The Gift Box, A Tenth Anniversary

One bright, crisp spring morning the Princess was out for a stroll.  As she walked through the grassy knolls of the forest she came upon Mr. Froggy.  Mr. Froggy was merrily hopping along carrying a rather large, colorful box.  It was obviously a gift for someone, but whom?  Curious, the Princess greeted Mr. Froggy.  “Good morning, Mr. Froggy.  How are you”, asked the Princess.  “I am quite fine”, replied the frog, “thanks for asking.”  He turned to scamper on his way.  “Uh, excuse me, but I am quite curious about the box.  Can you tell me what’s in it”, the Princess inquired. Mr. Froggy stopped as if contemplating an answer.  This was the Princess after all and was due her proper respect.  “I would not be offended to give you an answer about the meager contents of my box, Princess. But, please don’t be indignant for its contents are not of silver or gold”, the frog proffered.  The Princess’ curiosity was heightened further because the box did not seem to burden the frog much.  Its contents, therefore, must be light.  “Please, go on. Reveal to me the gift you have so carefully chosen.  What is it”, she asked.  The voice of the Princess betrayed her excitement.

You have to know that Mr. Froggy was not too eager to show the contents of the box to the Princess.  Oh, certainly he had wrapped it with great care and selected the brightest, most colorful wrapping he could.  The contents of the box he had selected with meticulous care, yet he was rather embarrassed.  He was afraid that the contents would seem dull and unimportant to someone like the Princess who was accustomed to the most sumptuous finery.  Mr. Froggy could feel his himself slowly turning from green to red as his embarrassment began to show.  He carefully placed the box on the ground.  There it was, squarely between him and the Princess almost like a monolith, motionless.  He stared at it.  It’s red bow he had just moments before tied with great tenderness now seemed like a homing beacon.  He was afraid and trembled.

“Princess, there are only trinkets within the box and I’m sure you’ll not find them worthy”, Mr. Froggy muttered.  The Princess felt humbled at the meekness the frog displayed. There was a quiet gentleness to him; an intangible spirit of genuineness seemed to radiate from Mr. Froggy.  “Oh, but I am dreadfully curious.  Please, please go on, show me the contents of this mysterious treasure”, the Princess exclaimed.  Slowly, slower than a blade of grass reaches for the sun, Mr. Froggy removed the lid of the box exposing its contents to the Princess. Quickly she gazed into the darkness of the box and discovered…nothing!  Rubbing her eyes, the Princess stepped closer for a second look.  She wondered if her eyes were fully awake at this early hour.  A second glance only revealed more darkness of an apparently empty box.  “Mr. Froggy, is this some type of jesting you make”, asked the Princess.  “This box is empty. What type of gift do you propose to offer”, she continued.  Saddened, Mr. Froggy’s gaze fell to the ground.  His voice subdued, he spoke.  “My fair Princess, the box is anything but empty.  You see you need special glasses to see its contents and a special heart to know its value”, Mr. Froggy declared.

“Within the box are special things. Things of little monetary value yet things of great worth”, Mr. Froggy explained.  “Well, go on and if I cannot see them then perhaps you can describe them for me”, the Princess mused.

“I’ll try”, said Mr. Froggy “Firstly, there are echoes in the box.”

“Echoes?”

“Yes, echoes.”

“I hear nothing.  What echoes?”

“There are the echoes of countless “I love you” messages within the box.  Each time I have recalled throughout the day how much I love this person I have captured the echoes of those thoughts and placed them within the box.   There are echoes.” Mr. Froggy’s eyes glistened as his mind wandered and recounted those times.

“What else?  Surely there must be more!”

“There are shadows.”

“Of course there are shadows. The box is empty.”

“No, these shadows aren’t just any shadow.  They are the shadows of presence.  You see, Princess, each time I have been with this person they have brought me unspeakable joy.  But I am sad because our time together is fleeting and flies away faster than Mr. Owl ever could.  So, I have captured the shadows of those times and when rainy days come we can take out the shadows of happier times to chase away the doldrums.”

“You see all that?”  The Princess stepped closer to the box and peered deeper into its seemingly empty confines.  “Go on, Mr. Froggy.  Is there more”

“There’s also sunlight”

“Sun light?  So, there are shadows in the same small box as sunlight!  I have to say, Mr. Froggy this all seems very suspicious to me.”

“I know this all seems hard to believe and very extraordinary. But the sunlight in the box is only a few rays I have managed to capture of countless millions just like them. They are the rays of joy and contentment this person always seems to bring my way.    This sunlight is the brightness our relationship produces.  I want this person to always have a little piece of this sunlight to know and remember me by.”

