Two 'o'clock in the afternoon.
Lucy was sitting on her mom's armchair. She had just returned from the school she worked in. She worked as a librarian in the school library and was loved by all the students for her very nice behavior. But today something had happened to her. She had been feeling a sense of alienation since morning. Everything seemed strange and everyone a stranger in the school. She had been trying to get back to her usual mood, but as time passed, the sense of alienation gripped her even strongly until she no longer could sit in the library. She had to make an excuse of illness to get out of that place. The place she had been working for the past two years, St. Mary Convent School. She straight away then had taken a taxi to her home. Even while sitting in the taxi, seeing people passing by, the noise of the traffic, songs being played, people chatting had made her even more uncomfortable. It felt like she didn't belong to this world. It all had seemed so strange. Now it was becoming extremely uneasy for her to carry that feeling.
There was a great chaos going inside her head. She didn't want to look at the world. So, she had closed her eyes but she would open them again so as not to look weird to the driver. After 5 minutes of this opening and closing of eyes, she had heard the sound from the church. She had opened her eyes and as she passed beside the church, she had looked at it and was then reminded of the ultimate 'power' ruling this universe. The 'power' responsible for this creation. She had put her hand upon her heart and prayed to that power to either restore her to peace, or tell her what this chaos inside her was trying to tell her. She had been having such feelings of alienation for the past one week but today, it had gone beyond her control. Her heartbeats were beginning to increase, her legs had started to tremble, and her eyes had started watering. She wanted to reach home as soon as possible. Suddenly, she had started feeling dizzy, losing consciousness.
"We've arrived, Madam."
Lucy had woken up with a jerk. Perhaps she had fallen asleep. It was a 20-minute taxi drive from the school to her home. She had gotten off the taxi and quickly paid the driver. As she had moved towards the door, she saw that it was locked. Perhaps her mom had gone to the market, or to Mrs. Sally's (their neighbor) house. She had unlocked the door and rushed to her room. They had a nice home. It was all painted in white. Her mother had a taste of art. She would buy paintings depicting unique perspectives and hang them on the walls. As Lucy was passing the hall, rushing towards the stairs to her room, her gaze had stopped at a painting. It had a snake encircling a bright dot at the center with its tail in its mouth. It was the painting her mother bought last Sunday. While she was still feeling dizzy, her gaze was fixed on the painting. She had moved forward and had sat on the armchair facing the painting, still feeling the same alienation staring at the snake. The way it had encircled the bright yellow dot. She thought why this snake would eat itself? She was completely immersed in the painting. She was suddenly feeling somewhat better now.
The doorbell rang.
She stood up feeling better now, went to the door and opened it. There was this fair-complexioned, tall and handsome man with sharp features standing in front of her.
He was wearing black pants which seemed to be very old and torn out and a green shirt. He wore black shoes and had black hair. She had never seen this guy before in the town, and she didn't know any of her relatives who looked like him.
Before Lucy could say anything, the guy said, " You are Lucy Pearson, Right? ".
" Yes.... But who are you and how do you know me? Do I know you? ", said a confused Lucy.
" No, you don't know me. But I know you... You are the selected one. You have to come with me. "
"Where, and why should I come with you. First of all, tell me who you are and why are you here?" Lucy was now doubting that this stranger might be a thief.
" Questions later. You are being waited for! Come. "
He took her hand and started moving out.
" No, I won't. I don't know you. "
Lucy was now frightened, but she tried not to show it. She freed her hand and was about to shut the door when the man stopped her and touched her forehead with his palm. Lucy was losing her vision and consciousness. Everything seemed blurred, and suddenly there was darkness..........
"Ah".
Lucy could feel the cold breeze. She opened her eyes and saw the dark night sky full of stars. She found herself lying on grass. She immediately got up and looked around herself. There was nothing but grass everywhere. It was like a desert. You look around and find nothing but sand. Similarly, here, as far as she could see, there was nothing but land with a slight growth of grass on it. She looked around her and then again at the sky above. The grass was slightly wet. Lucy didn't know where she was. It was a strange place, but peaceful. Cool breeze was blowing, and the smell of fresh, damp soil made her feel cozy.
Sudden sound of footsteps behind her. The sound kept on increasing. Someone was approaching her. Lucy had goosebumps over all her body. The footsteps stopped and she could feel someone behind her, but didn't have the courage to look behind..
