"My Inspiration" by Anne Lee Zimmerman

            I am Roxanna, historian and storyteller extraordinaire.  I have gone by many names over the centuries that I have been witness to.  I am Allisande, Robyn, Killdeer; I am changer of hearts, friend of dragons, and the keeper of much truth and history.  I have flown with the griffins, swum with the seals, and climbed the tallest mountain just to get a different perspective.  I have been hated and loved by many.  I am the wanderer who never settles. I am a sixteen-year-old junior who is trying to pass high school.

            “Anne!” the harsh voice of the teacher shattered the daydream that I had been deeply involved in.

            “Wha--?” I said stupidly as I blinked owlishly at him.

            He smiled benignly. “Welcome back to planet Earth, Anne. Now tell me, what is the capitol of Hungary?”

            I racked my brains trying to find a suitable answer to his question. There wasn’t one. “I don’t know, sir. You tell me.” I winced as soon as the words left my lips.  There was definitely another demerit for just disrespect let alone inattention in class.

            “What have we been talking about for the last week?” he asked me desperately.  When I only gave him a blank look, he snapped his fingers under my nose. “Let me see your notebook,” he demanded.

            I reluctantly handed it over and watched his impassive face as he flipped through the pages.  I knew what he was seeing.  I had given all of the pages extensive borders. Some of the borders were so thick that I was barely able to squeeze a few words into a clear space the size of a postage stamp in the very middle. The worst part was that none of the borders had anything to do with Hungary.  They were full of things like badly drawn roses, swords, feathers, faeries, dragons, griffins, and just about anything else that even touched my fancy for at least an instant all twisted up into Celtic knots or pillars to keep the even more fantastic ceilings on the pages from collapsing.

            He sighed. “I had hoped to find some evidence that you had done something for the entire year, but that obviously is not the case.  Anne, I am going to have to give you a zero for the day. Be grateful that it isn’t for the year.”

            During lunchtime later that day I was still feeling badly about that class.  I just couldn’t bring myself to get excited over Hungary when he taught about it.  I just kept on thinking that it could be so much more interesting if only the lesson plans were written differently.  I couldn’t really do anything about it, so instead I allowed my exhausted mind to wander and stared at the shiny outside of a diet coke can as though it listed life’s mysteries instead of the nutrition facts.  On the other side of the table sat my sister who was watching me watch my reflection in the coke can.

            “That was quite a performance during World Culture.  What in the world has gotten into you?”

            “Hmm?”

            “The teacher told me that he was going to call Mom.”

            “Hmm.”

            “You know, if you don’t straighten out what are you going to do for a living?”

            “Write.”

            “You are being a fool.”

            “Why?”

            “You can’t really make a difference by just writing fantasy novels.” Finally disgusted by my lack of interest in the conversation, she got up and stalked off.

            I tore my eyes away from the coke can and stared at her retreating back. “That’s what you think,” I whispered.

            “…know why this world is such a wreck? Why it has such problems?”

            “No,” I replied innocently.

            “It is because no one knows the truth anymore. That leads to distrust and then to disunity.”

            “Yeah. That is true. But what are you planning on doing about it?”

            “I will give the people the truth.”

            “Huh. That it a pretty big and abstract job, and you are only one person.”

            “No, there are many who are dedicated to this goal.”

            “What are you supposed to do?”

            “Why? Do you want to help?”

            “Well, it sounds like it is the work of a lifetime.”

            “It will take many lifetimes more to accomplish this goal to teach people how to trust again. It has already taken many lifetimes.”

            “It sounds like a monumental task,” I said regretfully.

            “Every time that a person tells the truth, it moves us one step closer. Every time someone learns how to trust and love another, another of our goals is completed.”

            “I will help.”

            “The one thing that binds us all together is a set of five oaths that all of us take. We live in all times in all places.  These are our goals.

 To preserve history by recording truth

                                    To encourage understanding by seeking truth

                                    To change hearts by telling the truth

                                    To know when to tell the stories that must be told

                                    By doing this to mend the heart of the world.”