The Little Prince
Gabriel let his eyes dart back and forth, as if they really were helping him to hear what was being said on the landing. His mother’s voice was harder to make out than his father’s and he didn’t say much. There were a couple of grunts, and then a sigh of “Alright, alright.” Gabriel’s heart jumped in his chest and he scrunched the covers in his hands waiting for the click of the door. As it creaked open he stayed still, facing away from it, trying not to look too soon, like at toys on Christmas morning.
There was the unmistakeable dip of the man’s weight on the bed and Gabriel looked up at him, his daddy. They eyeballed each other for a few seconds before Samson reached out and stroked Gabriel’s hair. He needed those few moments to remember how sweet the little boy was, Gabriel knew this somehow. He needed a second to remember he loved him.
“Are you going to sleep now Gabriel?”
Gabriel hesitated. He wanted a story but felt somehow that he couldn’t ask, that it had to be offered. “Yes daddy.” He whispered, crossing his fingers on the unseen hand which lay beneath the bedclothes.
“Good boy. Mind if I tell you a story before I go?” He grinned, his bright hazel eyes flashing as he saw the smile spread across Gabriel’s face. “How old are you now Gabriel? Thirty, thirty-one?”
Gabriel giggled and took the opportunity to grab his father’s hand. “I’m five daddy.”
“Oh, right right…” Samson made a show of remembering as he cleared his throat. “Well Gabriel once upon a time there was a prince who lived in a kingdom on a hill. And this prince, when he was born he was given a special gift, but no-one told him what it was or when he would get it, they would just say “Little prince, your gift is kept in the highest tower of the castle. To get up a thousand steps will take you a whole day and night, and there are 100,000 steps to the top, so you can’t go get it for yourself. One day your father the king will bring it to you, and it will be wonderful, and worth all this waiting.”
“So the little prince waited. The spring came and he waited, the summer sunshine came and he waited, the leaves fell from the trees and he waited, and the snow fell on the ground and he waited. He waited year after year after year until one day, he went up to that tower and he climbed every one of those 100,000 steps. He climbed all day, then slept on the stair and started climbing at sun up the next morning, until one day he got right to the top of that tower and he pushed open the big wooden door to the highest room. And what do you think was in the room Gabriel?”
Gabriel blinked and squeezed his father’s finger, trying to think. “Was it money?”
His father smiled. “No Gabriel, it wasn’t money. It was nothing. The room was empty. The little prince searched every inch of that room and there was nothing there. So he came back down the 100,000 steps, he came down those steps while the sun was up and when it went down he slept on the stair. And when he got to the bottom he went to his father the King and said “Father, you told me my gift was at the top of the tower, and I went up those 100,000 stairs to the top, and there was nothing there. Where is my gift?”
“The King pulled the little prince up onto his knee and he said “My son, you didn’t need to get to the top of the tower. You got your gift the second you decided to go and get it for yourself.” Do you see Gabriel? You see what the little prince’s gift was? He didn’t depend on anyone to get it, he went out and he worked and he fought and he got it for himself.” Samson leaned down and kissed Gabriel on the top of his head, taking in the smell of his freshly washed hair. “I love you Gabriel, sleep tight.”
“I love you daddy,” Gabriel piped up as his father stood and walked towards the door. “Daddy?”
He turned, his hand hovering over the lightswitch. “Yes?”
“What was the little prince’s name?”
Gabriel saw his Dad give a satisfied smirk. “Samson. His name was Samson.”