"
"Days...weeks...months, I don't know," he said gritting his teeth in pain. "Have you been drinking?"
"I always drink, what does that have to do with anything?" The doctor pulled up a chair and took a seat.
"The liquor you've been consuming is destroying your organ–the liver to be exact. Don't ask for a cure, because there is none. I‘ll give you about a week before the disease takes your life."
"No, there has to be a way. You can take my liver out."
"Are you a fool? If I take it out you‘ll die immediately."
"Then get me a new one," said Theafan.
"Listen, when you ruin your liver your done!"
Theafan stormed out of the doctor's office holding his side and slammed the door. It was during this time that Kleos had entered Old Sim. The week‘s travel brought many occasions of temptations and blessing. Three days before, there were six keepers who brought to Kleos a idolater, who worshipped a tree in the Cinnamount Woods, a new and common practice among the Shavronites. The keepers demanded Kleos to give a verdict. Clearly the idolater was breaking one of the rules on the Tribless Stone. Kleos was writing on the ground with his claw.
"Hey farmer," said one of the keepers, "This Shavronite is sinning against God, he deserves to be condemned, what say you?"
Kleos looked up and said,
One by one the keepers left; for none were pure and therefore none could cast judgment upon the idolater. Kleos looking up from his writing, only saw the Shavronite; who, seeing his life spared, came and fell to his knees to worship.
"Dear, sir," said Kleos, "What happen to the accusers, have none condemned you?"
"None of them." said the creature.
The day before, a funeral procession went through the streets carrying the only daughter of a chief tax collector. Kleos stopped the procession and asked for the coffin to be lowered. He looked at the child and said,
And the child rose, and all gave glory to the Holy One. Today, as stated before, Kleos was passing through Old Sim, and the multitudes were great. When Theafan heard the name of Kleos from afar, he ran over; for he heard the stories of creatures being healed and he wanted to be healed too. The fennec fox pushed his way through the crowd, touching the cloak of Kleos. Two things took place, one shortly after the other. First, a change took place in Theafan that was so sudden that it left a permanent mark on his life. His eyes that were yellow with disease, returned back to a healthy brown. The pain in his side had all together disappeared, and Theafan felt better than he had in his entire life. His fur was clean and he smelled good for the first time( in a long time ) in his life. The fox faded back into the crowd from the power that swept throughout his body. Secondly, Kleos stop dead in his tracks. Someone had touched him and he scanned the crowd to see who had.
"There are so many of us here," said Jaq, "Anyone could have touched you, what's the big deal?"
But it was a big deal to Kleos. He made his way into the crowd. "What's wrong with him?" said one citizen.
"Maybe he's going to start teaching again," said another.
In the background the panda saw the small fox turning down an alley.
"Later," said Kleos, "Later, and Theafan."
In the alleyway, Theafan was looking at his arms, he touched his teeth, and touched his side---he was well and couldn‘t believe it!
Kleos remained in Old Sim for the remainder of the day. During the night, Kleos found Theafan sitting against the wall of a building. When the fennec fox recognized his healer, he bowed his head to ground.
"I do anything you say," replied the Theafan, "What work do you want me to do to prove thankfulness to you?"
The work is this: to believe on the one the Holy One has sent."
"But who is this one that I should believe him?"
It was from that day forward that Theafan followed Kleos.