Book Seven Stories V

 

V.

Deep in the forest there meditated a spiritual man who people called Balu. He was the object of many stories and the object of some ridicule. He sat before a pile of diamonds his only possessions but they were safe: Balu was supposed to be in a challenge from Death that if he could resist taking the diamonds for Ever then they would be his in Eternity.

Through sun, wind and rain the man sat motionless under the birdsong tree. Indeed he had forgotten what it was to move, and he had not spoken for so long that he no longer rehearsed lines in silence, his thoughts were free as the wind, and before him always, forever so long as he did not move, lay the diamonds.

One day a large drab bird, rare in those parts, descended into the glade. It wandered up to the pile of diamonds, tilted its head at Balu and watched his reaction as it picked off one of the stones; there it stayed playing with the diamond unable to work out what to do until it died. Staring deep into the shiny mirror world of the diamond Balu saw the bird shattered into a hundred, and in the bird’s two eyes the diamond twice. Balu was so struck at how senseless the bird had been that he began to think and then he began to remember. There had once been a man called Elrus who had lost a loved one in a glade very much like this, and as she departed her tears fell as diamonds. Her sorrow was immortal like the diamond for she had been an immortal. Elrus had not realised this; his sorrow had been mortal and he too had been mortal. But as the story went he had not tasted the Demon’s temptation, for he knew the demon well. A man by the name of Waylan a great warrior had been on the same quest as Elrus for he had learned to trust himself in the face of illusion but he had been no match for the Lord Demon, Death. And Waylan himself had been on the run from a great foolishness, like a man before him Boren who having won a princess’s hand in marriage had forgotten that the ring she wore meant nothing without her having won him too.

And before them came a stranger, a great story teller who saved a kingdom from the spell of a book of seven stories. The man sitting in that glade began to realise as he remembered that he might be each and all of these men separated as they were in their own stories and lives, for he was a part of their great wisdom. But the great-story was not complete the five horned beast was still unbeaten and Elrus’ sorrow was now his own.

Without warning Death, the Lord Demon, landed in the glade like an earthquake. Balu remained unperturbed and kept meditating on the diamonds.

“Balu!!! If you do not stand and fight, I will strike you down” the Demon roared tearing away trees

with his enraged voice.

“You are indeed free to chose the end of the characters in stories but you cannot stop storytelling Diablo”.

“But this will not save YOU Balu”, and Death stomped around shaking the mountains and the skies,

“See I am the destroyer of worlds. Who are you?”

“Death I am not a mortal now. If I were you would visit me as the grave, as the end of the story, but not as Death. I can see you. I can see that we are all suckers for your charms. I can see that you take us apart, separate us, bring friends, families and lovers to tears, end kingdoms and end stories. But if we were not apart in the beginning how could we ever be together, and for that we depend. I am Balu. And if you try and kill me, indeed because you kill me, I can be Elrus. I have been. You say impossible, you cast these stories into flames, and I am Riswey, the storyteller. I am but an incarnation of the universal immortal being and you depend upon that to play your games with my incarnations. Who do you wish to fight?”

The Demon stopped, leant over and touched Balu on the forehead. “The diamonds are yours”, he said smiling and then he turned and walked away.

In the silence Balu’s heart rejoiced; for Elrus in the incarnation of Balu was no longer separated from his goddess, indeed they had always been united and he had known this; Waylan in the incarnation of Balu had never been in danger from the Lord Demon; Boren in the incarnation of Balu, was married to all his women; and Riswey was the incarnation of Balu.