Six by Eight

By Dean Adner

Pablo, abandoned, forgotten and betrayed more than once, no longer has the capacity to trust or live on his strength alone.
He befriends and old granny, who has the key to help him see the truth. She slightly opens the door so that Pablo can see his life and reflect within.
Can Pablo forgive his enemies and find lasting peace and joy? With many deep internal wounds, will love be his cure?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9781503567467

Dean Adner

Dean Adner is currently living in the Unites States and for several years lived in Brazil. The author writes about the abandoned, forgotten and defenseless, and the busy and noisy world sometimes forgetting the meaning of compassion and love.

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Copyright © 2015 by Dean Adner.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 05/28/2015

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1

Into Being by Chance

CHAPTER 2

Sun’s Rays Driven Away

CHAPTER 3

Vanquished

CHAPTER 4

Tent of Clay

CHAPTER 5

A Seed of Hope

CHAPTER 6

Spirit Melts Away

CHAPTER 7

Counterfeit

CHAPTER 8

Mercy

CHAPTER 9

Virtue Speaks

CHAPTER 10

Zest of Youth

CHAPTER 11

To Freedom

CHAPTER 12

Wisps of Clouds

CHAPTER 13

The Way to Reason

CHAPTER 14

Weakness Argues

CHAPTER 15

The Passing of Shadow

DEDICATION

For men, women and children of every land that live in great distress and are overcome with many sufferings and persecutions, yet their path of life is straight. Let the gift of light be their guiding force promoting faith and hope in their minds and hearts so that they can find internal freedom and peace even in the midst of great chaos.

Chapter 1

INTO BEING BY CHANCE

Forsaken

Pablo, a helpless boy was scared, hungry, and weak but running for his life, afraid of the unthinkable. He was looking back and hoping that no one would see him. Consumed with anxiety and sweating profusely from the heat of the sun, he made his way through the crowds. His heart was pounding with fear. He was on a mission and nothing could stop him now.

Rio de Janeiro, Rio for short, was thriving with wealthy tourists and the radiant sun attracted many vacationers. The restaurants were packed. The joy and the easiness of life was apparent everywhere. The music, great shops, and the wonderful aromas from local restaurants mesmerized the crowds. Vacationers strolled down the streets of Rio looking to enjoy themselves. Life was good.

Suddenly, Pablo stopped and picked up a dirty piece of bread off the street. He was full of joy— it was his first meal of the day. He looked up and noticed a man in the black car slowing down and looking at him. Oh no! Overwhelmed by this, he was afraid to get caught by the local police for just stealing a purse from a tourist.

The stretch limo slowly drove by. A politician who was also a prominent lawyer was heading back to his office. One of his missions was to clean up the crime scene from the streets of Rio.

Who is this kid looking for trouble? said George, the prominent lawyer to the driver. Too many of them are polluting the streets. The vagabonds, lazy kids committing local crimes - and irresponsible parents bring these children to the world and into the street.

The low lives with little common sense were polluting and destroying the panorama of Rio. We need to clean up the streets for the tourists who bring money into our economy. These hooligans should be locked up in prisons. That’s where they belong. I am sure that this kid will end up there very soon, I hope.

The driver did not say much, just nodded his head.

This lawyer was not moved with compassion seeing this young child hungry and picking up a dirty piece of bread, but was blinded by his agenda to make Rio an attractive city for the affluent. Beggars and local criminals had no place to be there pickpocketing the tourists.

…………………………………..

Rio had a big population of homeless people scattered everywhere. They could be found in the parks, by the restaurants and expensive stores, some pickpocketing and targeting the tourists until they got some money. Theresa, a homeless woman, would spend hours sitting on the church steps watching the scene on the streets of Rio. She would doze off often and be awakened by the church bells. One day as Theresa was ready to get up and go buy some food; a local hooligan just grabbed her bag and took off.

Rio was full of runaway children living on the streets and stealing for survival. Theresa, moved with compassion, wanted to help Pablo.

Hey! Come back, don’t run away, come back! The boy turned around.

Theresa said Don’t be afraid, young child. You look hungry and scared. Come, Granny will help you.

Pablo was very young, timid and confused, but slowly approached Theresa, who was known as a Granny to many children on the street. She extended her hand and gave Pablo a small apple.

Eat, child, she said.

He looked at her and accepted the apple.

Where are you running to?

Nowhere. I don’t know.

Where are your parents?

I don’t have any.

Where do you live?

Anywhere I can find a place.

You mean on the streets?

Not always.

Granny understood that the child lived in an orphanage home and was a runaway.

What is your name?

I have to go, but can I keep the money?

Yes, you can. Come back when you need something.

…………………………………..

Pablo would stop by on occasions to speak to Theresa, who was very loving and compassionate. Over time they developed a beautiful friendship. Theresa was like a grandma to Pablo.

Granny, you are the only one who is nice to me and I am so sorry that I stole your money that day, Pablo said.

Why don’t you stay at the orphanage where you can have a nice place to sleep and something to eat? And don’t have to steal and get yourself into unnecessary trouble.

It is a dreadful place. The kids are very mean and no one understands me. People that work at the orphanage are very cruel. I would rather be alone on the streets. It is easier this way. There is no one to tell me what to do and treat me like I don’t matter. Older kids harass and make fun of me. I hate this place. It is awful. I feel alone there. It feels like no one cares or understands how I feel. I wish I had a normal family.