"So, there you are. "
Lucy had heard this voice before. She looked behind and it was that man in black trousers and green shirt.
"Come, you must be hungry. We have delicious supper for you.", said the man.
The guy turned and started walking. Lucy was feeling hungry, so without any questions - she followed him. They kept walking for a few minutes through the coldness of night. They came across what seemed like a hut. The guy entered it. Lucy followed, and, Ah, it was a big hall. It was absolute magic. Lucy was astonished, but her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of food so she didn't ask the guy anything. The hall was lit by white light, though she couldn't see any bulbs or lamps.
"Where is this light coming from? There aren't any bulbs." asked Lucy.
"You humans believe that bulbs produce light and that's why you need bulbs. But you know what, nothing is really needed to produce light."
"Do you mean light is coming out of nowhere?"
"Yeah."
"It's stupid. How could that be possible?"
''You'll know everything. Let's have dinner first."
Dinner was really yumptious. Lucy had finished while the guy was still dining.
Lucy said, "You don't seem a bad person. Why am I here? Is this a dream or what? This place seems magical. You didn't tell me about yourself.''
" I am Aldiko. As I said earlier, you'll know everything. We've to go."
"Where?"
"Come. I'll tell you everything along the way."
He moved out of the hall. Lucy followed him. She turned behind, and saw that what was a big hall room inside looked like a hut from outside.
"Come." She heard Aldiko's voice from behind. She saw a convertible standing in front of her. It was not there when she had entered the hall.
"Come, sit."
Aldiko sat on the driver's seat. When Lucy came near the car, she saw that it had no wheels, no steering, and no gears. She sat on the seat beside him.
"How would it work? It has no wheels, no steering, no gears, nothing, just seats and the windshield."
"Just watch." Said Aldiko with a glow in his eyes. Suddenly, the car took off the ground and was rising high. Lucy looked down. Ah, it was absolute magic. She
looked above at the stars and then down. When the car was at a sufficient height from the ground the car started moving by its own.
"Oh my goodness! It's incredible. How can it move on its own?"
"Who said it's moving on its own? I am driving it."
"WHAT? But it has no steering, no clutch, brakes, acceleration, gears, nothing, and you are just sitting."
"You think one needs all those things to drive a car. You really don't."
Lucy gave him a totally confused look.
"Okay, let's talk of work. Ouroborus is declining. It's destroying itself more than it's regenerating itself. Balance needs to be stored; otherwise, this world would come to a fateful end. Besides, you have to.."
"Wait, wait. What is Ouroborus, and what do you mean that balance needs to be stored or the world will end?"
"Oh. That's supposed to be the first thing I should be telling you. Ouroborus is the giant snake which is encircling the mountain of life with its tail in its mouth. It eats itself and then regenerates itself out of what it ate. It supports the mountain of life, and as long as it's balanced, life remains balanced. Also.."
Lucy was instantly reminded of the painting in the hall of her home, that of a snake eating itself.
"What do you mean by balance?", asked Lucy.
"Ouroborus denotes the cycle of birth and death. It represents destruction and regeneration, the ruling principle of life. But now it's eating more of itself than it's regenerating. If this keeps going on, it'll eat whole of itself up and the mountain of life will collapse. Only you can restore the balance."
"But I'm just a 22-year-old girl who works as a librarian. How can I restore the balance. First of all, tell me what is this mountain of life, and how Ouroborus, the
snake you are talking of, eating itself will lead to destruction?"
"Listen carefully. Humans are unknown to a strange but mystical truth. It is 'All is One', i.e., you, me, this car, this cold breeze, the space, the stars, the planets, the land, everything that exists is one. You humans have made a strong distinction between everything. You have different beliefs for different things, and that's why different things behave differently for you because you humans believe that different things should behave differently.
So, if 'All is One' then I am no different than this car, and if I and this car are same, then I can surely control it, and for that I don't need any steering and other things you were talking of.
It was the same way with the light in the hall.
That's how magicians perform their magic. They are aware of this great mystic law. You believe in something, and you get it. Humans are very ignorant of this law. But that's okay. We don't expect humans to be a master of this law.
