To Make Things Right

By Joseph C. Collins

It was another wonderful day in the city. The trees were bright with colors and the grass in the park was as green as always and all the clouds in the sky molded themselves into whatever shape people saw.

Sadly though, the day was coming to an end and for all the people in the city it was time to go home from a long day of work.

But for one young man, he couldn't help but smile, for it wouldn't be long until he was home with his wife. As he was making his way on the sidewalk he was suddenly

stopped by an elderly man.

"Can I help you?" the young man asked.

"No, but maybe I can help you. Tell me. Do you want to be happy?" asked the elderly man

"I already am," replied the young man.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

The old man said, "In my hand is a map of an island and on the island is a mountain and on the top is something that will forever make you happy."

"I'm sure there is, but as I said, Sir I already am. But thank you for your offer. Now if you will excuse me."

"As you wish, but if you change your mind, my shop is right round the corner."

As the young man continued walking along, his house soon came into view. As he made his way to the stairs of his house he stopped, and turned his head to the front window to see his was wife looking out from it.

A smile then came to his face as he made his way up the stairs he open the front door.

"I'm home," he shouted has he closed the door behind him, but there was no reply.
"Honey I'm home," he repeated and still there was no answer.

Baffled, he walked to the room where his wife was, just one door from the one he come through.
Knocking gently he opened the door slowly, and made his way in the room. There sitting on the window seat was his wife with her knees tucked up against her chest. As he walked closer he could see a sad look on her face.

"Are you alright?" he asked

"I'll be fine," she replied

"Are you sure?" asked the young man.

"Mm-hmm," She whispered while nodding her head.

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

"No I'll be fine." She replied.

"Okay, I'll be upstairs if you need anything."

As the young man walked away, he looked back at his wife who was staring out the window with that same look of sadness on her face.

The young man made his way out of the room and went upstairs. As he was changing clothes, the joy that he had slowly faded, for he couldn't help but wonder what was
bothering his wife.

He sat on the bed and started to think about the times when she was happy. So much joy she had, and so how much love that she would show to him. He thought about her smile and how it lit up a room.

He thought of all the times that she came to him when he felt sad and how she made him happy.

Now it is her who had that look of sorrow in her face.
"She has done so much for me," he said to himself. "Now it's my turn to make things right."

He sat on the bed thinking about how to make it right. Suddenly he remembered the old man who had stopped him on the way home.
"That's it!"

He jumped to his feet towards the closet and opened the door. Bending down he reached for his pair of walking shoes, He hurried back to the edge of the bed took a seat quickly tied his shoes.

After words he aging jump to his feet and made his way downstairs.
But before he walked out the front door, he peeked into the room where his wife was. There she was looking out the window with her knees up against her chest.

The young man bent his head down and let out a sad sigh.
Then he softly closed the door, he then walked towards a table that was next to the front door.

In the drawer of the table laid a pen and piece of paper. Picking up both of them he wrote a short letter to his wife that he would be back soon.

Grabbing his keys he went out the front door and down the front stairs and made his way across the street.
As he was walking away he glanced back at his wife, determined to make things right.

With a steady pace he made his way to the shop. Standing outside was the elderly man.

"So you came back for my help after all," the elderly man said.

"Well actually I'm here for my wife," the young man replied.

"Oh, is she not happy? Well then you came to the right place. Come in."
The elderly man led the young man through his little shop all the way to the back. There in the back was a small room.

Its walls were covered in old medieval artifacts which consisted of swords, shields, bows, and arrows.

As the young man looked around, he noticed a closet in the corner of the room. He could not see what was in it because it was covered with a curtain.

He walked toward the closet and stopped in front of it.
He looked back at the elderly man and asked, "What is behind the curtain?"

"Why don't you take a look?" The elderly man replied.
The young man reached out his hand and pulled the curtain open to reveal a suit of medieval armor.

"It looks brand new," the young man said.

"I take good care of all my things," said the old man. "Are you ready to put it on?"

"Put it on? Why?" asked the young man.

"Where you're going, you may need it."

"Where am I going?"

"To the island on my map," replied the old man

"And how am I going to get there?"

"Do you want my help or not?" asked the old man.

"Yes," answered the young man.

"Then put on the suit."
One by one the young man put on the pieces of armor until he was covered from head to toe.

