Story & Conversation

Writing 7

Conversation. Two.

"You could call this the prologue," He/She said. "The key issue for all forms of life has surfaced.

The issue raised has the potential of haunting everything in existence until fully exposed: 'What will happen to the universe when closeness to its source, to Me, has an alternative? At stake is the principle of free choice. All that originates from Me reflects My nature; so it includes freedom. Can this freedom be used to move away from Me? That had to be explored, sooner or later."

Softly, She/He continued, "When I receive love, it warms Me because it is freely given to Me. But what if there is no alternative to loving Me or being in My presence? Then, the decision to love Me would not be based on a real choice, would it? Therefore, there had to be an opportunity to show what can happen when self-aware entities position themselves outside of My direct presence, by their free will."

He/She shook Her/His head. "Hardly anybody on earth today realizes that in order to provide a stage for this exploration, a whole new dimension had to come into existence as well as a new species of sentient entities. The location of this realm had to be on the, what you would call, most outside of what was in existence already. That way, it would be truly on its own and capable to accommodate all possible answers to the crucial question whether life outside of My direct presence is a viable alternative."

He/She paused for quite a while. "Outside your solar system something like 'time' does occur, as does something like 'distance'. However, in those dimensions, these concepts mean almost the opposite as they do among you. Time is not used to mark moments on a continuum, but indicates growth and achievements. Distance is measured in terms of the density of My closeness, as I am the center, force, volume and essence of all that exists."

"Keep two things in mind when you continue with the story. One is that the human race came into being specifically for the purpose of answering the ultimate question about love being a choice - or not. So your 'twin situation' is incorrect in as far as you paint them as being like their siblings. The new species I talk about needed to be especially equipped in order to even consider the horrendous mission of being on their own. Secondly, by your way of counting, it took millions of years to provide and prepare a proper environment for the human race. The succession from one type of human beings to the next, as you are going to describe it, also lasted hundreds of centuries. Keep this in mind when, in your narrative, you use only one extended family's lifetime."

But now I'm stepping into your next chapter. "I love you, Pieter. Give me a hug."

(These last words shocked me. They woke me up to the fact that while She/He was talking, part of me was already figuring out how to continue the story. My concentration level is porous. I think I'm listening but my mind is somewhere else. It's embarrassing.)

He/She repeated two more times that I could hug Her/Him. I was sitting in the chair opposite of Him/Her, near the fireplace. "You don't have to stand up and come here. When you hug Me now, it's an illustration of what I just said about distance. You experience Me as sitting in the chair, a few feet away. But now, hugging Me while not moving your body, you're fully aware of Me touching you and you touching Me. According to earth-standards that is not possible and surely not 'normal'. But you know better."

(It does feel normal. At least on the level in me that has been steadily expanding and on which I'm aware of a longing for this kind of closeness and contact. Other voices in me, encircling me with slow-moving cadences, hum that all this 'God stuff' is a production and fantasy of my needy mind. But that hum is blissfully irrelevant while She/He is here. I calmly tell myself that awareness of this presence is natural and that dropping my reservations about it means being able to embrace a reality most of us, and most parts in us, seem to have lost contact with.)

"Ready for the story?" Again, He/She interrupted my thinking and I realized that with all the lofty thoughts I entertained, I actually was postponing the moment I had to write.

STORY. TWO.

The four older children were crazy about the twins. Twinhe and Twinshe, they called them.

They were so much fun to play with. After their parents revealed their vision for the twins' future, they enjoyed them even more.

It gave the youngsters an aura of uniqueness, of being super special, groomed as they were to become pioneers and to break new ground. Everyone spoke openly about it. Nothing secretive surrounded the plans for their future.

Father regularly went to a faraway island bordering the Great Current at the outskirts of the world as they knew it, to prepare it for human habitation. He usually took one of the children with him. When the twins got older, they also accompanied him and got to know their future homeland.

They were so excited about it that the older ones wondered whether staying home, for which they had opted, was after all the smartest thing to do. They laughed a lot about it and, at times, daydreamed together about what was in store for the twins. To say if formally, the whole family shared the experience.

Over the years, the twins asked more and more pertinent questions as to what kind of life to start there. Should they just copy what they had now, or focus on doing things deliberately different?

First, their main concern was how they could stay in touch, and how often they could come back to visit and questions like that. But gradually, their attention shifted to gathering practical information about how to provide for food, how to build, how to conduct experiments, etc.

They also showed a keen interest in why their family life was so harmonious and happy. How did their parents do it? By what rules did they move things along so pleasantly? They watched their brothers and sisters. How did they manage to be independent and at the same time enjoy each other so much?

Information was happily given.

They all shared what they knew.

Father and Mother kept reminding

that each child was equally special,

free to explore their particular gifts.

The twins' branching out was a calling:

it would benefit the family as a whole.

"You have to write me every week, Twinshe," her older sister urged her. "Don't forget to tell me all the steamy details of your adventure!"

Smart brother suggested a system for reporting their findings, even the ones they possibly wouldn't understand right away.

Big brother grumbled, "I am supposed to be the shining crown-prince, but you kids keep stealing the limelight."

The day of departure arrived. The twins were ready, excited. They pretended no butterflies filled their stomachs. Mother was so comforting. She kept pointing out that having uneasy feelings about leaving home was proof that they were on the right track.

She said:

"You now discover emotions

your older brothers and sisters never had.

By you leaving the familiar paths, lessons

can be learned for everyone's growth."

They were sitting around the table for the farewell dinner. Father cleared his throat. This meant it was going to be serious. The children and their family members stopped chattering. It was quiet. Very quiet. Father looked at Mother, then at each of his children, and spoke:

"All of you will always be

in our heart and in our love.

Never will we be separated on that level.

You two, who did accept our charge

to discover where freedom can lead to,

we let you go.

Know that at all times

you're welcome in this house

in case you want to return."

He stretched out his hands and laid them on the twins' heads. Mother did the same.

She spoke:

"Our blessing goes with you

wherever you set your feet.

The good you learn enriches us all.

If darkness looms, remember why you went...! Father?"

Again, he cleared his throat. Later, the children confided that the most awesome moment of their lives was when they heard Father say:

"Mother and I will come to you in case you get lost,

wherever you may be. We'll bring you home, if you want.

This is our promise."

It was quiet for a long time. Then Twinhe said, "When we come back to visit you, we sure won't be at a loss for words! So why should we be now?"

It broke the tension. Everybody laughed and started hugging and kissing and saying silly things, denying all the way to the transport-vessel that it was tears that made their eyes wet. The twins, with their entourage, boarded and sailed.

"It's weird," the oldest said, on the walk back to their parents' house. "Nothing really changed in our personal lives and we'll see them again, but why do I have the feeling that nothing is the same anymore?"

"We'll know, we'll know...," Father mumbled.

"I can't wait to hear from them," the younger daughter said. "Why don't they turn around right now and tell us exactly how the first hour of their journey went?"

Bright boy mused, "When they start populating that area there, they do write history. Interesting! For the first time we'll have something to which to compare our family's doings."

"You think they'll behave properly?" the older sister worried. "They're so innocent."

"We'll see" Father mumbled again. Then, suddenly, he slapped his sons on the shoulder and lightheartedly shouted, "Eh, you guys, we'll see!"

Later that day, Father and Mother snuggled up in bed. Their minds went back to that earlier time, many years ago, when they told the children for the first time about their idea that some of them had to try living on their own as a learning for all.

"Now the first step is taken," Father sighed. "It's happening."

Mother simply said, "We want it to happen, don't we?" Then they embraced.