THE “LIGHT” FACTOR

There was this jackpot syndrome playing games at me all along my path as I grew up. If the ultimate breakthrough was not going to be at a lottery, then it would be among the gamblers in a casino some place or a lottery at another. I was always expecting it, anxiously so. It felt this close yet elusive. I burnt my fingers a few times with con men, tripped and bruised my toes often in hostile terrains.

Consistent with a strong belief I held on the authoritative place of divine intervention I studied the constellations in a bid to get the chemical formulas and equations right and align myself in favor courtesy of superior knowledge. After all, this was a dominant practice in my environment. I graduated further up the ladder confident of pushing the error margin to nil. Seeking that one shot, that magical moment, that missing link, a password and a secret code of sorts through which destiny and eternity would connect in perfect symphony. My fortunes would turn in an instant, then I would walk through the golden gateway to Happily Ever After, where the camera clicks would only register smiles and the only sight of soft tissue would be while gently wiping  away tears of joy. I was the inevitable lucky winner designate!

My trusted associations reinforced the most needed foundational flavor to this quest. Joe was my best friend. One night he woke up everyone in the boys’ dormitory to inform us he was leaving school to a far land of opportunities. That was before he was old enough to secure a work permit! Another time he swore he would be venturing into oil drilling someplace among the sharks of the Atlantic following a vision he had seen. The brilliance of the light involved had left him no shadow of doubt he would cordially dwell with the monstrous creatures of the deep.

His intrigues were hilarious classics always leaving one breathless, capturing even the pessimistic of sadists. One time during college, he had harbored a strong desire to run for office as head of state. He had natural resentment for words such as Due Process. Being around him, you got the feeling of the spectacular toss of powerful sea waves. Three times he had ended up in jail, once for conning a military officer of his fire arm; twice for trading in counterfeited minerals.

Such scenarios were like music to my ears, their irresistible magnetic pull akin to the wonder of the black holes. Their risky and inspirational touch reminiscent to man’s sustained quest  to conquer outer space. The dream to strike it rich in one blow! It was all in the timing,or so i believed. In spite of the many setbacks and false starts; I patiently waited for that one defining moment.

I disappointed not at choice. The long-awaited moment had finally come knocking. The stage was set. It was so easy to see and the circumstances were just right. It had been a walk over, far easier than I had expected. The one person who presented the greatest challenge for me had conceded defeat, handing victory to me on a silver platter. My heyday. I walked tall beside myself with jubilation. It was a dream come true, calling for celebration, a press conference or something!

Things are not always what they seem to be! It was a lesson learned the hard way; learned too well. The thought of my family and I counted as booty was a rather overwhelming reality I had to deal with in the sudden twist of events. My mind wandered in disillusionment under the tight grip of the quartet returning to base in speed from a successful operation. We felt tightly caged from the North,South,East and West. I saw darkness massively close in without restrain.Sentenced to die.

Many thoughts were rushing across my mind this evening. Had it been a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time or had it just been fate? Had it been a case of misfortune? The one instant that would most certainly have averted this moment was back at the place I made a choice. It had seemed the ideal move. Perfect. How was I to know I had set myself up for such disaster? Now I understood why potential should always be matched with morals. I was learning it the hard way; I was learning it well. There was no telling what would happen to us. So choices are significant and so are the light frequencies that inform each one of them.

Then there was my kindred.I had incorrectly assumed his gesture to let me make the first move at the defining junction had been an act of ignorance! That look on his face the day we parted! It was still freshly imprinted in my memory.It almost felt like he was captured in a higher reality, from some place way beyond the both of us. Like one endowed with true sight and vision.He was always gradual and certain. I wished I could see what he was seeing, perceive it even, just a bit, then I would have been able to walk in his amazing sense of freedom. Yet it was ironically because I could see I made the fatal choice!

I was strangely experiencing much peace in subdual! This evening, many thoughts from childhood were playing down memory lane. I had often prayed back then I would live forever young. There was such joy and fulfillment in the straight and narrow. I didn’t have to go through the hassles of my often misguided personal input. Everything was pretty much mapped out for me, the light so pure and True. So much had happened since. The false light of my own choices seemed to have led me further and further away from this haven. I was desperately trying to find my way back to the love I once knew, trapped in a heartbreaking maze of blurred vision. It all didn’t matter now. I was a prisoner, rather stuck I figured. I deeply regretted my folly.

Some interruptions are more sudden and surprising than others. It was the familiar Anthem that shook me up with a start. There was momentary commotion in the camp. I could hear sporadic voices rise up in the moments that followed. A child cried out from the far end. Suddenly the camp glistened under what must have been a massive flood light. There was further stirring as the Anthem drummed on with a herald at the fore. He spoke of a doomed conspiracy of the Nations against Alpha the Majestic and against his cause and elite, demanding for unconditional surrender from the four allied forces.

It was all happening too fast. At this stage I threw all caution through the window, confident I was right in my deduction, my entire being instantly rejuvenated. The camp was under an invasion by the elite forces led by my uncle. Help was at hand! Normally, there were only two options possible under such circumstances: The Four Nation-allied forces under Kedorlaomer would either lose or my uncle would win! This night however, something was a bit different in the mathematics of engagement! For one wrong moment, my heart skipped a beat at the realization this was a Four-Nation military might against a 318-man family security unit, renowned for its strategic maneuvers. Doubt almost crept in but I quickly pushed it away. They had to win or my family’s predicament would transition from a frying pan to the fire.

The intense showdown that ensued was reminiscent of an Oscar Award  action packed movie, only this time round it was real as were the characters involved. Real time! From the corner of my tent, I watched the allied forces melt in an avalanche before the elite forces, who resiliently pressed on, steadfast in dominion, in the posture of a flint. The fortunate ones from the allied forces were in flight, confounded in the spectacle of The Blazing Trail. Then my eyes met my uncle’s, reminding me of the very day our households went separate ways. In no time he had prospered way beyond me, that in spite of my perceived lucrative edge over him based on the potential of my geographical choice.

His eyes seemed like a pair of light bulbs basking under the illumination of Light Divine. Only an illumination like this, contagiously shared with his sizeable domestic security unit could have dared take on four vicious kings, accomplished in military affairs, legendary in exploits. It literary redefined battle strategy. And there lay the difference between the light in his eyes and that in mine!

I began rounding up my household. Not a single animal would be left behind. Moments later, the four flags of the vanquished allied forces came down their masts as we sung our Anthem once again. Our hearts bounced with gratitude as the royal banner waved boldly in the air to the four corners of the earth in a spirited invite to the Nations. I was grateful for the divine intervention, like non-other. Grateful to Alpha. Deeply convicted of my myopia. As I reflected upon the long shot, culminating with the events of this evening, I could only marvel at the wonder of Alpha the Majestic. I had only heard of it previously; Now I saw it all so clearly, that he is before all things and in him all things hold together.

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