I looked at the old man for a moment. "And what are you going to do
while I hold it for you?"
"Why, I'm going to climb it," he replied, still smiling at me.
I looked up to the top rung of the ladder, several feet above my head and
at the clear, blue sky framed beyond it, then back down to the old man.
"What for?"
"To get to the top," he said, as if that were the obvious reason. "To
find peace, joy and happiness. To reach Nirvana, as some people call
it."
I looked to the top of the ladder again and then back to the old man.
"You're kidding, right?" I asked, thinking that perhaps he had been
sitting out in the sun for too long.
"No, I'm quite serious," he assured me. "I have been waiting for you to
come along for quite some time, so you could help me on my journey."
He seemed extremely sincere, but I still felt that he must be somewhat
unstable. "Listen, why don't we go find you some water, or maybe some
shade. Then, after you've rested a little bit, we can discuss climbing
the ladder again, " I suggested.
His smile faded just a bit at my words. "Please son, I'm not asking for
much--you can see that, can't you? Just hold the ladder for me," he
said, nearly pleading. "It won't take but a few moments of your time and
it would make an old man eternally happy."
What could it hurt? I thought. The guy climbs to the top of the ladder,
looks around for a while and comes back down. No big deal. "All right,"
I sighed. "Go for it."
"Oh, thank you, son," he said, grasping my hand and pumping it up and
down several times. "You won't regret this, I assure you."
"Right, right," I told him, bracing my feet in the soft earth and leaning
into the ladder with my shoulder. "But afterwards, we're gong to find
you some shade, agreed?"
"After this, you will have a much better understanding of your own
needs," he said quietly, a statement which I didn't follow at the time.
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