In late spring, Paula the bookstore owner gave birth to a son. Aulden was there, and while she was still in labor he asked, tactlessly, "Where is the father?" She was breathing in an extremely focused manner, and said forcefully, "You're the father!"

This took Aulden by surprise, and he asked, "I'm… How can that be? We never…" and after stopping to think for a moment, he asked again, "How can that be?"

In spite of being otherwise engaged, Paula explained, "When you started paying attention to who you are - that's my place in your life: to show you who you are. I'm archetypal! When you do an archetype's function… that's what got me like this." Aulden didn't say another word about that, other than, "Oh."

The baby arrived with something unusual: He was born with a holly wreath on his head. After Paula removed the wreath his hair stood up in a circle as if he was wearing a crown.

Paula spoke to the baby, asking him, "What will you conquer, my son?" Even though he was less than a minute old, he answered, "I will conquer fear."

Aulden asked Paula, "What will we name him?" She didn't have an answer. Aulden had taken his eyes off of the baby for a moment and when he looked at him again the baby now looked two years old. Aulden blinked and the boy looked three. This was such a surprise to Aulden he excused himself, saying, "I'm going to tell Clarence." Janice's apartment was in the back of her bookstore, and Clarence's novelty-shop was only a few steps away.

When Aulden entered Clarence's shop, he was surprised to see the film star Ed Wynn purchasing items from Clarence. Aulden stood and watched, wishing to introduce himself and yet reluctant. After the actor left, Aulden stepped up to Clarence, the 18-inch tall clown whose function is to give Aulden "permission to be," and Aulden said, "I didn't know you knew Ed Wynn."

Clarence answered, "Oh yeah."

Aulden asked, "Does Ed Wynn have trouble accepting permission to be?"

Clarence said, "Everyone does at least a little."

Aulden thought about Clarence's function and said, "How hard can it be for you to give permission to be?" Clarence asked, "How hard can it be for you to accept permission to be?"

Then they talked about Paula's baby. Aulden said, "I think the Hindu elephant deity Ganesha grew up really fast like that, or maybe he was born grown up. We should name him Ganesha."

Paula yelled from her apartment, "We're not naming him Ganesha!"

Aulden said, "Shiva had another son, Skandi, and he didn't look like an elephant. What do you think of Skandi?" Paula shouted back, "I don't know." Aulden was actually mistaken, because Shiva's other son was named "Skanda," not "Skandi." From that moment, however, Skandi stuck, and that was his name.

The boy came running into Clarence's shop, now appearing to be nine years old, and suddenly ten, eleven, twelve years old, and then he was a young man.

Aulden asked him, "Do you know what your purpose in life is?"

Skandi answered, "I know my reason to be."

Clarence the Clown brought a chess set to Skandi. Aulden was interested in this idea so he helped set up the board. Clarence and Aulden tried to explain the game of chess, but Skandi said, "Stop! I have this book in me. I can play it."

Aulden pulled his cell phone out and called Janice at the bar, "Janice… Paula just had her baby…" He said to Skandi, "She wants to know if you're a boy or a girl…" and to Janice he said, "Well, actually, it's a man… Yes, a man. The reason I'm calling… is Anxiety Joe in the bar tonight?… Can you send him to the Novelty Store?… Tell him to bring his chess set."

Paula entered the room and put her arm around Skandi, saying, "They grow up so fast."

When Anxiety Joe arrived, he placed his paisley cloth over the table. Clarence asked, "What kind of chess board is that?" Aulden explained, "This is the way Anxiety Joe plays chess. He wants everything predictable but he uses a paisley cloth. Isn't that absurd?"

Aulden, Paula and Clarence sat to watch as Skandi and Anxiety Joe began the game. Skandi took off his shoes and said to Anxiety Joe, "I'm going to attack your castle."

Anxiety Joe responded, "You can't do that. You can't reach it yet." Pointing to the paisley cloth, Skandi said, "I don't mean here," and then pointing to Anxiety Joe's forehead, he said, "I mean here."

The game went on silently for quite some time before Skandi looked up at Anxiety Joe and spoke again, saying, "By loving you I conquer you."

Aulden spoke up then, and said, "I know I shouldn't interrupt the match, Anxiety Joe, but tell Skandi what you want in my life."

Anxiety Joe, without raising his eyes from the game, said, "Predictability."

Skandi laughed, and replied, "That's something! Let's play chess."

Skandi sacrificed a knight to take Anxiety Joe's rook with his queen. Anxiety Joe protested that the queen wasn't in position to take the rook. Skandi pointed out that the paisley board made this arbitrary and added, "The queen can do anything." Anxiety Joe then moved his knight into a defensive position.

After that round of moves, Skandi opened a conversation with Anxiety Joe, asking, "What did you say you wanted?" Anxiety Joe answered, "Predictability."

"Have you found anything predictable?" Skandi asked him. Anxiety Joe answered, sadly, "No."

Skandi inquired, "What do you really want?" and Anxiety Joe said, "I want my stomach to stop hurting."

Then Skandi gathered the chess set into the paisley cloth, saying, "Let's put these chess pieces away," and he said to Aulden, "When you feel this in your stomach you will know you haven't attained complete purposelessness. You haven't reached full understanding of non-action. When you feel this in your stomach you will know you have expectations, as opposed to no expectations. Recognize that you have such a gauge as Anxiety Joe. Love him for his keen insight. Love him for seeing you fully."

They were all silent for a time, and then Paula stood, holding a bottle of wine and a tray with five glasses, and she said, "Let's celebrate!" They all stood, and Aulden shook Anxiety Joe's hand, saying to him, "My dear old friend!" Aulden also shook Skandi's hand, and said, "My son! You are so wise!"

Skandi answered, "Knowledge of yourself brought me."

That's the story of the first birthday of Skandi, who continued to have an important part in Aulden's life and a place in the stories that Aulden recorded.