Go Now And Have A Good Life

“You’ve been waiting at my gate everyday for the past ninety nine days. Just like my other visitors, you wanted to know the secret of happiness and prosperity. Every day you sat and waited patiently. You let the merciless sun grill your face. You let the rain soak you inside out. You shivered and sneezed and coughed and had a bad temperature. You did not leave and eventually got pretty ill. Your friends said I was cold blooded but I still refused to talk to you. You could have died but you made it through. You are still here. You have earned your key to my secret.

Leave my gate today. Go and help people in difficulty. Don’t keep track of how many you have helped or how many days you have been doing it. When you have helped enough people in need, your day will come when you will meet a beautiful young woman. She will ask you to name three things you want most in your life. Whatever you tell her, you shall have them. Nonetheless, you can't ask for the impossible, like living forever. Go now and have a good life.”

That was not the answer I expected. Nonetheless, I couldn’t stay there any more, now that the Wise One had spoken and asked me to leave. For days, then months, I tried to do what he said. I felt a little silly as I didn’t know when it would be enough. I kept track of what I did initially. Later on, I lost track of things and stopped counting. Sometimes I felt very good about helping others, other times I felt stupid, thinking that I was tricked by the Wise One. The beautiful young woman would never come.

I got busy with life and had long forgotten about what the Wise One told me. Somehow I still tried to help others whenever I could, as it felt right. I met the love of my life, got married and had lovely children. My children caused me a lot of trouble but grew up healthy and strong. Time flew and my children became parents themselves. They labored over their children’s growth. And later, their children became parents themselves.

This morning, I received birthday telegrams from the Chairman of China, the President of the United States and the King of the United Kingdom. I suddenly realized I had turned one hundred. The national news team turned up shortly after. A pretty young woman in pink, by the name of Jo, greeted me warmly and said they would just ask a few questions and I could ask for a break whenever I felt like it.

“Well, I shall try my best.” I was a little nervous to be on national news.

“Mr Yeung, if you can have any three wishes, what do you want most in life?”

“What do you mean?” I was a little puzzled.

“Err…., let’s say I were a Genie who could grant you three wishes. Whatever you want, you will have them. What are your three wishes?”

I felt my heart thumping fast and strong inside my chest. This couldn’t be real. How could this really happen? Or rather, why should this happen so late in my life? I was both thrilled and angry. It couldn’t be a trick, as I had not shared with anyone my experience at the Wise One’s gate. No one knew about it. Partly in disbelief, and partly in excitement, I took my time to settle down and talk.

“First, I’d like to eat well.” I replied.

“Mr Yeung, You might not understand. You can wish for anything.”

“Yes, I understand. I also know I shall have my wishes come true.”

“Oh, I see. You’d like to eat well. What else, Mr Yeung?”

“Second, I’d like to sleep well.”

“That is starting to make sense to me. And what else?”

“Last, I’d like to laugh well.” I answered from the bottom of my heart.

“Thank you very much, Mr Yeung, for sharing your thoughts with us.”

“Thank you, Jo, for coming. At times, I thought you were not coming.”

Jo couldn’t figure out what I was talking about and simply smiled, “have a good day.”

I suddenly heard the Wise One’s words again ringing in my ears, “Go now and have a good life.” I have had just that.