Siddhartha Comes to America

I woke up on Saturday and looked at my clock; it was 10:30 am. My cell phone alarm must have not woken me up. It was okay I still had about an hour before I needed to leave for the airport. I took a quick shower and I was out the door. Thankfully traffic wasn’t too bad. I got to Bradley around 11:40, right on time. I got a box out of my trunk and ripped off one of the flaps. I grabbed the sharpie on my dash and wrote “Siddhartha” on the flap of cardboard. I locked up my car and headed to the gate where Siddhartha’s flight was landing, cardboard sign in hand.

The plane finally landed and the people started getting off the plane and walking by. I didn’t even need this sign, when I saw a grown man wearing what looked to me like a diaper; I knew this was the guy. I walked up to him. Sure we had been pen pals for a couple of months but there was no way this first encounter would not be awkward. I took a deep breath and said “Hey, you’re Siddhartha right?” he nodded and I introduced myself. We shook hands and headed over to baggage claim. Then he mentioned he didn’t have any baggage. I thought it was strange but I just kept on walking. We got in my car and I showed him how to use the seatbelt. I didn’t know if it was appropriate to play music so I didn’t. Needless to say it was an awkward ride home. There was no way I could take Siddhartha around wearing a diaper. It was time to head to the mall.

We were getting strange looks left and right. I brushed it off because I think I’ve seen even weirder things at the Holyoke mall. I rushed around to get to the escalator and hopped on. About halfway down I noticed Siddhartha was not standing on the stair behind me. He was still at the top trying to get on but getting scared each time. I rode all the way down and got on the escalator that goes up. Then I taught him how to get on the down escalator. I told him we were going to get him some new clothes for our trip. He smiled and I took him into H&M. I asked an employee for help and we quickly had some new outfits for Siddhartha. I paid and we left. We still had one last stop. He needed some fresh new shoes to go with his new attire. We walked to the other escalator and Siddhartha got on himself this time. I led him into Journey’s and we picked out a nice pair of Nikes. Now we could finally start our trip.

It was about a two hour drive to our next destination but I knew it would be worth it. There was no way I was not listening to music on this long journey, so I put one of my mix CD’s into my CD player. The whole drive there Siddhartha was looking out the window watching everything pass by. We actually talked a little bit. I asked him a bout his flight and what he liked to do for fun. Talking with him became a little less awkward. I could smell the ocean and I knew we were close to where we were headed. Finally we were crossing the bridge into Hampton Beach, it was a beautiful day and the sun was shinning. I knew where the hotel we were staying at was already so I quickly drove to it. We unpacked and relaxed a little bit. Then I showed Siddhartha around the boardwalk and beach. We grabbed some food on the boardwalk. I could tell Siddhartha liked it here but I knew he’d really love it a little bit later.

The sun was setting and I took Siddhartha to the beach. It had been packed with people before but now it was nearly abandoned. There was no talking, music playing, or babies screaming. Siddhartha and I sat down; he crossed his legs and closed his eyes. With no distractions on the beach it was very easy just to concentrate on the waves crashing against the shore. Siddhartha began to meditate and I just stared out at the purple and pink sky.

I guess I should try to meditate too.

I looked at Siddhartha and crossed my legs like his, and then I closed my eyes and tried to clear my mind. It seemed like every thought I’ve ever had was flying through my mind all at once. The sound of the ocean was so quiet compared to everything that was going through my head. I couldn’t calm my brain down and it seemed like t his meditation thing wasn’t working out. Turning my head, I slowly opened one of my eyes to check if Siddhartha was still meditating, he was so I decided I should try again. I took a deep breath and tried again. My mind wasn’t so busy this time. I listened to the ocean and tried to relax.

I wonder if this reminds Siddhartha of that time he was meditating by a river. I wonder how many times he has meditated or if it was always so easy for him.

I guess I just wasn’t ever going to get the hang of this meditation thing so I just opened my eyes and stretched out my legs. I buried my feet under the sand and looked out at the sky. I just sat there while Siddhartha connected with his soul but that was okay with me.

Finally after two hours Siddhartha opened his eyes. I told him I tried to meditate too but I couldn’t stop thinking about stuff. He told me that it takes time and practice to learn how to calm your mind down so you can meditate. I told him maybe I’d try again later but now we had to get ready to catch a plane to the next place I wanted to take him.

It was 5:00 am when we pulled into the air port parking lot. Siddhartha and I grabbed our bags and headed in to get ready for our flight at 7:15. I didn’t want to tell him where we were heading but I knew he’d find out sooner or later. Sid and I found our seats on the plane and he asked where we were going. I wanted to keep my secret alive but of course the flight attendant ruined it. "Next stop Montego Bay" She announced over the loud speaker. I told Siddhartha we should try to sleep since we didn't get any last night. I woke up from a tap on my shoulder. The plane had already landed in Jamaica and it was time to get off. I was very excited to be back in Jamaica but also to show Siddhartha how amazing it is.

We were greeted at the resort with little cups of fruit punch. Once we drank them we checked in and got little plastic bracelets that would let the employees of the resort that we stayed there and also how old we were. After they placed the red bracelets on our wrists I told Siddhartha that all the food and beverages here were free and we could get them at any time. I showed him to our room and we put our luggage down on our beds. I threw him a rasta colored swim suit and told him to go change into it.

I dove into the warm clear blue water and looked around under water at all the colorful fish swimming around. Siddhartha made his way to the bar to try out some exotic dranks. After swimming for a little while I decided I should probably look around for Sid. After walking around the hotel four times I stopped and sat down on a bench thinking he might walk by. I heard a lot of noise from a little room nearby. I was curious as to what was going on in there so I walked up and took a peek inside. There was Siddhartha trying his luck on the slot machines. I stood behind him for a little while and asked him how he was doing. Siddhartha kept his attention on the slot machines and pointed to his cup. "Wow you're doing pretty good huh?" I asked him. He just nodded and kept playing. "Have you ever played one of these things before?" He nodded again. "Yes once before, that was a long time ago." The look on his face turned nostalgic and for a minute I thought he was going to cry. I told him I'd be down by the beach if he needed me and left him to gamble.

A short five days later our stay in beautiful Jamaica was over. I think we were both sad to leave. On the plane ride home I asked Siddhartha if he had a good time. He told me "yes thank you for taking me to these wonderful places and allowing me to experience these things on my own. I have learned a lot about myself and the world around me on this journey but now I must return home." I understood, this trip was different but I had enjoyed the time we'd spent together. I was sad to see him walk down to another terminal to catch his plane home but I knew he had to leave. Siddhartha belongs in a quiet place where he can be alone with his mind. Thats were he feels comfortable. I was disappointed we had to part ways but I hoped maybe someday we could go on another adventure again.