The Fire, Heart, And Passion Of A Smurf

It was during Empath's first visit to the Smurf Village, sometime after his encounter with Hefty Smurf that Grouchy defended him from when Hefty was beating up on Empath, that he encountered the Smurf whom had introduced himself as Duncan McSmurf. "So how goes my brother Smurf after you have smurfed up against Hefty of all Smurfs?" Duncan asked.

"This smurf isn't without injuries, but otherwise this smurf is functioning normally, fellow Duncan," Empath responded.

"I wasn't asking how you were functioning, Empath," Duncan said. "I was asking how you were feeling. Surely smurfing up against Hefty and getting the smurfing of your life from him must make you feel something."

Empath thought about that for a moment. "If this smurf were to describe anything as a feeling, Duncan, it would be...hurt. And it's not just from the physical injuries this smurf has sustained from him. It's also from the behavior he constantly exhibits to his fellow Smurfs, as if he wishes to have the preeminence among them simply because he is the oldest among them and also the strongest among them."

"I know that feeling, Empath," Duncan said. "It makes me very angry that Hefty would smurf his strength like that, to bully around Smurfs who are weaker than him. Not many Smurfs around here are able to smurf up to him like you did, even for Grouchy who would never accept me as a friend no matter how many times I would try to smurf out to him. That's why Hefty needs Smurfs like you and me to smurf him in his place, to make him see that this isn't what Smurfs are supposed to do with their strength."

"This smurf notices that Hefty likes to call you Gutsy a lot, which this smurf senses you dislike being called," Empath said. "May this smurf ask why such a name offends you?"

"Simply because it isn't my name, Empath," Duncan said. "Hefty knows what my true name is and chooses not to use it because he has no respect for anything except for Papa Smurf. It is a constant reminder to him that he can't cower a Smurf like me with his attitude, that just because he's the oldest Smurf of our generation doesn't mean he can get away with being such a smurf to those younger than him. I'm just as strong as he is, and though I have smurfed him everything he knows about fighting, he still can't smurf the better of me when it comes to fighting. And for such I get the odious reward of being called Gutsy."

"This smurf senses that Hefty will not like either of us now, Duncan," Empath said. "It only makes this smurf wish that his visit to the Smurf Village would be for more than a year."

"You know, Empath, that you remind me of a Smurf who was in our village years ago that I remembered smurfing when I was a wee one in diapers," Duncan said. "He also had a smurfmark on his forehead like yours, and he smurfed such incredible strength that amazed the smurf out of Hefty and myself. As a matter of fact, I have a feeling that you may be that very same Smurf. But something about you is just very different from the Smurf that I remember from years ago, and also very wrong."

"This smurf is curious to wonder what you would find so 'different' and 'wrong' about this smurf compared to the Smurf you remembered seeing in your infant years, Duncan," Empath said.

"The way you carry yourself around here is just very wrong, Empath," Duncan said. "You may look like a Smurf, but you sound and act as if the very heart of a Smurf has been cut out of you, and all I'm seeing is just a shadow of a Smurf that I once knew."

"This smurf was raised as a Psyche, Duncan," Empath said. "It is natural for this smurf to behave like this smurf's fellow Psyches in Psychelia, for that is how the Psyche Master expects Psyches to conduct themselves."

"Ah, that explains it," Duncan said. "This Psyche Master of yours has jangled up your mind and made you believe that you're a Psyche. It makes me grieve for you, my brother, and for the Smurf that I once knew years ago that I may never smurf him again. He would surely weep for the Smurf who now smurfs in his place, bearing his face but lacking the fire, heart, and passion of a true Smurf."

"This smurf wishes there is some way to help you overcome this loss with the Smurf from your early years who is no longer with you, Duncan," Empath said.

"No, my brother, he isn't lost," Duncan said. "As long as you live, he still lives as part of you. Deep down inside of you is the true heart and spirit of a Smurf, and by the name and clan McSmurf, I'm going to help you become the Smurf you're supposed to be."

"But what if the Psyche Master doesn't want this smurf to become a true Smurf, Duncan?" Empath asked.

"You can't deny who and what you truly are, Empath," Duncan said. "If the heart and spirit of a Smurf rests in you, you will smurf everything you can to be what you are, regardless of what the Psyche Master wants to smurf with you. You will know for yourself that you truly don't belong among those Psyches that you call your brothers."

"This sounds like the whole journey to become a Smurf is really a battle," Empath said.

"It's your battle, Empath, and you can choose to smurf part in it or not smurf part in it," Duncan said. "I'm only hoping you would smurf the right decision for yourself, because this is your life that you're living in the form of a Smurf that I once knew. He would not want to see your life be smurfed in vain if he was still here."

"That is something worth this smurf's consideration, Duncan," Empath said. "If it means that much to honor the life of a Smurf you once knew that resembled this smurf, then this smurf will honor his memory to the best of this smurf's ability."

Duncan smiled. "I will be waiting for the day when I will welcome my friend home, my brother."