Pablo did not know much about his history and birth parents. All he was told is that his mother died at his birth and no one knew who and the whereabouts of his father. He learned to survive on the streets by stealing and getting into trouble with the local police. Granny would spend countless hours listening to Pablo and discouraging him from this type of action, but Pablo was very good at pickpocketing and this was his way of life.

…………………………………..

My child, where did you get this from?

Oh Granny, don’t worry, just buy us some food.

Pablo, where is this money from?

Why does this matter, we can buy some food now.

Did you steal from someone?

Granny, we did not eat any decent food for over a month. I am hungry.

It does not matter, even if we did not eat food for the whole year. Where did you get this money from?

Granny, many tourists travel to Rio from North America, and they are rich. They have plenty. What does it matter if I take few dollars from them? They have more than just for the food. They even have money to gamble. They wear beautiful and expensive clothes, dine in expensive restaurants. Don’t we need to have at least one good meal for the month?

No Pablo, if it is God’s will for us to be poor and hungry, let it be. Go and take this money back from where you stole it.

Pablo laughed. These tourists are gone, where am I going to find them? Just take this money and buy some food. Promise, I will not do this again.

Give this money to the church or someone that needs more than we do.

Granny! No one needs more than we do. We did not have a decent meal for over a month!

Go find some work at the grocery store, Pablo.

No one will hire me locally.

Why?

I might be too young. Also they know that I am a street hooligan.

You live without hope. Learn from your old Granny to be responsible, and accept your destiny and life in humility.

Granny, I do have hope. I will make it big one day.

Stealing? Pablo, you will end up in jail before you can count to three.

Pablo was deep in his thoughts.

I care about you and don’t want you to end up in jail for stealing.

But this is okay, if we are hungry and have no one to help us.

If there was no law, we would not be subjected to the law, but there is one, so we need to be careful. Stealing is breaking the law. And this can get you into a serious trouble.

Granny, don’t worry. I love you. Buy us some food with this money, please!

Shanty Town

The suffering on the streets of Rio was great; many homeless hungry without food and resources to survive just succumbed to lives on the streets with no hope. The homeless, crushed by their destiny and constant struggles for basic needs, lost the desire or aspiration to do anything with their lives. They just lived from day to day begging, stealing or committing local crimes to sustain themselves.

Shanty town consisted of dilapidated homes and broken families. More often than not, there was no work to be found and families struggled financially. Some resorted to drinking and became violent, not able to cope with the heavy burden of raising a family. Many had large families, but nothing to provide. Often the children would steal and commit local crimes.

Others worked very long hours and were never home for their children. The children were left alone at home. They were scared, lonely and unhappy. The neighborhoods were crime infested, subjecting especially the very young ones to all kind of dangers.

Theresa

Early mornings I would sit on the park benches facing small rundown homes and watch young parents leaving for work. I remember one heartbreaking story, a little girl, perhaps only three years old, crying and desperately holding onto her mom, who each morning had to leave for work. One day her mom never came back and she did not have a father. After her mom’s disappearance, the little girl was raised by her aunt. At first I would see the little girl with her aunt going to the park, but over time I would see her less. She was so very timid, always with her head down. She never smiled or said anything. She was very skinny and frail. This same child less than a year ago always with her mom in the park carried the biggest smile. She played on the swings and was very active.

As time passed by the little girl was looking thinner and very weak, very undernourished and neglected. I often tried to get close and ask questions, but the aunt was always in the way. I sensed that there was something not right. I was looking for the opportunity to connect with this little girl.

For the lack of local jobs, some parents would even travel overseas just to put piece of bread on the table.

They would entrust family members to take care of their children, splitting families apart. Sometimes they would choose one or two children to join them and leave the youngest behind. For some this left a lifelong scar. They could not reconcile the fact that they were left behind with a grandma or aunt. By being not chosen and left behind, they interpreted that they were loved less or not loved at all by their parents. They were simply too young to understand parents’ decisions and financial struggles. These children of emigrant parents simply felt forgotten and abandoned. They carry a heavy burden for the rest of their lives, never able to forgive their parents or feel loved. Some children were abused by their caretakers (uncles, aunts), and opted to live on the streets.

…………………………………..

There were many young children left behind with relatives when the mother or father emigrated overseas simply to make a dollar. Emigration was a silent killer, dispersing the entire flock. More often than not these families were never put back together.

Left behind by their parents, the older children had to work and help raise the young ones. They had no chance of going to school or make something of themselves. Often these young children would raise each other with very minimum resources. The living conditions were unbearable. Eventually the mother or father would send some money to provide for the family.

These children would not see their parents for years. And some never reunited or saw their parents again. Others after many years reunited with their parents. The streets of Rio were full of young children trying to make a living on their own and yet supporting young siblings.

This one young family was always on the street begging for food. The father left for the USA, remarried and started his own family. After few years he finally brought the younger children to the USA. His ambition was to buy a house. These children again became slaves to parents’ dreams, working hard and long hours to save for the new house. They never went to college or acquired any vocation to build their own future. It was a vicious cycle.

I would sit on the park benches and watch these kids so lost and forgotten by their own. The little girl being raised