There once was a little donkey named Todo. His mother thought it would be cute to name him after the dog from "The Wizard of Oz," but Todo didn't think it was so cute. His parents were very affectionate, loving donkeys, but there was something about them that felt a little off. HIs brothers and sisters didn't seem to notice, though, for they drank up the affection and love like water. He began to think there was something off about him.
His mother read him "The Ugly Duckling" one night before bed and after that he was convinced that he was the ugly duckling in his family. He just didn't fit--while everyone sat around the fireplace singing songs and playing games, Todo watched from afar, unable or unwilling to join in. It wasn't just his family, either. He noticed he felt the same way with all families he encountered. Something bonded donkies together that he just couldn't feel.
"Maybe it is a birth defect?" he wondered one morning as he ate his breakfast apart from everyone else. "If that's the case then how come I'm the only one in my family who has it?" He didn't know much about genetics, but he did know about odds and this just didn't seem likely. However, no matter how he tried he couldn't come up with another explanation.
Years went by uneventfully. Todo grew more and more distant from his family, and his parents had long given up on trying to include him in activities. One Sunday afternoon, Todo was sitting under a tree at a park watching his family and other families frolic and play. Feeling numb inside, he gazed with glassy eyes at the merriment around him. And then he saw her. About fifty feet away he spotted a donkey who felt strangely familiar.
"Where do I know her from?" he wondered, wracking his brain. Nothing popped out at him, so he just continued to observe this remarkable creature. She sat apart from her family as well and had a similar glazed look in her eye. "Ah ha!!" he thought gleefully. "She must have the same defect as myself!" Grinning from ear to ear, Todo hopped up and marched excitedly over to her. Once he reached her, he suddenly realized that he did not know what to say. "Uh, excuse me, I believe we have the same genetic defect." He couldn't say that! She would think he's a dolt! "Come on, come on, think of something already" he thought to himself.
While clearing his throat, the female donkey looked up at him with mild surprise.
"Who are you?" she asked softly with a far away look in her eye.
"I'm Todo, " he stammered, riveted by her deep, dark eyes.
"Hi, Todo. I'm Samantha."
They both just sat and stared as the world went on around them. Finally, Samantha spoke again. "Don't I know you from somewhere?"
"I don't think so," Todo replied. Okay, here goes nothing. "Do you, uhh, do you feel...different?" he asked timidly, looking down at the ground.
"Not anymore," Samantha replied after a long pause.
Cautiously moving his eyes back up towards her face, he couldn't help but mirror her sweet smile. "You wanna get out of here?"
"I never thought you'd ask," Samantha answered with joy.
They wandered away into the forest beyond. At some point during the evening, Todo turned towards her and nudged her gently.
"Why'd you do that?"
"I just wanted to make sure that you're real; that I'm not making you up."
"Todo, have you ever wondered what they have that you don't have?"
"Of course, but maybe it's the other way around: maybe we have something that they don't."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, until today I thought I was deficient in something; that I might even have a genetic defect." He paused so she could laugh, but there was only respectful silence. "Now I'm beginning to see that there could very well be an element that is missing from our families, from every family I've ever encountered." They both fell silent for a moment, taking this in and pondering all the possibilities.
"Maybe love isn't enough?" Samantha asked, not quite sure of herself.
Todo stopped walking and turned around to face her. "Why wouldn't love be enough?"
"Well, I'm not sure what I'm talking about, but it seems to me that there needs to be more, or maybe less, depending on how you look at it."
"Like, something underlying the love?"
"Yes, exactly!! There doesn't even need to be all that affection and lovey dovey stuff. As long as you have something else..."
"What is that something else, Samantha?"
She sat down on a tree stump and peered at the trees. "I don't know, Todo, I'm not even sure there's a term for it." Totally perplexed and yet paradoxically clear-headed, she let out a deep sigh of contentment. Todo sat beside her as they shared a moment of thoughtful silence.
"Maybe that something else is our 'defect'?" They looked at each other and burst out laughing. They laughed and they laughed until their sides ached and their eyes filled with tears. The irony of it all would continue to amuse them through the coming years as they shared their lives together and the lives of their "defective" children.
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