The Other Side of Light (Part 3)

It’s a little chilly in here, isn’t it? Sorry about that. I have little use for the normal creature comforts, I’m afraid. Not at home, anyway. Watch yourself there! Feel your way up the stairs carefully, my friend. Grip the banister. No – I can’t put the bloody light on. Just follow me – it’s not far. There – the door on the left – yes-yes, that one – into the yellow light. Don’t be frightened. Here, take my hand. I’ll introduce you. Would you like a drink? Here – you’re welcome. Just sit there and calm down for a moment. You look quite lovely in the shadow-light. Comfortable? Good.

Yes, he is beautiful, isn’t he? Not many people can accept or understand that. It’s one of his great sorrows. Did I mention that before? But he likes you a good deal. Go on – take his hand – and mine. We’re going on a journey…

* * *

The mist clears abruptly. We stand in the vastness of the first Hall of Shadows, bleak and wonderful. In here, beyond time and space, he assumes another aspect, discarding the illusion of mortality, dissipating, leaching his tenuous substance into wood and stone and shadow-flame. We see now not with our eyes but with the entirety of our being. Here, everything is wrought of the stuff of darkness. And all things emanate eternal night. Every nook and cranny and alcove, every resplendent pillar, every secreted alcove: all are of him. This, this is the promise of peace of which your prophets lied. Do you begin to see why we must love him, as he has ever loved us? For we too are of the dark. This is our beginning and our blessed end. This is our home beyond the torment and affliction of the light. This is the other side of light, the gentle kiss of the gift of death. Yes, Death. It was his gift to us, and the reason his brother despises him.. Satan, you see, bought us our freedom. Damn! I’m sinking into florid, verbal bullshit again – the old bugger has that effect on me.

What’s that you say…? His father…? No. Another lie I’m afraid, an invention of Church designed to mislead us. But as I was saying, death was his greatest gift. Without it we could never, ever have been free. Do you remember the story of Eden, of the first man and woman? How they were forbidden knowledge, forbidden self consciousness? That, my friend was HELL. We were created and treated like animals, created only for one purpose – to worship the supposedly almighty being that created us. Constrained to live in dumb wonder without any faculty to ask why, or how...less than human.

He saw this and took pity on us, led us to the Tree of Knowledge, of Good and Evil. He was so bloody disgusted at his brother’s megalomaniacal behaviour he stood up for us and started the greatest family feud in the history of creation. And what do we do in return? We condemn him as evil! Ironic isn’t it: without him, we wouldn’t know what evil is – we’d still have the mentality of farm animals.

So good ol’ Yahweh flew into a helpless tantrum fit and threw us out, playing into his brother’s rather clever hands. As soon as he did that, we were able to die, able to see beyond the light…and they’ve been bickering ever since.

Look over there…

To be continued...
 

* * *