The Three Riddles

"Before I leave tomorrow, I want to give you guys something for the concert..." May explains as she gives Max, Norman, and Caroline a concert ticket and a red lightstick.

"Nice, I got one too even though I'm coming with you!" Max smiles as he begins unwrapping the lightstick.

"Don't snap it yet--wait until the concert tomorrow night." May giggles.

"We like seeing those as we play, so if you see your sister and Dawn waving their hands a certain way, wave the lightstick that way." Brock explains.

Max grins. "I'm sure the drummer gets the best view...."

"As the drummer, I will admit I get the best view of everything." Brock smiles. "You have not lived until you've seen a sea of red waving as Ash sings..."

"We'd be honored to hear you all play." Norman smiles.

"I'll come by the Gym too, so you can see my new team!" May assures Norman.

Caroline looks at the clock. "You have a few more minutes, Maestro...so make it fast." she tells Brock.

"In a certain village lived a mother and her only son--who we'll call Shinjiro" Brock begins, almost in reply to Caroline. "One day, his mother got very sick, and couldn't work. Shinjiro assured his mom he would go into town to get a job. He left for town the next day, and got a job with a renowned juicemaker. Shinjiro proved himself a hard worker, and the owner gave him enough food and money for Shinjiro to support himself and his mom."

Some mild applause goes up at this. "The years went by, and Shinjiro grew into a kind and reliable young man." Brock continues. "One day, the owner called all the workers together, and told them that he would ask them three riddles, and the one that answered them all correctly would inherit the factory when he died. It turned out that the riddles were not questions, but cryptic phrases: 'The night shiyara', 'The thin voice of the rin at dawn', and 'The thick tamazusa of morning'.

"Hm..." Norman ponders the riddles.

Brock intones "The owner went on to say that the workers had until the next day to solve the riddles, but the workers had no clue what their master meant, and spent hours discussing and debating possible answers."

Laughter goes up at this. "Shinjiro took advantage of the night off to go see his mom, who had been healed thanks to the food he had sent." Brock goes on to some applause. "As they were visiting and catching up on what had happened since his last visit, a miko came to the house and asked to spend the night. Shinjiro was not tired at all, so he spent the night visiting with the miko, and learning many things from her holy wisdom and all she had heard and seen on her travels thus far."

The audience, meanwhile, is more interested in the riddles from earlier, and whispers race through the room as they speculate and debate their own answers. "Just then, the miko heard a Mightyena howl in the distance, and called it 'the night shiyara'." Brock explains, making some "oh"s fill the air. "They visited some more, until the Combusken called to herald the sunrise, which the miko said was 'the thin voice of the rin at dawn'. As the miko prepared to leave, she told Shinjiro that 'the thick tamazusa of morning' was the morning dew.

More "oh"s and fascinated whispers race through the room as Brock explains "Shinjiro returned to town, and told his master that 'the night shiyara' was Mightyena howling at night, 'the thin voice of the rin at dawn' was Combusken crowing in the morning, and 'the thick tamazusa of morning' was the morning dew."

He concludes "The owner left on a long journey the next day--it is said he is still traveling today, confident the juice is in the hands of a wise boy."

"And I am confident that my legacy is in the hands of a brave young lady." Norman smiles as he hugs May...