by Antonio Napoli

There was an African city—but this is true in all cities of the world—where two men, both rather wise and longtime friends, often quarreled. Yet, no matter how heated their arguments became, they never reached the point of refusing to speak to each other. The reason for their disputes was always the same: a difference of opinion. So much so that, when they inevitably made peace, they would shake hands and say:
“Know that I never hold anything against you, only against your ideas.”

That was just how they were, and heaven forbid anyone try to separate them. Their final argument took place on the bank of a river.

This time, their disagreement centered on an existential question: who, in life, suffers more? The one who believes there is more good than evil in the hearts of others, or the one who, on the contrary, sees more evil than good?

They debated at length, with fervor. Then, as often happened, they parted ways.

The friend who could not swim decided to wade across the river. But as he reached the middle of the passage, the waves, stirred by some frightened hippos, overwhelmed him and swept him away. The other, already on the opposite shore, saw his companion caught in the current and on the verge of drowning. Without hesitation, he dived in. Unfortunately, both perished in the river’s swirling waters.

Shortly after, their hair and clothes still dripping, the two friends found themselves before the Judge, who loomed in the sky above the vast savanna.

The Judge turned the pages of a great Book and, with each falling leaf, read aloud the long list of their quarrels, shaking his head. Finally, he declared:
“So many outbursts! And all the more troubling, given your wisdom. Yet, I shall grant one of you a second chance to redeem himself. Down there is a rainbow bridge leading back to the savanna: only one of you may cross it. The moment the other sets foot on it, the bridge will collapse. Now, decide who will return to earth and who will remain here as an ancestor.”

The two friends conferred in hushed voices. Then, their whispering turned into yet another dispute.

“You go,” said one.
“No, you go,” the other replied.

As the debate dragged on and their tempers flared, the Judge interrupted them:
“You cannot continue arguing over this opportunity. It is time to decide.”

But they both shook their heads.
“We are inseparable,” they said. “Where one goes, the other follows. Where one cannot go, the other will not go either.”

The Judge regarded them with a glimmer of amusement in his eyes.
“Once again, friendship has saved you from the edge of the abyss,” he said. “Now, find a solution together. After all, you are wise!”

Then he lifted his gaze toward the boundless blue sky. When he looked back down, the two men were no longer there. They were already walking at the far end of the bridge, soon to be swallowed by the savanna.

How did they do it?

It is needless to say: on the rainbow bridge, one friend carried the other on his shoulders.

Such is friendship.