Change of Power

“It doesn’t count if you’re already planning your defeat.”

“Surely it does count.”

“It can’t count if you’re not around to see the changes!”

“Look around, tell me what you see.”

“Well, the alley is filled with garbage. The sky is grey. The people live in squaller. Everything is in decay. What else is there?”

“Son, you only see with your eyes. I only see with my heart. That is why it will count. One day you will see. You will see that each part of this world has more to it than the ways your eyes perceive it. There is hope in this alley, the sky and these people.”

“But it’s too late, Father. You of all people should know that you are needed to succeed. Without that success, we are all lost. And if we are lost, you are the one that can lead us in the right direction.”

That’s what’s wrong. You talk as if the world is all or nothing. In order for things to change, we have to change. You want things to stay the same, but they don’t ever stay the same. The darkness that we are living in is only going to get darker. The garbage that piles up in the streets will only grow higher. The people will only fall lower.”

“But you once said ‘if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.’ Isn’t planning your own defeat the same thing? Isn’t planning your defeat just giving up? Are all the things that you taught me just lies? Should I follow your lead and give up?”

“I am not giving up. I’m trying to do the one thing that I need to do in order to make everything better. People will tell you that one person can’t make a difference in the world. I would agree. But in order to build a wall, a single brick has to be set first.”

“Please don’t go in there with the thought of not making out. At least you have to think that you can win. Right?”

“This is the stand that has to be done and this is the way it has to be. If I do anything any other way, then it would all be for nothing. My defeat is the only way that your life and everyone else’s life will be different. One second of hesitation could ruin the whole thing.”

“Here she comes. Does she even know your plan?”

“Of course. I needed her help with some of the details and your mom is great with making sure everything is perfect. She’s coming to ensure that everything is in place.”

“So how much time do you have before you have to go?”

“Well, since your mother’s here, I would guess that I only have a few minutes at most.”

“Hello, mother. How’s it going?”

“Well, I think we have exactly two minutes until we all have to go our separate ways. But I’ll let you know. What are you two doing?”

“Your son was just trying to talk me out of the plan.”

“I just don’t understand why he has to do this.”

He is the only one that can do it. Nobody else can get to the places that he can. You should understand that at least. I know you, as my son, understand how important this is. He knows how important it is that he does this.”

“Listen to your mother. Maybe she can explain this. Once this is done everything will change.”

“I understand how important this is, but there has to be another way to accomplish the same results without you getting involved. I need you in my life. We all need you to provide us a path.”

“We only have a minute til you have to go. You know that we support you no matter what. Isn’t that right, son?”

“I guess so, I am so proud of you and I know that you know more than I will ever know.”

“One day you will know even more than I know, but that day may never come if I don’t follow through with this plan. With all of the clarity that will come after this, you of all people will have an enlightenment that will help change the world. You will not have all this struggle that is in place now and has been her for the past four years.”

“I just want you to wait, there will be another four years to fix things.”

I could wait, but if I do, I can’t promise that the opportunity will ever be here again. That reason alone is the reason I have to do this. If everything works out, and it will, there will be an instant improvement. And no matter what, I will be with you, so you can feel good knowing that I will continue to keep an eye on you and be able to watch you become the person you were always meant to be.”

“It’s time, you have to go now.”

“Okay, I love you all and feel so much better knowing how much better things will be in a minute.”

“Let him go. We have to get you back to your home.”

“But I want to make sure that he’s going to be okay.”

“He has fifty pounds of plastic explosives wrapped around his body and ten pounds of nails embedded into the C4. He’ll be fine. Oh, stop crying.”

“I can’t, I just want things to be how they were before all of this.”

“Things can never be how they were before, but this is the best chance we have. Thirty seconds after the first explosion, there will be a second blast that will trump the first one. It is that one that will make sure that the balance of power changes for the best. We couldn’t wait for a better time since over the past four years the two of them have not been within a mile of each other. This is the only chance that we’ll have so it had to be today. Ten more seconds and things will change forever.”

“I do understand. I’m just not sure that I can be the leader that you expect.”

“Keep moving and keep your head down. Three, two, one, zero.”

“Christ, did it have to be so loud?”

“Son, you haven’t heard anything yet!”