11-21-2009, 05:44 AM
I am not often struck with the plot, but I recently befriended a person of strong creative gifts. After a browse through this person's written works, I
was compelled to create the below scene.
Comment, if you choose. I have exorcised the plot, and for that I am grateful enough.
------------------------------
There was once a man who wandered the world, endlessly searching.
When people asked him what he was doing, he would always respond with the same word: "Looking."
"For what?", they would cry.
"To know", he would say, and leave without a word.
One day the man heard a rumor of an ancient temple, lost in the wilds of the world. It was said that one who had a single purpose in life could enter the
temple and state a wish, and it would be granted.
He searched for decades, scouring every corner of the world. No stone was left unturned. No myth was left unchecked. No legend was left uninvestigated.
One day, the man, now bowed over and weakened by the weight of the years he carried, stood before a rough stone building in a remote jungle. He focused on his
goal, the knowledge he had sought those many decades. He focused, putting his entire being behind the one wish that had driven him so far for so long.
As day grew weary and weak, the man stepped into the temple.
At first, he could see nothing, for the room was only lit by the rays of the dying sun behind him. He summoned up his courage, and finally asked the question
that had troubled him for so long.
"What is my purpose?"
The temple remained as it had been, silent and empty. The man winced, turning his gaze, for a ray of light from the setting sun had made its way into the
temple, and reflected off some object in front of him.
Disappointed, he focused again, redoubling his efforts.
"Why am I here? How do I finally gain peace? Answer me!"
For several long seconds, the man stood there, his only companions the echoes of his desperate queries. The sun sank lower in the sky. And then there was
light.
The seeker looked up, blinking his eyes in shock at the sudden brightness, to see... a mirror? He looked everywhere, searching for the answer he sought so
unswervingly, only to find nothing but high-ceilings, a pair of windows letting in the light that had so surprised him, and a circle of mirrors set in the
walls of the chamber. He turned dismissively, ready to leave the temple and begin his search anew-
-only to stop in mid turn. The man turned, eyes wide, in stunned silence, and faced one of the many mirrors that lined the chamber. He stood there for
several long moments, scrutinizing the image before him.
Then, the tired old man, for that is what he was, threw back his head and laughed.
He laughed long and hard. He laughed until the sun finally sunk into slumber, only stopping when wracking coughs seized his now-frail body.
The seeker of knowledge, his search completed, was never seen again by the world of man.
My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.
I've been writing a bit.
was compelled to create the below scene.
Comment, if you choose. I have exorcised the plot, and for that I am grateful enough.
------------------------------
There was once a man who wandered the world, endlessly searching.
When people asked him what he was doing, he would always respond with the same word: "Looking."
"For what?", they would cry.
"To know", he would say, and leave without a word.
One day the man heard a rumor of an ancient temple, lost in the wilds of the world. It was said that one who had a single purpose in life could enter the
temple and state a wish, and it would be granted.
He searched for decades, scouring every corner of the world. No stone was left unturned. No myth was left unchecked. No legend was left uninvestigated.
One day, the man, now bowed over and weakened by the weight of the years he carried, stood before a rough stone building in a remote jungle. He focused on his
goal, the knowledge he had sought those many decades. He focused, putting his entire being behind the one wish that had driven him so far for so long.
As day grew weary and weak, the man stepped into the temple.
At first, he could see nothing, for the room was only lit by the rays of the dying sun behind him. He summoned up his courage, and finally asked the question
that had troubled him for so long.
"What is my purpose?"
The temple remained as it had been, silent and empty. The man winced, turning his gaze, for a ray of light from the setting sun had made its way into the
temple, and reflected off some object in front of him.
Disappointed, he focused again, redoubling his efforts.
"Why am I here? How do I finally gain peace? Answer me!"
For several long seconds, the man stood there, his only companions the echoes of his desperate queries. The sun sank lower in the sky. And then there was
light.
The seeker looked up, blinking his eyes in shock at the sudden brightness, to see... a mirror? He looked everywhere, searching for the answer he sought so
unswervingly, only to find nothing but high-ceilings, a pair of windows letting in the light that had so surprised him, and a circle of mirrors set in the
walls of the chamber. He turned dismissively, ready to leave the temple and begin his search anew-
-only to stop in mid turn. The man turned, eyes wide, in stunned silence, and faced one of the many mirrors that lined the chamber. He stood there for
several long moments, scrutinizing the image before him.
Then, the tired old man, for that is what he was, threw back his head and laughed.
He laughed long and hard. He laughed until the sun finally sunk into slumber, only stopping when wracking coughs seized his now-frail body.
The seeker of knowledge, his search completed, was never seen again by the world of man.
My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.
I've been writing a bit.