The Now ~ A Short Story

Prologue
There goes a man walking around. He notices the empty streets all around him and the land is barren. He stops and stares into oblivion that once was paradise. This fulfilled memory has escaped his mind and continues to lose its poignant imagery. What was this civilization he called Earth?

I.
The man was walking through the meadows of his own backyard on a Thursday morning before the sun had come up. He began to see as the sun peaked over the snowcapped mountains and a warm smile graced his face. He was an early bird and had seen the sun shine rise, time and time again. However, through these endless moments in time, the smallest things gave way to happiness.

As he wandered aimlessly until reaching the gates of the ranch, he sat down upon the field of grass. The man lay there, realizing this could be the last time he could feel something so intrinsically real. Coming to terms with life and death and everything in between can bring a man into insanity. The truth is, ignorance is bliss. Until you see the wave of good and evil, you will not know the difference. In essence, you will go on blindly living and breathing in lies, frustration, guilt and desire. These desires will too make a man go to the brink. Thus, here we are, at the brink of civilization, of ourselves and of our ego. It has led the man to press upon his hairs with the hairs of the ground. He understood it, to be one again, and to be really with what is going on in our world.

This understanding made the man laugh, as it always did. That only he could bring himself up and take himself low. He controlled the universe, yet he didn’t. It was this back and forth interplay, yin and yang if you will. We all do it, turning and going in circles until we see our desires face to face. Look them dead in the eyes and reach back in the depths of our unconscious. Deep inside the rabbit hole, you’ll find Alice and she’ll be waiting for you there. So will rabbit time, because time is always progressing forward.

Tick tock.

II.
As he woke up from his sleep, his father and mother appeared to him in a dream. Indeed, the idea of sleep is now referred to un-enlightenment. Waking up and realizing we are living in life’s dream only to be taken to that eternal place. No one knows what to call it, in fact referring to the eternal place will only cause war and fierce competition of unparalleled comprehension. This eternal place, will leave all in its footsteps of the living genetic memories and within its state of being lies no more tears, no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things will have passed away. All inclusive and all loving will our eternal slumber take place. Needless to say, the man had woken from his sleep to realize his father and mother had appeared to him in a dream.

Deju Vu?

The love and energy was immense and was immediately felt by the deeply intertwined connection between the parents and the now man. He suddenly realized he had a name… This name was something that eluded him throughout his life. He had been referred to it, yet it wasn’t real. So, for now we refer to him as “the man”.

III.
Awaking to this newborn reality, the man saw himself naked upon the early morning dew of the grass. His eyes witnessed these immense rainbows all around him and capturing the essence of life. Soon he would grow accustomed to these colors and adjust accordingly. Standing tall, he strolled along the fence of memories and stayed near to his past. For his past was something that was known and in which could bring him comfort. These known lessons received through channels of perception given off by other human beings were called “truths”. Now that he had bitten the apple and tasted its sweet venom, of course the desire for more would lead the man off the beaten path. This new walk of strange truth and reality, distorted what was real. In fact, definition of real was ever more twisted and turned upside down to be only seen through the mirror room. In which he walked through and found 5 perfectly shaped mirrors encapsulating the man.

Unaware of these senses, he attached his inner being within these constructs of truth. Yet, one cannot be aware of everything. If that were so, reality would become so rigid and so cliché we could essentially live with no meaning. Void of meaning, men must create subsistence in order to continue on living. He found other’s trapped in this place desiring things they didn’t even know. Searching and finding only empty ladders that could not lead them over the infinite height of the mirrors. Frustration and pride built up within the other men and carried along lust and want towards the other women. These strong barricades became known and proved so strong that the very foundations of reality were built upon them. The man knew he had no part to play in this story; he had no role in this game.

Arriving to the point, the man was able to break through the other side and see clearly again. Looking beyond the great beyond and knowing that one’s perception can deceive oneself. This growing fungus was then ceased to exist evermore within the man. The man then on the other side, looked back to see where he had come from. The jungle, they called it, a place where competition and purpose seek to become the masters of the people. The man could not serve, for he had not found true meaning yet in this life.

IV.
Then, when all else seemed to be void of life and signs of the sun coming down reached into the heart of the man. He witnessed as the dust cleared from the outer parts of the jungle and had seen another oasis. The gates read with a sign “the ranch” and so he entered. A place of refuge, an instantaneous reactionary mode of feeling and emotion overcame the man. It was a feeling that overran the sensations of the mind and took over the physical presence of the atmosphere. Time had stopped, and the man’s two eyes gazed straight into the radiance of another two eyes. It was as if he encountered another world and had been born again. This is what the man called it. “Love”.
More than any feeling or drive or desire, he knew this had to be real. She had to be real and that this immense joy took over even his speech. Through such a connection, one does not need language. In fact, in hinders the reality of the here and now. In that, love conquers everything in its path, leaving even the man in solemn peace and tranquility. This all loving feeling overcame him and his ways of living. He now knew that he could get in touch with the truth. That he had found the treasure and the kingdom of God. It was within him, the whole time. The man had seen it through the woman and now he understood once again that he was the way, the truth and the life. That he lived through his own perception, not in a self-righteous way but in the way of love, connection and compassion.

They walked hand in hand that night they fell in love. Lying underneath the cherry tree and soon they would dream of the world how it could be. They both dreamed the waking life of contentment and charity. Imagining that it all was just enough, that one day he wouldn’t need this life to live anymore. That indeed, he is eternal and so is she. As long as the love carried them to the water well, they could drink from the spring of everlasting life.

V.
They both woke to find on the other side of the fence, the world, the earth was barren. Left in destruction for they were the only witnesses. However, sadness did not creep into the minds and hearts of the lovers. They both knew full well that their desires could lead to pain, suffering and indeed sadness. The man, told the woman to lay by the cherry tree to rest underneath the shade as the man began to take a look at the damage done. He saw what men’s desires had done to the land. Unknowingly causing their own destruction, the fear seemed to had slipped deep within the confines of the people. The apple’s venom proved to be too strong and cut deep into civilization. The wide gate and tall barriers that once stood had crumbled beneath the man’s feet. Yet, the man did not stumble nor did he even bat his eye when gazing off into the deserted land.

The lovers knew that so too their time would come; where they would slip into each other’s arms once again and nevermore. Still, they smiled until the very end knowing that their space would continue to fill the room. And that in this room we call the universe would one day fill the words flowing out and caressing the outer parts of another lover. Across, touching them deeply until the truth had revealed itself and what was once was lost, now was found. The man walked back to the cherry tree only to be greeted by the aura of love and she laid there patiently as love does. Only this time, they both smiled and understood one another. This of course, both made them laugh until the sun finally set.