SOUND OF THE WIND

“…It blows as it pleases, you hear its sound but cannot tell where it comes from or where it’s going…like the Sound of the Wind.”

The Patriot hurriedly rose to his feet and rubbed his eyes vigorously like one in a daze. He quickly glanced at his side reaching out for his javelin stuck on to the ground then strode forth in what was reminiscent of a-tiptoe to collect his shoes. His heart was racing as he bent to fasten the straps on, his eyes warily darting to the left and right simultaneously!

He had always dreaded the sight of swords. He shivered at the flash back of the blazing sword with the penetrating eyes of the alien scanning him over. He jumped, screamed and spun around in alarm, his Javelin firmly clasped in his hand, certain a jumbo elephant was behind him only to find a piece of paper flown around by the afternoon breeze lying a few meters from him. He repeatedly pinned it to the ground heaving a heavy sigh of relief in the last thrust! A lot had gone through his mind since the historic National Molting Ceremony. It struck him as rather significant that this visit had swiftly followed the symbolic ceremony. His esteemed guest had remained characteristically unique to the reality he represented. He marveled in contemplation of the intertwined link between the visible and invisible and the curiously interconnected role the visible has in drawing out the latter. Either! Neither!

He stared mesmerized in the sky as if making a passionate appeal to the gods to keep any further surprises to themselves! He had never been ignorant of the power contained in words yet it seemed a fresh significance underlined this dynamic with every new day. He knew it deep within himself the word “Neither” would evoke such profound memories for the rest of his life. Not just for the primary reason it had always presented a tongue twisting paradox with ‘Either’ but especially because the sight of the alien holding the blazing sword as he articulated it had etched a permanent imprint in the heart of his memory.

The last few days had marked such a defining transition for him as he grappled with the new leadership responsibility. He had often encountered the reality of the unseen mainly as a spectator simply following behind the scenes in The Blazing Trail. This time round a lot was beginning to change. He understood only too well the journey was only beginning for him, yet it ironically seemed his miscalculation in addressing the visitor was an indication the long and winding road was weighing heavily on him, right at the start! Four decades of hardy aggressive engagement within hostile terrains had narrowed his scope of acquaintances to an interestingly dual perspective: Friend and Foe. It was only natural thus the alien had to fit in neither either! Or so he believed until the stark truth was spelled out for him: “Neither”

Their trail had known either neither mountain nor obstacle as they surmounted every one of them in style, that since inception. They had descended upon every foe with the swoop of an eagle, triumphing buoyantly with the roar of the lion, from one territory to the next, en route. He looked back in amazement at that all defining moment when along with the whole-hearted legend of Arba now toothless yet defiantly beaming with mid-age fervor, they had stood their ground against a seemingly un assailable wave of objection to their progress on the trail. Against all hope they dared move across the grain in a move that nearly cost them their lives.

Tears welled up his eyes as the memories came surging with nostalgia. The community  had been an enigma and a source of terror to their hearers and viewers in equal legendary measure, confounding King, Citizen, Nature, History and Geography in astonishingly monumental proportion. Yet it seemed an amazing disconnect existed between this public image and how they perceived themselves as a people; thirsty, beaten, terminally dissatisfied feeble grasshoppers, helplessly orbiting the wilderness of hostility. He had been one of the fortunate duo to have successfully gone round the full cycle. Now he saw it with magnified clarity; the difference molting could make. Coming especially from the heart. They had through the years of their prolonged voyage endured much pain, helplessly watching many dislodge off the trail. Somewhere at the back of his mind, he had always known it but now had to admit with renewed revelation; some lessons come at a high cost!

He recalled that early morning previously by the riverside with the swelling waters staring at them. Truly a moment of reckoning.The entire community had participated the previous night in the Last Dance looking down memory lane. The moment had been an emotional one as he made his key-note address to the elated gathering. Beyond the flooding waters posing what was only the beginning of a series of challenges lay many hostilities of the hite ‘hites’ fame. In plural! This time round unlike that fatal day many years ago when they had missed the mark by a whisker, there would be no turning back. As they made their way through what had been a flood only moments before, he beheld the new season with gratitude, exchanging a glance with the whole-hearted Legend of Arba. A glance that spoke a million words and told a thousand stories. Either. Neither.

As he stared at the far horizon, extending beyond the expanse territory yet to be conquered, he heard the alien say: “Neither!” In deep reflection, it dawned on him he had almost always seen it, always known it. Almost! For in valor, he was only a physical representation of an invisible realm that was running the show on his behalf, his conquests directly proportional to how in sync he way with this superior realm.  In spite of all they had gone through, it seemed a picture of the many pieces making up their four decade story was shaping up. In the midst of their conquests and upheavals, a greater invisible reality was at play. For he is before all things. He is the one all this was, is and will be about, for he holds everything together, drawing and raising to prominence that which is aligned to his trail while discarding but not the lessons all that runs counter. For he is before all things and in him all things hold together. He paused to look at the ancient inscriptions on his javelin: “I saw him always before me!”

It all made much sense now. He picked up the javelin and with full might hurled it across the sky. A gentle breeze ensued as it whizzed along. The torn piece of paper rose from the ground and flexibly spiraled across the sky after the spear. The Patriot smiled broadly at the sight before him. There was the tract! In the sound of the wind…carried along. Just like the days of our lives in The Blazing Trail! Timeless. Universal.

©The Blazing Trail-2012.

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