The Land At The Edge of Light

Human beings have always been fascinated by the heavens.  When the
mysteries of earth would tax their abilities of comprehension, they would
look to the skies for their answers.

Among the countless glories of the skies, a favorite of man was the
rainbow. When this colorful vision appeared after a powerful rain storm it
brought a sense of peace to the human spirit. Its mysterious connection
between the skies and earth as an accepted puzzle gave way to folklore for
explanation. And its appearance and reappearance in different locations
was always a cause of delight. 

However, there was one rainbow on earth that was stationary.  This fact
went unobserved by man due to its cloudy location. This particular rainbow
started on earth in the usual manner, as most rainbows tend to do, but
also went far into the heavens, ending at a special place, called The Land
At the Edge of Light.

This land was very different from earth.  The sky was a majestic purple in
the evenings when the golden sun set, and at dusk was a soft lavender.
The clouds ranged in color from soft pink to crimson in brilliance
depending on the season.  When the winds blew they could be seen like a
soft mist of color that sparked in shades of turquoise, green, pink and
silver.  The mountains were clear as glass with lakes of emerald green.
The soil was copper colored and the grass sapphire blue. The rains fell down in shades of pale green.

The inhabitants of the land were human by appearance, but their minds were
highly developed.  They were born knowing their histories and
capabilities.  They could read each others thoughts, but being such a
civilized race, they would always ask for permission first, and even on
the rare occasion when permission was denied, it was accepted with grace.

When travel was necessary, they would visualize their destination and
project themselves there, along with the people they wised to see, with
their agreement of course!

The animals and the people also had a unique bond.  When an elderly person
wanted to travel and didn't have the mental energy to do so on their own,
gentle winged creatures would assist them.  If a body of water had to be
crossed, a flying fish like creature called a fish fly would rise from the
water with a saddle and harness, delighted for the opportunity to help. And to be honest
it could get somewhat borinig under the waters, so they were always up for a new
adventure. If someone was in the highlands, and needed assistance a winged creature
would provide their services. These winged creatures were called Elams,
resembling a cross between a lion and an eagle.

Every so often the curious would peer down the rainbow at earth.  They
realized the inhabitants of earth were rather primitive, but found them
fascinating.  Even the earth itself was a marvel, especially in contrast to
their world.

There was one man, however, who was so obsessed with the earth, that most
considered him mad. Eventually worry, prompted them to bring their
concerns to the king, who summoned the man. When the king realized the man
had an earnest desire for exploration, he granted him permission to visit
earth. He was gently advised never to offend the people down below, as he
would be a representative of sorts, and to keep his thoughts peaceful and
respectful.  The man was delighted and agreed. The next morning he set off
towards the rainbow with a sack.

 

Chapter 2


Down the rainbow this traveler thought himself as his feet gently felt
earth for the first time.  He sent out thoughts to intruduce himself, but
did not feel any responses in his mind.  So he went for a stroll.  He
found himself fasinated by the sights of earth from this angle.  The
colors and textures of this world  dazzled and amazed him.  Imagine green grass!
Blue Skies! Dark brown earth! Blue waters!  He didn't imagine anyone at
home would believe his descriptions.

He walked for a few miles over green fields, with invisible breezes, that
initially made him nervous. He was accustomed to seeing a breeze as it
approached.  But it was delightful to have the breeze tease his hair and
person, buy gentle ambush. Eventually he came to a field of soft muted
colors and shapes. Beautiful sweet smells entered his nose, without asking
permission, and he was so delighted by the pleasure it gave him, he
inhaled deeply.

Before he realized it, he was totally surrounded by soft colors all around
his feet. He could not move in any direction without stepping on one of
these beautiful objects. Their texture was as soft as their appearance. It
reminded him of a baby's skin.  Thinking how much the people of his land
would love these treasures, he plucked them from the earth.After a long
time his sack was full of them, and he thought himself back up the
rainbow.

 
Chapter 3

The people of the land, were all awaiting his return.  When he appeared
there was a collective sigh of contentment, to see his safe arrival.  The
king was there wearing a broad smile.  When he asked the traveler what was
in the sack, the crowd waited silently.  When he removed a flower and
showed them all, they stared in awe.  They had never seen such beauty!!!
And as he showed them the many varieties he had collected they became
enthralled.

He spread them out on the ground for inspection.  Everyone that was near
enough picked one up and inhaled their scent.  Smiles appeared all around.
 A breeze was seen approaching in the distance as the shimmering sway of
colors neared the crowd.

As the king was inhaling a beautiful red flower with daggers in its stem, he
had a thought, and inquired of the traveler, if he had asked the objects
if they wanted to leave earth.  The man was astounded and ashamed.  He had
not given a moments thoughts to actually inviting the flowers! He had
rudely ripped them from the earth, and thrust them into a dark sack!  He
was no more than a kidnapper, and dropped his head in shame.

