A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH

Growing up wasn’t always easy, especially walking at night! Such dreaded moments were synonymous with unique first hand encounters with the world’s extinct and mystical species such as the dinosaur, angels and demons. Strangely, I was never armed with a camera any of those nights so I was unable to prove my point to any one! A flashlight presented a magical touch in a moment like that; tranquility, order and clarity instantaneously restored.

Then there were the folktales, their intrigues on day and night always captivating. It seemed much good was attached to day time while the bad belonged to dark. Naturally. These two sides of the same coin seemed on each other’s neck, locked in a vicious protracted battle for supremacy. It wasn’t always easy to tell who would emerge victorious in a given scenario.

The suspense of it all kept my fingers crossed, sometimes until the very last moment. It was always music to my ears when the agent of good stole the show…a common occurrence when he kept the rules. There was the defining moment when the two had each other eyeball to eyeball…status quo vs. new dawn, their respective fraternities watching…waiting for the winner to take it all.

It was at this point suspense and tension were on an all time high, when the two agents would have one split second to act, when any of them could slump down lifeless, when focus, speed and precision would play the ultimate judge.

I learned the cause is greater than the agent! That the cause informed activity in whatever sphere of influence one was involved. And that it all narrowed down to light vs. darkness, for even the old skin of the light must progressively molt to a more supple reality.

And so good was good and I guess bad deserved to be eliminated for the forward movement of all…a possible but equally grueling task indeed, for in the brink of extinction it had the resilient uncanny ability to subdue the rumble for change, at the smallest window of compromise available. The showdown between light and darkness!

Everyone had their time and chance; the grand threshold to the coveted often elusive heyday. There are sources, then there is The Source! I began to understand time and chance had a Source, their moment guaranteed. It was always a joy rising to the occasion by doing the right thing at that instant while on the other hand no words could explain the tragedy of missing it, as it was not always visible even when present. The game had its rules. Strict in nature. Simply put, it wasn’t over until it was done!

The youthful pilot from the elite special operations unit was besides himself with elation as he tore through the clear sky in his super jet. He rapidly approached his target on his all important timed mission dubbed “Make way for Alpha the Majestic!” His mission: To effectively eliminate all barricades from the highway, in readiness for the grand entourage.

Much was running through his mind. He was grateful for many things, above all for a real-time opportunity to live this moment. It was a highly classified full privilege operation with a margin error of zero. Time and chance had conspired to set him up for this glorious occasion, as a herald of a historically defining message, in the cause of the one before all things; in whom all things hold together!

All was calm in the cockpit. He had another look at his family photo he had held for a while before kissing it and sliding it back in his breast pocket. He could not wait to be reunited with them ahead of their scheduled family vacation in the Caribbean.

He smiled at his youngest daughter’s joke the previous day. She had the whole family puzzled the entire evening at her insistence on seeing him in his “PDTMS!” No one knew what she had been talking about until she pointed at his pants in one of older photos! He was not off the hook until he promised to buy a new pair of ‘Please don’t touch my shoe’ after he was back from the mission!

He made a wide sweep over his target, his index finger on the Deploy button, leaving a trail of fierce fire below him, right on target. The retaliation was prompt but off target, triggering a second swoop on his part, this time his eyes on the Extreme Measures auto-response button. He held hand over mouth as he saw the destruction that instantly came over the extreme hostility and immediately a distress signal began to blare to his right.

As he made round three, it was to drop the Medical Kit thanks to the Rapid Comprehensive Response button.

Great light shone over the entire land, the level of activity activated akin to a mighty revival. Flora and Fauna burst forth buoyantly in a new lease of life. The Rivers graciously cascading down their courses in a new song, every child, woman and man joyfully singing along…

“The cause of Alpha the Majestic!

Wonder of wonders

Spectacle of spectacles

Mystery of mysteries

How beautifully awesome-beyond description

Gift bountiful

The world awaits!”

The multitude of barricades vanished in a dazzling phenomenon. Gone in thin air! He made one more spin, the powerful sound of his jet filling the entire air space with great promise. He was amazed at the superhighway that formed the only visible infrastructure.

Change was coming. The cause was on track. He knew it deep in his heart. It had all happened so fast. He glanced at his wrist watch, confirming he was right on schedule. The chords of status quo had been severed to utter relegation. A broad smile broke on his face. “Mission accomplished!” He gladly reported via his muted microphone as he gaily took his course back to base. The stage was all set for the dawn of Alpha the Majestic!

Suddenly there was disorder in his cockpit as the instruments began acting up. He quickly went through his precautionary setting to no avail. Due to the nature of his operation, any communication through the radio was denied. His instructions had been clear: There would be no interruption or stopover until he touched down back to base.However, the situation before hand seemed to present an exemption,a re-adjustment of sorts as a matter of common sense!

He quickly went through his list of options and at the moment only two seemed possible: Either prepare for an emergency landing as his instruments were indicating or risk going all the way to land back to base. He struggled to understand what could have necessitated the  emergency landing signal. In one fleeting moment,he almost dismissed it as a false signal.

With time quickly running out and tension threatening to swallow him alive, he decided for the emergency landing. His settings indicated there was a runway near him. He realized at the last-minute of his descend the runway was a hoax. What had appeared to be tarmac was actually a long strip of old skin!

He swiftly went for the eject button and parachuted up as he watched his machine dive for the crash. He could see many donkeys within the area as he came down. He wondered whether he was in a park. Then his heart skipped a beat as he caught a glimpse of the reception party consisting of one hungry pride of lions! He instinctively knew his end had come! He realized his mistake…only too late.

And so as it turned out, some privileges in life come at a cost. Every game has its rules. Some moments have no room for a second shot, neither is life an experiment. The cause blazes on, en route for the grand culmination.The moment is critical but not as crucial as the wisdom to make the best out of it, for in there lies the substance of purpose. Victory can come “this close” but when all is said and done, one can benefit a lot keeping in mind it’s not over until it’s done! A thin line in a sense but one that could as well be a matter of life and death.

©The Blazing Trail 2012

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