It felt an awakening as though from a long deep slumber. What of the
children, what of those people, it asked.
The thought arose and it was back at the same place, it was the same, it felt the same though everything was different. The dry barren rock was gone and in its place stood a road buzzing with activity. Vehicles trundled past at varying speeds, people hurried by, cloth ends flapping in the breeze. The loose rough cloth of that time was nowhere to be seen. Had an era passed in a blink?
A question unanswered.
The golden hue surrounding it changed. Life was pulling it back and at an invisible border stood the outlines of two doors. One door was marked 'stay', the other, 'return'. Before it could make a conscious choice, the door marked ‘return’ swung open and drew it in and it had life again.
Do children remember us from lives past? He could not tell, but on busy streets in the midst of unknown faces, sometimes small children took an instant liking to him. Sometimes they stopped in their tracks and smiled as though they sensed a long lost affinity and he felt the same. At first, when a child came to him, he was willing to play.
But one must be careful lest one is misunderstood. Affectionate touch may be misconstrued.
As he grew older he realized that his actions created suspicion and held back at the quiet fury in the parent's eyes when he so much as patted a young head. Why once he had held a young child by hand and guided it away from sure danger. When he looked up the parents were smiling and thankful but he sensed wariness in them.
It hurt. Wasn’t it obvious that he would not harm their children? Why this distrust? Old people spoke and they spoke of evil designs of men and women who quietly whisk away the very young to their cruelties. They feared people who attracted their children.
In the face of these reactions, he learned to smile indulgently for the moment and look away, cutting the connection. The children were alright now, they were cared for. They did not need him as they had in a time long past.
One should not mix memories of past roles with the present, a gentle voice spoke in his mind.
Love is far too precious for random expressions.
He understood and hurt settled.
How did he live and die, that lies unknown. The next time he entered life, he learned something new. A life may seem to have been lived with little achievement, little to remember it by. But there are those who know, at times, a soul visits for a little rest, some understanding. Learning deepens in quietude, away from the hurry of life.
The thought arose and it was back at the same place, it was the same, it felt the same though everything was different. The dry barren rock was gone and in its place stood a road buzzing with activity. Vehicles trundled past at varying speeds, people hurried by, cloth ends flapping in the breeze. The loose rough cloth of that time was nowhere to be seen. Had an era passed in a blink?
A question unanswered.
The golden hue surrounding it changed. Life was pulling it back and at an invisible border stood the outlines of two doors. One door was marked 'stay', the other, 'return'. Before it could make a conscious choice, the door marked ‘return’ swung open and drew it in and it had life again.
Do children remember us from lives past? He could not tell, but on busy streets in the midst of unknown faces, sometimes small children took an instant liking to him. Sometimes they stopped in their tracks and smiled as though they sensed a long lost affinity and he felt the same. At first, when a child came to him, he was willing to play.
But one must be careful lest one is misunderstood. Affectionate touch may be misconstrued.
As he grew older he realized that his actions created suspicion and held back at the quiet fury in the parent's eyes when he so much as patted a young head. Why once he had held a young child by hand and guided it away from sure danger. When he looked up the parents were smiling and thankful but he sensed wariness in them.
It hurt. Wasn’t it obvious that he would not harm their children? Why this distrust? Old people spoke and they spoke of evil designs of men and women who quietly whisk away the very young to their cruelties. They feared people who attracted their children.
In the face of these reactions, he learned to smile indulgently for the moment and look away, cutting the connection. The children were alright now, they were cared for. They did not need him as they had in a time long past.
One should not mix memories of past roles with the present, a gentle voice spoke in his mind.
Love is far too precious for random expressions.
He understood and hurt settled.
How did he live and die, that lies unknown. The next time he entered life, he learned something new. A life may seem to have been lived with little achievement, little to remember it by. But there are those who know, at times, a soul visits for a little rest, some understanding. Learning deepens in quietude, away from the hurry of life.
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