We know that humans do good as well as bad. When something good is done, it adds to the River of Goodness, and whenever a sin is committed, it adds to the River of Sins. Both of these rivers originate from different places at the mountain of life, but on their way down, they mix with each other, and that fluid called 'Elixir of life' pours down on the Ouroborus encircling the mountain. This Elixir of Life is what helps the Ouroborus regenerate itself while it's destroying itself.
But now, River of Goodness has not enough taste left as humans are growing sinful and they seldom do good. So, the Elixir of life is no longer the same it used to be. Hence, Ouroborus is not regenerating much."
"Where are we going?" asked Lucy coming back from the trance she was in after listening for such a long time.
"Island of decisions."
"What does it all has to do with me, and this Island of Decisions, Ouroborus - all seems a stupid stuff. It's a stupid dream."
"Though I am enjoying it" Lucy thought.
"It's not a dream, Lucy. Mind you. We're talking of some serious stuff here. It might seem stupid to you, but once the Ouroborus starts destroying itself, life
starts destroying itself.
When the 'Power' was asked to show a solution, we were told that only a human energy can restore the balance, as it's humans who disturbed it. Everything is one ultimately - 'Energy', perhaps you know that. Then we started looking for the right energy to accomplish the task, and your energy was very dominant; so, I had to come to fetch you to the Island of decisions. You know if you had understood this great mystic law now, then we wouldn't have needed to come to this Island. You'll find the Mountain of life here."
Lucy looked down. She noticed that the car was flying above what seemed like an Island. She had no idea when did they jump from land to water. The car started coming down and landed in the middle of the Island.
"You'll have to go alone now."
The door of the car opened.
"Where'll I go? Oh, I want to go home, nowhere else." yelled Lucy.
"You'll reach home once the balance is restored. You'll find your way; just remember one thing Lucy - that all it takes to get or be able to do something is having belief in it. If you are stuck somewhere, just Believe that you can do it and everything will get sorted out."
"What are you talking about?" said an angry Lucy.
"I've to go now. Your journey starts from here. You're the only hope now, Lucy."
Aldiko got off the car. He could see that Lucy was not going to stand. He went to her side.
"I'm sorry."
He clutched her hand and got her off the car. Lucy couldn't utter a word out of anxiety. She stood still staring at Aldiko.
"Goodbye Lucy....and remember, believe"
Right then, Aldiko and the car disappeared. Lucy looked around herself. She found herself standing in the middle of a circle of trees. She was a little frightened.
Silence....
After a few minutes..... "Is she the one?"
She heard a voice.
"I think so. Legend says it has to be a human." said another voice.
"She's pretty. Do you think she believes?" said a third voice.
"I guess so, otherwise she wouldn't have been selected." said another.
Lucy could now make out that the voice was coming from somewhere around the trees, though she couldn't see anyone there.
"Who's there?'' said Lucy loudly with a shuttering voice.
"Can't you make out? We're everywhere."
And then, in no time, Lucy knew that it was the trees talking.
"You know why you're here?" said a voice from behind her.
"To Reesstore the balance., I guess." said Lucy.
"Good. Henceforth, every particle on this island will be your guide. We're the first ones." said one of the trees.
"What do I have to do?" asked Lucy.
"You already know what you've to do. Aldiko must have told you about the River of Goodness losing its taste." said one of the trees.
"So, I've to bring it back to its original taste." said Lucy.
"Absolutely." said a tree from the left.
"She's already getting it", said a tree from the right.
"Getting what? How'd I do that? I mean bringing back the river to its original taste."
"By adding more goodness or ultimately 'love' to it.,, a voice echoed in the sky.
Ah, it was the stars guiding Lucy.
"HOW? "asked an impatient Lucy.
Wind started blowing, and Lucy could feel its coldness.
"You know, you could do it right now, if you believed." - something whispered in her ear.
It was the wind talking to her.
"It's hard to believe such surreal stuff.", said Lucy.
"Oh, did you ever fly in a car? Did you experience talking to all of us before?
You've already experienced a lot of surreal stuff." said the trees in unison.
Lucy looked around herself. The trees, the night sky, the ground with fresh growth of grass over it. She closed her eyes and felt the cool breeze. She could listen to the trees' conversation.
"Do you think she would make it? It seems she doesn't believe."
