7 May 2012
She ran breathless through the wheat fields, cornflour hair billowing violently despite the windless blue sky. The monkey perched on her shoulder, held on tight for dear life. Its' little fists tugging at her collar. The man chasing after her drew worryingly close. She didn't dare look back, but could feel his dark presence, following not far behind. Desperately, she held on to her little monkey, eager to protect it from this man. Who was he? And what did he want? She didn't care, nor did she want to stop and find out.
The little monkey peered over its' protector's shoulder, its' brown eyes grew wide with fear at what it saw. Somehow, even though it was small and seemingly insignificant, it knew things a human would never understand. It could feel the deep and rapid rasping of her breath as her chest rose and fell heavily from its' face.
"You will have to find your own way now." She shouted at it through the roar of the wind in its' ears. He turned to look up at her sweet young face, deep blue eyes looked back at him lovingly. Even though their farewell was short, brief and bittersweet, she suddenly realised that a soul resided deep within that small frame she thought of as 'ape' or 'it'. Suddenly he found himself flying through the air, weightless and suspended, lost from the illusion of time.
"Climb little one! Climb!" How had he landed? He recognised his little fingers, grasping instinctively at the branches of a tree. Without looking back at his saviour, just the memory of her terrified blue eyes for company, he clambered higher and higher still. How tall is this tree? His thoughts were insignificant and disjointed as he focused only on escape and the climbing of this impossibly tall tree.
At last he reached the top and peered down. The world looked disjointed and terribly far away. And there she was, the girl with the golden hair. His saviour. Fallen in the wheatfields. His little heart hammered in fear, like the beating of a small tabla drum, filling his head with its erratic beat. Standing over the innocent was the man, his peircing black eyes were incredibly clear and distinct, despite their distance. The monkey knew he ought to feel safe, yet there was something about that man, in his double breasted black coat with its crimson coloured buttons.
The monkey looked about him in desperation, he wanted to hide. Behind him stood an unexpected sight. A large house, a human would describe as a mansion, but the monkey did not know this. To his little mind, it represented refuge, respite and safety. He clambered towards an open window, the branch of the tree meeting the windowsill like a little bridge. As though it had been this way for years, just waiting for him to arrive.
He found himself in a sparse and simple room with dark wooden floors and a small unused fireplace. Behind the table, on a rickety old chair, sat the most remarkable human being the monkey had ever set eyes on. His heart stopped mid beat and he froze in fear on the other side of the table.
"Do not be afraid little one." The man spoke, his voice filled with love and peace. He was shirtless, in brown corderoy trousers, with bare feet. Sitting in complete stillness. Yet the monkey sensed he was like no other. His skin shone so bright, it filled the room with his presence, his only distinct feature was his short bedraggled hair.
"Are you God?" The monkey spoke for the first time, surprised to hear his own voice. Even though he couldn't see it with his own eyes, such was the brightness of this stranger, he sensed his smile.
"I am whomever you wish me to be." was his simple reply. The monkey crept closer, growing more curious with each step.
"Who was that man chasing me? And why did she have to die?" His little heart ached with the pain of loss and fear.
"Your task is simple, my little friend," the stranger's skin grew brighter, "You have to protect the rest of them from him. Don't get lost in the 'whom' and 'why'."
Hearing this, the monkey grew impatient, "What can I do? I'm just a monkey."
The stranger's light grew even brighter, almost blinding the poor little ape's eyes. "You are what you need to be. See with your own eyes."
Hearing this, he looked down at himself, only to realise he was now a man. Naked and unashamed. Awed by this sudden transition, he looked up at the stranger.
"Are you God?" he asked again, but this time the stranger didn't answer him. Instead, he stood from his chair and made his way to the window.
"See him now for his true form." The monkey, still confused by his new human body, gazed out of the window and witnessed a most astounding scene.
In the wheat fields below stood the stranger with the deep black eyes. His body shrouded in shadow, hundreds of 'others' like him standing at his side. Their darkness was so great, that even in his human body, the monkey was afraid.
"They are lost, and need someone to lead the way." Standing this close to him, the monkey could now make out his chocolate brown eyes. A deep kindness and love emanated from him, so overwhelming was this feeling that he grew even more afraid.
"Please don't leave me, not now that I need you more than ever." His voice trembled with anxiety at the prospect of facing it all alone. Yet the stranger remained unmoved. He turned and walked towards the door, opening it he turned back to the little monkey and smiled once more. "Always think of me and your fear, your pain, your suffering. It will all disappear. For I am love, and with love you shall return to me."
With those final words, the stranger left the room. The monkey, now human, looked about the empty room. A feeling of deep longing in his heart.
How can he, an ordinary human, remind the world of 'love'?
From Maya To Satori • Opuss № I