One day the Master was working in the garden and the Servant approached, “Father, your son wants to see you.” The Master put aside what he was doing and asked, “What did he say to you?” The Servant frowned and hesitated, “He says he won’t leave. He says it’s not fair and he won’t leave. I think the woman put him up to this insolence.” The Master smiled ruefully, “She is spirited, isn’t she. Well, look, leave this to me. They’ll only blame you and become even more incensed. I’ll have to have that talk with him now. Just leave them alone for the time being.” The Servant looked relieved, “Thank you Father. I never know how to deal with them when they disobey. It’s very confusing.”
The Servant left and the Master sat in thought for a while and then walked through the Garden to find his troubled son. The young man was standing on a high hill and looking out at the beautiful forest and the valley below with its orchards and streams and grazing herds. The Master approached him and called to him, “Hello my son, what would you like to tell me?”
The young man upon seeing the Master looked troubled and his shoulders slumped, “Father why must we leave our home. This place is beautiful and full of all the good things that make our lives happy. Why would you make us leave?” The woman is afraid. She thinks the Servant has told stories about her that made you angry at her. He is always suspicious of her.”
The Master patted his son on the shoulder and laughed, “They don’t understand each other. He doesn’t have any point of reference to decipher what she means. And she can’t figure him out at all. But all that’s beside the point. You haven’t done anything wrong. You two are not being punished. And this is not your home. It’s like the nest that a baby bird hatches into. It is the place where you grew and developed. But now you must leave the nest and face the world on your own.”
The young man looked angry, “But I’m not a bird. I’m your son. Why can’t I stay with you? Don’t I share in your possessions? The servant said we will be sent into the wilderness where wild animals and wild men are all around. Why would you leave me at the mercy of the cruel places outside this garden?”
The Master looked sad, “The reason you can’t stay with me is because you are not like me. Only the smallest spark of your being possesses the property I possess as my nature. You will die. You and the woman will grow old and die. You must have children and raise them as I raised you. You must learn how to survive in the world so that they can survive after you’re gone. And that chain from parent to child must go on until time ends. And when this world is finally at an end you will be like me. And you will be able to remake the world in your own image and then you will find me again. And your work will be done and we can enjoy what you’ve built. In the meantime, I’ll leave the Servant within this world to keep it from falling apart. But his strength is not as mine and eventually you will have to learn to control all the forces of the world; the stars and the voids and the waters of the deep.”
The young man was stricken, “But, I will die. I will never see you again!” The Master smiled, “Do not believe that. There is a spark in you that can never die. You were made to conquer death and you shall. But now you must face death. There is no other way.
But there is much you need to know. The Servant will answer as many of your questions as you can think of in the next month. And you and the woman will dine with me for the month you have left here. And I will tell you some things you must know. And some of them will be about her. She will be a great help to you but remember that her nature is different from yours. Learn what that means and take that into account. And most importantly try to remember what a father and son are to each other for when you have children. This will be your most important role.”
The young man was dazed from the impact of everything he had heard, “Dad, I’m scared.” The Master hugged him to his chest and said, “Of course you are, so was I when I was your age. But you’re lucky you didn’t have your grandfather to deal with. He was much tougher than I am.”