The king who was so taken by the objects, and wanted the man to feel
responsibility for the siutation, but not shame, told the man to ask the
flowers how they felt about their present circumstances.  The man knelt to
the ground, and sent his thoughts to the flowers.  There was no response.
He looked towards the king for help.  The king went to the flowers and
asked them then repeated his question vocally in case the flowers could not
hear thoughts.

Much  to his suprise as the breeze got closer and touched the mound of
flowers, they rose vertically, and seemed to be studying the crowd. There
was all types of twittering, chirping sounds coming from them.  The people
looked at them expectantly.  When the buzz of sounds died down, one flower
moved closer to the king.  The king leaned down and repeated his question.

This flower threw its petals back, crossed its leaves, and jumped into the
kings face! It said in a voice and language for all to understand that it
was tired of human beings keeping them in bondage! For generations they
were planted in gardens, and had their souls harvested, to plant in places
of their chosing.  The flowers were never free!  And they were at the
mercy of their owners dedication, as far as water and nourishment went.
They sometimes actually starved to death, and then their husks would dry
out and their souls blow in the wind.  When asked for an explanation of
their souls, the flower pointed to tiny round shaped dots in its center.
The humans call these seeds, but we call them our souls.  And each one is
unique, keeping us connected.  But they will harvest them, and loose them
or keep them out of sight, while they mourn for rebirth.  It is barbaric
the way we are treated.  And we have had enough!!!

The king thought on this.  He had no slaves.  His kingdom was gentle. He
wanted no trouble or to impose such barbaric treatments on these beautiful
objects.  So he told the flowers, that they were free to stay, or go back
to earth.  They did not have to stay in any gardens, unless it was their
choice. He mentioned this because he could see how the concept of gardens
intrigued the people as their faces lit up.

The flowers conferred with one another.  There were sounds similar to
bells, blended with gentle hums, and twitters.  Finally their leader
reapproached the king. He told him, that they would be happy to stay.
Their lot on earth was so taxing.  But they wanted certain conditions.
They would be free to roam this earth, because here they did not seem to
need roots for survival.  They were  free here as their seed souls had
been down below.  And they wanted  to explore.  The king agreed.

The flowers gave a wave to the crowd that sent a sweet smell to all.  Then
in mass they started to move across the copper land and saphire grass.
The people ran after them, begging them to stay.  Promising to build them
beautiful gardens where they could be appreciated.Swearing oaths of
total devotion and respect to any flowers that accepted.  But the flowers moved
on, realizing how similar and limited these beings were to humans.  They
did not need care takers here.  The brilliant colorful breezes seemed to
give them an animated existance, which they intended to take full
advantage of.

So, with hardly a backward glance, the flowers started their journey. From
that day on, herds of brilliant colors could be seen crossing the land in waves.
From the shore line to the mountains, their brilliance would make all stop
and stare.  The people still tried to reason with them, and cajole them
into staying, but it was the rare flower that could be persueded. However,
the flower that did stay, was treated royally, and given the highest
respect, because the gardener knew, one false move and it would leave!!!

The flowers were in control of their destinys, and the sweet smell of
their happiness traveled on the breeze.


Chapter 4

The life of the traveler went through many changes after his trip to earth. He had earned a place of respect for his efforts, and had to endure many visitors to his home.  Initially this delighted him, and he told and retold his story.  His country men never tired of his descriptions of the earth. Eventually he tired of telling the tale over and over, and not being the sort not given to embellishment or exageration, found himself hiding quietly in his backroom when he heard a knock at the door.

He felt there was so much more to see down below.  His exploration had not taken him far, as he had been captivated by the flowers and their amazing scent.  And that had cut his journey short, yet  he felt the call of the rainbow in his heart.

Eventually he went to the king and asked for permission to travel again. The king saw no problem with this at all.  He knew that the traveler had learned his lesson as far as capturing the flowers went, and would be more mannerly in his next encounter. Besides the fact that a few flowers had taken a fancy to the royal grounds, and would circle the castle for exercise, leaving their beautiful scent and colors as they went.

They were both eager for more.

Chapter 5

Preparing for his trip, this time the man took one sack, and filled it with several smaller ones.  There was a crowd gathered at the rainbow to wish him safe journey. No one showed any interest in joining him,as they were all content in their lives.  They  wished him well and abundant safely, as he thought himself down the rainbow.

As his feet touched earth, he once again sent out thoughts of introduction, but felt none in return.  He walked east, though the fields of flowers, with a slight shudder.  Their beauty and scent almost drew him in again.  These rooted flowers were so docile! Nothing like the arrogant,concieted, wild group, that now roamed his land! What had he done? Well, no matter now, whats done is done he thought to himself, and hurried through the fields.