"Magnificent," said the old man. "Now for your sword and shield, let see where did
I put them?"

As the old man looked for a shield and sword, the young man grasped his hands in and out to get a feel for the armored gloves.

He looked at himself in the mirror
"I look like a knight," said the young man

"Of course you do," commented the old man, as he handed the young man a shield and sword.

"Are you ready?"

"I am."

The old man reached in his pocket and took out a medallion. Then he opened up the map and laid them both on a table.

"On the island there is a mountain and on the top of the mountain is an indentation. The only way you can get down into the mountain is down a stairway made of stone.

At the bottom of the stairway there are two pillars with statues of beasts on top. The very thing that you seek is in the middle."

The young man listened intently.
"Now this is important," continued the old man.

"Once you pass the statues, you cannot for any reason go back and reenter through the pillars upon which they sit. You must have the item or not have it; there is no going back."

"Sound dangerous," the young man said.

"What? You were expecting it to be easy?"

"It would be nice."

"It would. Now you are perhaps wondering how you are going to get there."

"I am guessing a boat," replied the young man

"Not exactly, do you see that medallion?" the elderly man questioned.

"Yes."

"It is a very special piece of jewelry. You see, it was found in the same box as the map. I don't know who found it or where. All that I know is that it was found."

"How does it work?"

"All you have to do is put it around your neck and you will no longer be in this place or time."

"How do you know all of this?"

"Trust me."

The elderly man handed the young man the medallion, then guided him to the center of the room.

"Are you ready?" asked the elderly man.

"I am.”

Standing in the center of the room, not one thought of fear went through the young man's mind. All he could think about was the look on his wife's face and how he would make
things right.

So, dressed in his new suit of armor and with his new sword and shield, he closed his eyes, then took the medallion and put it around his neck.

Suddenly the young man heard the sound of waves clashing on a shore then he felt a cool breeze moving across his face. Slowly the young man opened his eyes to find himself on the island that the old man told him about.

As he looked around he saw that there was not much there. All of the grass seemed to be the color of ash and all the trees for some reason were all burned to cinders.

As for the sky, it too was as black as ash itself. It was not at all the place he imagined it would be, but then again he did not think that this type of place existed at all.

Walking his way up the shore his eyes soon come to see the mountain that was on the map.

He gazed at it for a minute and said

"You've got to be kidding."

Suddenly out of the distance a sound of thunder echoed across the sky.
"Ah, that can't be good," the young man said for he knew a storm was on the way.
With no time to lose, the young man ran up to the mountain as fast he could and started to climb.

Racing to the top he felt drops of rain falling on his face. Then he felt a strong wind pushing him back and froth. It was as if the wind and the rain themselves were his enemy. Step by step he climbed up the mountain, and step by step the storm challenged him.

As he reached out to grab a piece of the mountain, a small rock came loose. Losing his footing, he quickly struggled to grab whatever nook of the mountain that he could.

Watching closely the storm saw its opportunity. It blow as hard as it could, but despite the storms best effort the young man quickly regained his footing and began to climb, the mountain again.

"Almost there," he said.

Soon the storm began to blow even harder but the young man would not quit, for his goal was greater. Fighting the wind, and rain the man could finally see the top of the mountain.

With one final reach of his hand he grabbed the edge, pulling himself up on top of the mountain. He turned over onto his back and started panting for air.

With the rain falling on his face he turned his head to the left and saw a hill leading to the top of the mountain. Slowly getting up, he made his way through the rain to the top of the hill. He looked out.

To see a deep trench moat and in the center was a man made cylindrical shaped plateau fifty yards across.
He saw the stone stairway.

At the bottom of the stairway stood two statues of fierce looking beasts sitting in place as if they where grading.

As he glance up, he saw in the center was a smaller shaped plateau and on it, in the center, was the very thing that he sought.

With a quick pace he made his way down the stairway. When he got to the bottom he could finally see the statues up close. He walked up to them and as he looked at them a sense of fear went through him.

With no hesitation he put his hand to his side and drew his sword. Then he reached to his back and brought out his shield, and held it in front of him.

With his heart racing he slowly walked toward the item. Suddenly a sound of flapping wings could be heard from the edge of the mountain. He stopped and prepared himself.

