Rainbows

The sun blistered skin of his forearms was glistening in sweat. His arms were tense, pounding, and shaking from the constant motion of the sledge hammer against the stone.


Despite the constant barrage of blows, the stone seemed to show no signs of fatigue or wear.

Exhaustion was burning through his limbs and thirst was tearing apart his throat, but he knew that he had to continue.

The destination, the goal, the coveted treasure was buried just below the surface of the rock. He had been told of it his entire life and knew that it was just within his reach.

The map that his grandfather’s, grandfather’s, grandfather had made was folded up gently in his pocket. He had followed it to the tee and now he was where he had wanted to be his entire life.

The sweat on his forehead was streaming down into his eyes, past his eyebrows, and burning as it meshed with his tears. Eventually it would all be worth it and he would have his life’s goal, the thing his father hadn’t been able to find, or his father before him.

The sledge continued to swing with his arms and crash into the solid rock and as the dusk approached the sky, he worried. Would he ever be able to reach it?

Then, just as the sun began to dance with the horizon, a crack formed in the rock’s surface. Excitement filled his heart and he pounded stronger then he had the entire day. He hit and enlarged the crack, until it was a full hole.

Glee touched his heart and with every ounce of excitement in check, he reached down into the stone crevice that he had created.

His hand felt, touched, and then found what he had searched for. He pulled out a small, worn box that appeared to hold jewelry and held it up to his eye level. He was going to be sure to get a close look at his new found fortune.

With fingers shaking and tears flowing from the corners of his eyes, he opened the box. But instead of finding money or jewels, he found a piece of paper. He kept his hopes up and figured it may be some sort of stock or deed.

Like it was a Cracker Jack prize, he unraveled the paper and began to read, “Don’t spend your life chasing rainbows without realizing the ones that you already have.”