“Anything else?”

“Yes, lots more”

Sitting on a nearby log, the Princess compels Mr. Froggy to continue. “Mr. Froggy these glasses you spoke of must be truly extraordinary.  Do they indeed allow you to see all these mystical things?”  “Oh yes”, exclaimed Mr. Froggy, “They do indeed”.  “Alright then, go on and tell me more”, the Princess urged, “and what other surrealistic contents can you reveal of this mystical box?”

“Stars”

“There are no stars!  Mr. Froggy, I had enough trouble believing your tale about echoes, shadows, and sunlight. But, stars?  I don’t think so”, scoffed the Princess.

“But, there are stars.  Remember you need special glasses looking with a special heart to see the things contained within the box.  Princess you asked me to reveal the contents of my gift box.  These things I speak to you truly.  The stars are those I have managed to coax inside the box. They represent to me the brilliance of this person’s eyes.  They swept me away the moment I first saw them.  It’s said that our eyes are actually windows to our soul.  I believe that, Princess, because this person’s brilliance shines more brightly than all the stars of the galaxy and they lure me to a special place only they know.”

The Princess could see that Mr. Froggy was clearly sincere in his presentation. His words, however surrealistic, were surely spoken with a pure heart.  While her eyes told her Mr. Froggy was surely a jesting fool, her heart said otherwise.  She looked at Mr. Froggy who was so filled with devotion and compassion for this person and the gifts he had so lovingly gathered and felt a shiver in her soul.  For she knew that while her eyes could not see the magical things Mr. Froggy described those things did, nonetheless, exist.  She could not explain how, but she did know why.

“Mr. Froggy, one last time.  Is that all there is”, asked the Princess.  “Not quite”, he answered.  The Princess sighed and asked what else remained.

“A hammer and nails.  Oh, and some lumber.”

“In that box.”

“Yes, in this box.”

“Why?”

“Well, Princess it’s quite obvious that for any building project you need building material.  You can’t build anything unless you have the material to build with.  The hammer, nails, and lumber are those building materials”, Mr. Froggy declared.  “What are you building”, she asked.  “We’re building a life together, isn’t that clearly seen?  Each day we’re together we build more memories, more treasures, and more dreams.  I’ve come to see the dreams are somewhat of a problem, however.  They always seem to require more building material.  But, the hammer and nails represent the anticipation of that dream”

“Mr. Froggy that’s incredible.  I had no idea. You have done me a great honor today in explaining to me the contents of your gift box.  It is absolutely astounding to me all the wonderful and exotic things you have managed to place there.  There is, however, one thing you have not explained and to fully satisfy my curiosity you must reveal this to me.  Who is the gift box for?”  The Princess was eager to know this  for she could not imagine someone in her forest kingdom so treasured and esteemed that she had not known of prior.  She was concerned that in some way she had slighted this noble person and wanted to offer apologies.

“Princess, this box is for someone you do indeed know.  You are most certainly no stranger to this person”, stated Mr. Froggy.  “The person for whom this box is destined sits in your court, tastes your wine, and turns back your bed. This person gazes into your mirror and sees all that you see.”

The Princess was befuddled at this and said, “It sounds as though this person is very close to me”.  Mr. Froggy answered, “They are indeed”.   After offering one guess after another yet being unable to realize who it was of whom Mr. Froggy spoke the Princess finally capitulated to the mystery of the box.  “The mystery is too deep for me, Mr. Froggy.  I cannot attain its answer nor explain its meaning.  Please be kind to me and make it known to me this person’s identity.”  At this Mr. Froggy was himself befuddled, for to him the identity of this person was as clear as the waters of a lake on a still summer’s day.  “Why, Princess this person is you.  You are the one to hear the echoes of the countless “I love you”s.  It is you who is the shadow of my joy.  It is you who fills me with sunlight that shines too brightly to behold.  And Princess, it is you that I will use the hammer and nails with to build a dream that even my gift box cannot hold.  To me all the diamonds in the world cannot compare to the sparkle in your eyes.”

The Princess placed the lid back on the box being sure to keep the brightly colored wrapping intact.  The bow, tied with such love, was treated with special care.  The Princess took the gift box, and its contents, to her castle and cherished them.  Mr. Froggy used the things he had carefully placed within the box and most surely the life and dreams he and the Princess built from them have endured to this day.  One only has to peer into a moonless night to see the brilliance captured in the soul of Mr. Froggy and his gift box.  The Princess finally learned that it was actually Mr. Froggy who was in the gift box that day in the forest.