Slowly but surely the sound of flapping wings grew louder and louder. With a great roar a mighty dragon flew out from the edge of the mountain. It looked down and saw the young man. Swooping into a descent the dragon flew towards the young man

Quickly thinking, the young man threw his shield in front of him. Just as he did, the dragon opened his mouth and a streak of flame came shooting out.
With his shield in front of him he deflected the flames until the dragon had no

choice but to fly up. Suddenly the young man saw his opportunity and with the item before him, he started to run towards it as fast as his legs could carry him.

The dragon, knowing what the young man was after, turned around and went into another descent, quickly gaining on the man. Still the young man was just as determined.

With the dragon almost on top of him the man reached out his hand to grab the item. But the dragon was just too fast. With another roar the dragon opened its mouth, snatched the young man by his leg, and carried him out to sea.

With the mountain quickly fading from sight, the young man let out a cry of pain. As he hung from the dragon's mouth. Refusing to give up he took his sword in both hands and started hacking at the dragon's mouth.

One slash after another, he hacked until the dragon opened its mouth. With a roar of pain, the dragon released the young man, causing him to plunge into the sea.

Splashing into the water, he frantically waved his hands back and forth, fighting his way back to the surface.

The weight of his armor though was too much for him to handle. With no other choice, he reached for the medallion, closed his eyes and ripped it off.

With his pulse racing, he suddenly realized that the water was no longer around him. Opening his eyes he found himself lying on a floor.
As he looked around he saw that he was again in the back room of the shop. He sat up and noticed that he no longer had the suit of armor on, nor did he have his sword.
Worse, he did not have the item that he sought.
In desperation he called out for the old man, but there was no answer.

"Where is he?" the young man said to himself.
As he stood up, he felt a sudden sharp pain in his leg. Looking down he saw that his leg was bleeding.

As he looked closely he saw the teeth bites of the dragon in his leg. He looked around the shop for a first aid kit but all he could find was a roll of cloth that he grabbed from a table in the room.

He wrapped it around his leg covering the wound that the dragon had made.
The young man let out a muffled cry of pain has he tightened the cloth. He almost fainted, but gathered himself and went to find the old man.

As he made his way through the front of the shop, he could not find any sign of the old man. He limped his way outside and just stood there on the sidewalk. He looked around for the old man but he was nowhere to be found.

Looking up into the sky, he noticed that the sun was in the same place as it was when he walked in the shop.

To him what seemed like hours was just minutes to the rest of the city. So with time left in the day he still was going to find a way to make his wife happy.

He went towards the flower shop, knowing that flowers would not be enough. As he walked up to the door he saw a sign hanging from the door that read “closed”.
In frustration he threw his hands up in the air and brought them back down to his side.

For the first time today he knew that it was time to give up. With his head down, and the day coming to an end, he once again, just like before, made his way home.

Only this time he was not walking with a steady pace but with a limp.
Once again his house came into view.

The sun had gone down, the street lamps were being lit, and a small breeze was blowing through the city right as the young man begin to walk.

As he limped his way to the front stairs of his house, he could still see his wife in the window with that sad look on her face.

With his head down and his pride broken he limped his way up the stairs. Limping into the house, he gently closed the door behind him. At the same time he placed his head up against it letting out a small sigh.

He made his way to the room that his wife was in. When she heard the door open and saw her husband walk through, she saw his leg that was banged up.

She jumped to her feet, hurried to his side and asked, "What happened?"
Her husband looked at his wife and told her all about the old man and the dragon.
When she asked why he would do something like that, he answered

"All the times I was sad you would do everything you could to cheer me up and to make me happy. So when I saw that same sadness in your face, I wanted to do the same, I wanted to make you happy."

With his head bent the man then turned around to a table that was behind him and started to empty his pockets onto it.

As his wife stood there looking at him, she could see that he was bending his head down in shame. Soon tears began to fall from her eyes for she could not believe that her husband would go through so much trouble and so much pain for such a small thing.

So with love filling her heart she walked up to her husband from the back and wrapped her arms around him and held him as tightly as ever, When her husband felt his wife's loving embrace, he then leaned his head back resting it on hers.

As they stood there in silence, she gently whispered to him, "As long as you are here with me, then I am happy."