Fragments of Taren:
an inquisition (author/date unknown)
an inquisition (author/date unknown)
A: What went through your mind when you stepped off the pod and into the bay of Tranquility?
T: There was no wind but I felt as if there were. There was no sun, but the heat on my face was as dry summer noon. My hearing was more acute than I can ever recall, before or since. My eyes were open, but nothing looked as I knew it. In the air, a strange scent of the cleanest ocean breeze you can imagine. I felt closer to death, absent fear, than at anytime in my life and, at the same time, felt more alive. I cannot describe the feeling.
A: Try.
T: Out of control. Electrified with an intense focus so bright, so strong, I felt as if my neurons were on fire and that at any moment my head would erupt in flames. I felt like I was floating, drifting, even as my feet felt like magnets to the metal floor. I had enough firepower behind me to destroy Tranquility several times over and yet, I felt more helpless, more alone, than I know how to describe.
A: What was the plan?
T: Mine?
A: Yes.
T: To die with dignity, without embarrassing myself or my species.
A: Interesting.
T: I knew what my people wished, why I was there. And I knew what Kyra was capable of. After our clumsy and rude attack, I had no doubt her ire would be waiting. I was the lightning rod. My crew, witnesses.
A: What happened next?
T: I walked to the center of the bay, and waited. I don’t recall how long, didn’t seem like a long time, but my mind was moving on another level and time was not as you and I know time. I heard music. Actually, I think music heard me. The oddest sensation--of hearing music so clear, so close, but knowing it came not from without, but from within. And then, on the far side, Kyra appeared. And what happened next gets a little confusing.
A: Try.
T: She moved without moving. What I mean is, the next thing I knew, she was in my mind, and the two of us were walking in a field, flowing waves of green, flowers, birds and just the two of us. In the distance a lake. We walked in that direction.
A: Please continue.
T: (shakes head and looks away)
A: Please try.
T: What occurred next cannot be described in any language I know.
A: We must know what happened next. Take your time.
T: Have you ever drowned?
A: Go on.
T: What I saw, heard, felt, experienced, lived, was as death, death to all I had ever conceived. I died without dying. Do you understand?
A: Keep going.
T: I saw it all as if it were happening to someone else. The death. The birth. How do I describe that? How do I tell you what that was like? Imagine me holding your head under water until you could resist no more, till your tenseness became limp. Then imagine you are dead, but somehow conscious of being dead—dead without being dead. Then I pull your head out of the water, from death, and you are alive. A rebirth, born anew. Not the same, but yet the same. Alive. Same eyes, but they see like you’ve never seen before. Imagine what that first gasp would be like, that first breath, of your new life. Imagine a hand so glorious holding your head, having elevated you beyond the constraints of life and death, having shown you worlds no one you know has seen nor can they conceive. Imagine looking into those eyes, sapphire blue, glowing with a beauty divine. Imagine, in that moment, naked, defenseless, in the arms of another, in the arms of the eternal, where eternity is now, where here is all there is. Imagine sensations that exists not in body or mind, but in soul. You can’t, can you?
A: (smiles)
T: Frail you.
A: Take him away.
16 comments:
Beautiful title, already here the dream begins.
The image was part two,
and by the bay of Tranquility and I knew this would be something special, and I was right.
Firstly, within the space of one chapter, the appearance of Taren has become very welcome. Any appearance that will afford us the opportunity to learn more about him. If that is what was hoped for, this chapter does not disappoint in the slightest.
To hear him describe something that is essentially unbelievable, something that had he not seen and felt it he would be at a loss to understand, the way he focuses on one part at a time, the elements, is what makes him, his words, this as a piece of writing, so believable. The experience sounds peaceful, dream-like but the way he tells it, it is in that dream that there is clarity, an instinctive understanding though he may not ever be able to rationalize the details of what Kyra shows him, or even know where to begin to explain as is the case as he sits there now. He reminds me here of Rog as he spoke to Von after his experience with Kyra as Kieran lay dying.
I just love the idea that Kyra takes him for a walk in some other realm, where there is grass and a lake, that they leave their bodies behind, the bay, everyone, and they walk, and as they walk he sees, she touches, shows, is.
I feel kind of like Taren here, this being too wonderful, too extraordinary, that such a thing should be possible, that someone such as Kyra should be available to us all, that we should be so fortunate as to stand on the outskirts of the world that she inhabits, the uniquely special being that she is, and witness some.
You do create a special kind of magic here, a dream world to use the words from above, a place where anything is possible, everything is believable, different rules apply here and so whatever happens is seen without the filters of what we know our own worlds, and as such it becomes a gift, it allows us to wonder about possibilities, limitlessly, without tying us down by what we know, and as such we go further. That you create this leaves me marvelling as you leap joyously over any and all bounds.
In short, the windows never get too many, and you are always looking for more. This was a great chapter!
The connection that Taren has with Kyra, I think is something each of us seek. An escape from the isolation of our intellects, the merging for which physical intimacy is but a lovely shadow of what is possible when two souls merge and come together in timeless fashion. It is indescribable because it is beyond this existence and everything that we hope to experience in our physical forms. I think you've caught the magic and the yearning aftermath just wonderfully.
I love the way you're keeping the pace so brisk and the suspense level high. This is great!
SJ, you always say the nicest things. Extra hugs for you tonight and maybe some pillow fluffing. :-D
Thank you Kes. Taren has seen what we only can dream about and Kyra has shown it to him. I can only imagine the whiplash he felt going from what he thought would be certain death to the throes of eternal ecstasy in a matter of just minutes. I'm most interested in learning why Kyra made this choice. Stay tuned. :-)
Sweetest, what can I say other than you give good comment. Maybe I should say you give Anniesque comment. :-D
No objection here. Pillows can never be too fluffy.:)
Oooh, I see very well what you mean when you say that the images inspire your writing.
But this softness and curves and luminosity might inspire the world too! :-)
Cristian, I've been inspired by a soft curve a time or two. Wouldn't mind that kind of inspiration again, maybe even in primrose. :-D
Thank you sir for your kind words. Noted and appreciated. :-)
SJ, I'll do my best to serve. Anything else you need while I'm at it?
A little tea and sympathy in my hours of moon madness might be nice.:-)
Earl and I are on our way. :-D
"where eternity is now... and sensations exist in the soul"...
Mhmmm, coming here is a lovely resonance to my inner light/Spirit...
Annie, I could say the same of having you visit. :-)
like you realize the value of something when you need it as much as you need air...
Very true Mona. Reminds me of the famous story of Socrates, who plunged a would-be student's head under water and when he pulled it out and the student was gasping for air said, when you thirst for knowledge as you do for air, come back and see me. Or something like that.
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