"I still have some hope. She would believe. I can see it."
"I agree."
After almost 2 hours......
"I know what I have to do.
Lucy opened her eyes.
"Anything is possible here." and then she heard Aldiko's voice in her head.
"Believe Lucy. All is One."
"NOW....... I AM the River of Goodness...". Lucy again closed her eyes, this time with full belief.
"I am The goodness in the river."
She started feeling transformed. She heard the noise of the river coming down the mountain. Her feeling of having a well-defined human body began to vanish. She started to feel lighter, much lighter, and then she was flowing. She could feel herself rolling down freely from the mountain of life. She was then mixing with the River of Sins, and she could feel it. She was now the Elixir of life. She could feel herself pouring down on the ouroborus. She knew what she had to do next, i.e. to purify herself - being the Elixir of life, and she knew how to do that.
She thought of her mom, dad, and her brother who loved her so much. She thought of her 7th birthday when she had gone out with them and her elder brother on a picnic. She thought about all her happy memories in the past and felt love for them. She thought how amazing it was being given a chance to enjoy life on earth, and felt love for that too. She felt love for the night sky she always admired, for the school she worked in, and its staff and students.
She felt love for the food she ate to keep her energetic. She felt love for all the human beings. She kept enhancing that love inside her by felling immense love for everything she was grateful for.
She started flowing more vibrantly. She could feel the ouroborus, and when she poured herself overflowing with love over ouroborus, she could feel it gaining balance. She could feel the ouroborus gaining strength. She felt love for ouroborus also, for keeping life balanced maintaining the cycle of destruction and regeneration. Ouroborus thanked her silently for her gratefulness. She was flowing more and more vibrantly, and she could feel that her taste had gone much sweeter than before.
Ouroborus was balanced now while Lucy was greatly loving the feeling of flowing freely.
"I knew you'ld do it. I believed in you." She heard Aldiko's voice from somewhere inside her.
The doorbell rang........
Lucy opened her eyes. She found herself sitting in her mom's armchair facing the Ouroborus painting. It was 8:30 p.m. now.
The doorbell rang again...
She stood up from the chair, went to the door and thought of Aldiko.
"It must be him." she thought. She opened the door.
"Why're you wet, Lucy?'' It was her mom.
"I just had a shower with my clothes on...... ah..ah.. I just wanted to try something different." said Lucy, thinking it won't be a good idea to share with her mom what she had just gone through. Without saying anything, her mom entered the house. Seeing her reaction, Lucy thought her mom must have some other important issues in her mind.
l had to go hospital with Mrs. Sally as Maggi had gone badly ill. She had been vomiting since morning and was complaining of stomachache.", said her mom.
"You must be hungry. I've brought cheese pizzas for all of us. Your brother and father will arrive anytime. You should change your clothes. It's cold now. You'll catch a cold.,,
"Oh, Don't worry, Mamma. I believe...", said Lucy with light in her eyes. Her mother gave her a confused look.
"Oh, I mean... ah... I believe l'ld be fine after changing clothes."
(So that was Lucy's story of belief. But few of us realize that the same principles apply to all of us. Nothing is impossible only if we believed in ourselves. Most of us reject ourselves before anyone else can.
In Lucy's story, Lucy is the selected one. But in reality, we all are the selected ones to direct our lives. If we could stop blaming others for things we don't like and believed in ourselves as Lucy did, that, yes, we can change the circumstances as we like them and that if we could create them then we can also uncreate or recreate them, then we all would be living great lives with no doubt.
If we only believed that we all deserve the life of our dreams and that if we can dream it, we can definitely do it too.
Winner may not be the person with high intellectual abilities or the person having the resources to win.
After all, a winner is always that person who 'believed' 'HE CAN'.
Note written on Dec 24th, 2024:
I read it out aloud yesterday late evening, and as I resurfed through the content, I realized that it was but a prophetic prologue to my current situation.
As I sat in rest, Jesus completed the narrative by adding the truth of the work of His sacrifice into turning the River of Sins into the River of Goodness after cutting through the giant Ouroborus encircling the mountain of life, as the two light pinkish river streams met below making a heart shape above, and fell on a tiny person standing with outstretched arms who later grew into a larger and larger Glory dressed in a red and white suit, and holding a bouquet in front of his chest.
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