Blog 7 - Birthday cake

“Do you know the date?” Joseph asked Gooway.

“Yes!” Gooway responded, “It’s my sixtieth birthday.”

“Didn’t you say you’d die the day you turned sixty?” Joseph asked worriedly.

It took Gooway a second to respond. He looked out to the street, then up to Joseph.

“I want to get a cake.” He said finally.

Gooway and Joseph then set out to find a birthday cake. When they arrived at the local bakery, the a familiar voice called out to the pair.

“Joseph, Master Gooway, how are you doing today!” He called out while pulling a cake out of the oven.

“Mr. Po!” Joseph exclaimed, “You work at the bakery? I didn’t even know you left the house!”

“Yes of course, I work at the bakery 3 days a week.” PO responded calmly, “There are a lot of things you have left to learn about me.”

After buying a cake and sitting down to eat a slice, a woman walked past the pair and called out, “You two are such a cute family, happy birthday!”

Joseph began to call back, “Thanks, but we’re not rela-”

Gooway cut him off, “Joseph, Po, lets go to the park.”

At Yelsnag, the trio shared the double chocolate cake on a bench admiring the clear blue sky.

“I thought you said you were gonna die on your 60th.” Joseph said quietly.

“Me too son.” Gooway said, “For a long while. But since arriving here at Pointe Place I realized I’m not chained to my family history. I have something to live for. I write my own script.”

Blog 6 - Wish

“What should I wish for?” Master Gooway asked.

“Wish to find your son!” Joseph blurted out. After their conversation at the library several days earlier, Joseph had been desperately looking for ways to help his new friend find his lost child, and the green light seemed like the perfect way to finally do it.

Gooway, however, sighed, and turned to walk back down the stairs towards his apartment.

“What are you doing?” Joseph called out as he rushed to catch up with Gooway, “You saw the car Georgie wished for, you could find your son!”

“No” Gooway responded, “It’s too easy.”

Later that night, confused by his new acquaintances antics, Joseph lay in bed pondering why it mattered that making a wish was easy. If he was looking for his own son, surely he’d wish to find him, especially after seeing the outcome of Georgie’s childish wish.

“Maybe there’s something he’s not telling me,” Joseph thought to himself, “Maybe he knows he’ll never find him, or maybe he doesn’t want to, or maybe.”

All of these maybes made Joseph’s head hurt, he felt lost and confused when his mind wandered into the abstract as it often did. Yet still, he felt determined to help Gooway, this time in a way that took more effort than a few words uttered in the presence of a blinding green light.

Blog 5: Praying Mantis

Joseph woke up to a strange sudden urge to read. He'd always been a causal reader, picking up the
occassional novel during his breaks at the coffee shop, and taking book suggestions from Mr. Po, but
never had he felt so strong of an urge to read as he felt today. As it was his day off and he had no other
plans, Joseph took off on his bike towards the town library, an old, discolored yellow building that had
become more of an event space in the town than an actual library. 

When Joseph arrived at the library, he noticed an unusual liveliness surrounding the building. It seemed
as if the entire town had the same sudden urge as he had. Joseph found a comfortable place to sit and
settled down to read a book he picked up off the shelf, an old Chinese novel with a soft green cover
about a praying mantis. A few minutes later, Joseph still deeply focused on reading, obnoxious voice
cut through the air.

"“Hey kid, put your book away and listen, I’m talking up here,” Ryan Lochte shouted from his Ted Talk
stage.

Joseph, completely entranced by his book had no idea the once relevant swimmer was even speaking,
but eventually became aware of his surroundings as he felt a seemingly familiar tap on his shoulder.

"Come with me," Master Gooway said plainly.

After a short conversation, Gooway got straight to the point. He needed help finding his son, and he
knew Joseph could had something to offer. Joseph, slightly bewildered by the seemingly random request
from a stranger with whom he had never had a conversation, agreed as he never turned down helping
someone in need. Joseph sympathized with Gooway, as he himself had lost contact with his father and
knew the struggles Gooway was experiencing all too well.