“Hey Eli! Come here. You’ve got to see this.”
“What is it Avi?” Eli called out with annoyance. “I’m busy over here. Whatever it is, figure it out yourself.”
“I really think you should see this Eli. It’ll just take a minute. Please!”
Eli, exasperated, threw down his tools and trudged over to Avi.
“Fine. I’m here. What do you want?”
“Look at these sheep!”
“Yeah, they’re sheep. We’re sheep herders. What’s your point?”
“Look at them, their coloring.”
“What are you talking about? Seriously, Avi, I don’t have time for this.”
“Just look. Every single sheep in our flock is spotted. That’s not normal.”
“Yes it is, Avi! Sheep are spotted. Our sheep are spotted. Did you hit your head or something? You’ve been doing this your whole life. What’s wrong with you?”
“No, Eli! It’s not normal. I HAVE been doing this my entire life, and I know these sheep, each and every one of them, and, yes, most of them are spotted, but not all. We have one new lamb, almost a year old, that is perfectly white, no spots, but he’s not here. I can’t seem to find him. This young guy right here,” he reached down to stroke the wool of the lamb at his feet, “he has the same body structure and hooves. His eyes are the same. I would swear that this is him, except for this.” He pointed to a large black spot on his back.
“Either something, or someone, stole our lamb, or our sheep are changing color.”
Eli just shook his head. “I don’t know what to say. Sheep don’t just suddenly grow spots and change color, and if someone is stealing our sheep then YOU aren’t doing your job. So, I’m gonna just chalk this up to you didn’t sleep too well, and you need some water, and then we’re going to forget this whole thing.”
“But Eli…”
“I’m done Avi. Now, get back to work and focus on things that actually matter.”
Part 10: Public Enemy #1
Part 12: An Anthem...