He walked alone on a dirt road for quite some time, before he saw the town up ahead.  It looked very similiar to the villages in his land, and it gave him a feeling of contentment.  Sending out thoughts of introduction once again, he felt none in return, but did pick up on amazing sounds coming from the village.  He hurried forward in excitement, entered the town and to his delight saw  crowds of humans milling about in excitement and happiness.  Jumping, clapping their hands, and twirling each other about. He stood and watched for some time before attempting to introduce himself again, but they were too involved in their activities to noice him. He simply moved through the crowd. 

He walked towards a platform where several men were making sounds that the humans seemed to be moving with.  They were holding variously carved curiosities that emitted the most joyful sounds he had ever heard.  This earth and it's humans were marvels. He sent thoughts of intruduction to a  female on the platform who was vocalizing along to the sounds, but she did not reply.  The humans moved with such joy and passion, that he felt a smile rise from his heart.  This was delightful!

When the sounds stopped, he went to the platform and vocally introduced himself to the female, asking her to explain all the activity.  She told him that they were a troupe of traveling musicians who came to help celebrate the harvest.  As they were speaking he noticed that she had a garland of flowers around her neck, and he stopped at the sight of the ornamental corpses.  Then to his horror she took it off herself and presented it to him by placing it around his neck!!!  Oh the torment and guilt these beautiful creatures gave him, no matter where he went!!! The female seemed to be waiting for some acknowledgement or thanks from the traveler, so he blowed to her and smiled stiffly.  This seemed to be the appropriate response because she smiled  back, turned towards her companians as the sounds stared again.


He found himself lost in the beauty of the moment, when suddenly he was grabbed by another female to join in the activities.  Copying the movements of the males in the crowd, he joined in their movement. Much to his suprise he found it so easy, and it gave him such pleasure.  Dancing! They called it dancing! And the sounds, those beautiful sounds that entered his ears, that was called music!  Oh how he would love to take this back to his home.  The king, the people, even the flowers would be delighted. He danced till his breath was short and he was covered in sweat, but an invisible breeze came along and cooled him as he continued.

The woman on the platform smiled at him from time to time, and eventually stopped her vocalizing, which he learned was called singing and joined him in a dance. He remembered his manners and thanked her for being his dance partner, and asked if he might have some music.  She smiled and said of course, going back to the platform to join her  troupe.

The traveler opened his sack when they launched into a new tune, and for a split second the music stopped, and he felt his sack grow heavy.  When he realized he had collected the sounds in his sack, each time they started a new melody, he opened his sack to collect more.  Eventually it was filled, along with the others he had brought along.  The sun was setting and people were going off in different directions.

He said goodbye to the woman, thanked her profusely, and sent off towards the village outskirts.  As he walked along, he noticed hundreds of flowers in the streets.  Knowing their potential in his world, and they're doomed fate here on earth, he knew he had to rescure them. He gently picked the wounded  up and added them to his bounty.  Perhaps he could revive them, anything would be better than knowing that their souls might be harvested by neglectful gardeners!

When he reached to the rainbow's base, he thought himself up, and walked towards the castle to present his new findings to the king.

Chapter 6

Secrets and privacy were not the norm in this land.  Before long many had joined him walking to the castle.  There were such thoughts of excitement and expectation woven through the crowd.  The king walked out to meet them, for his curiosity would not wait for a formal presentation.

The traveler told the king and the crowd what he had experienced on earth.  They had trouble initially visualizing it, but when the traveler gave permission for them to enter this thoughts to see it first hand, they were overwhelmed.  This was impressive indeed! And they all felt alarm at the plight of the flowers and assured him that he did do the right thing. Although some had ulterior motives in mind, and hoped to cajole the new arrivals into permanent residence, on their properities pf course!

But the excitement was the music. The king instructed the traveler to open his sack for inspection.  At that very moment, a breeze shimmered over the opened bag.

Silver butterflies flew from the bag, and danced in the air.  All were different sizes and moved in various  patterns.  As they flapped their wings, music was heard.  When they flew fast the music was fast, when they swirled, the music did too, the music was coming from the butterflies.

Again the people were amazed.  When different butterfies flew in the same direction, the music changed.  The sounds depended on their path.  But all were beautiful, and it was constant.  The people began to move with rhythm to the music as they had seen from the traveler's thoughts. It was a wonderful experience and filled them with joy!

They even forgot the flowers, until the man laid them out on the gound and they were touched by a shimmering breeze. But just as they came to life, a passing herd of flowers minged with the newcomers as twitters and chimes joined the music. 

It can safely be assumed that they explained the facts of life to the newcomers as they  joined the herd.  But these flowers were different, they moved like dancers on the breeze. And once again those seduced by allure of flora, followed in their wake. Hoping to entice the new arrivals to their planned gardens.

The music seemed to be independant as well.  Some butterflies flew far off, leaving a melody in their trail.  Others stayed and landed on the shoulders of the dancers, while others continued to flap their wings and create new sounds.

What an amazement! What a delight! The treasures of the earth were fantastic!

What could be next?  First animated flowers, then musical butterflies, then dancing flowers!!!

They wanted MORE..................

Lady A

© February 2004