Introducing an adult character, the oxherd boy's grandfather, who I imagine has been a big influence in his life and contributes much to the boy's everyday wisdom.

The boy's grandfather and he together are bookends to the cycle of life and learning. The spiritual path is not a journey to somewhere new, but a mental return trip to where one is originally from, a recognition of where he has been all along. Ultimately, the grandfather settles on a simple truth at the end of his life, that to be with one another, to mean something to one another is the greatest honor life can afford.