The Perfect Beggar

Perfect Beggar

Chapter One: Floating Between Worlds

In a mystical place beyond time, an angel sits by the water's edge, looking out at the lotus flowers on the lake. Her silk paisley blouse rises and falls just a little bit as She breathes, her eyes glide slowly from side to side. The inside of Her wrist reveal a faint, slow pulse. She is perhaps the most beautiful being in the universe and it would be very difficult for any living being to look at Her for long without turning away, unable to bear such radiance.

Behind Her, happy people invite new arrivals join their lush picnic, they are enjoying themselves, eating, talking, laughing, embracing and kissing. The celebration lasts forever and new people show up all the time, but some of them have been indulging in this festival of the senses for so long that they have finally grown bored with social entertainment and they are becoming distracted. These exhausted revelers turn away from the crowd, noticing for the first time the tranquil lake in the mist. They notice the stunning flowers floating there, wide, heavy lotus blossoms, anchored in the mud, floating on the green water, emitting a sweet aroma, shining with pale, glowing colors. People wade into the warm water, looking at each lotus blossom, the moment they see these flowers they are irresistibly drawn to them. All the people who had enjoyed the party eventually become obsessed with the flowers. They wade and wander slowly in the water, looking curiously from one blossom to the next. These innocent people each select and fall in love with a particular flower. They will each feel that the blossom they choose is theirs and theirs alone. They each want to touch their special flower, they want to smell it and get as close to it as possible, and they climb into their own special lotus and they miraculously become little babies as they do this. Then the petals of the flowers gently close over the sweet little sleeping babies and the swollen, heavy blossoms disappear into forgetfulness forever. New buds instantly appear on the surface of the water and open to reveal entirely new and different flowers, just as new and different people arrive on the edge of the lake, having finally grown tired of so much pleasure. Each person tries to choose the perfect lotus.

Meanwhile, the Woman sitting under the tree at the edge of the lake is not like any of these other people. She waits and watches longer than all the others so that She can be certain to choose the correct flower for Her divine purpose. She spends lifetimes looking. Eternities of vigilance Her way. She looks from flower to flower. There are so many of them, coming and going, She waits for the sign.

Her technique is like this: She looks into the color of each flower and considers the vibrations of their light; She perceives each distinct essence from afar, remembering all things; She listens to the comments of the insects who have been within them, gathering their nectar and advice. She allows Her mind to rest and wander in Her concentration. She is sensitive to everything but She is not focused on any one thing. While generations of people have passed Her on their way into the lake of flowers, She has remained perfectly still, except for Her steady pulse, Her slow breath and Her luminous, ever-watchful eyes. She does not even blink.

After a forever of patient waiting, the Watcher rises up to get a better view. She has noticed a particular blossom. She is sure, this is the flower she has been waiting for, all this time. She walks across the grass and steps into the warm lake. She keeps her gaze trained on that particular flower as she advances, reaching out.

A handsome young man has chosen the very lotus that She is looking at. He begins to climb inside it. The Watcher's eyebrows contract. Behind Her the notes of a sitar and laughter and singing ride the warm currents of air, but she ignores them. Her clothing swirls in her wake like the tail of a fish. As she approaches the perfect lotus, she can already see the little baby inside it, falling asleep as the flower's petals begin to wrap shut.

She arrives just in time and takes the lotus petals in her hands and carefully peels them away. The baby fidgets. She of mystical strength peels the petals back and pulls the flower open just as it begins to disappear. She reaches down into the lotus and scoops out the little naked boy. She kisses the waking baby and he begins crying. She holds the infant close for just a moment, then lowers the screaming and thrashing baby into a nearby lotus. She smiles as the petals of that good flower fold over the baby, finally muffling the crying as he goes back to sleep and his flower silently vanishes, leaving not even a ripple on the water's surface. Now the mystical Woman climbs into the lotus that She emptied, transforming herself into a little baby as she does so. As the lotus petals fold shut, the light around Her turns from yellow to orange and then it becomes pink and finally it darkens into red. All is dark. A quiet, distant thunder hammers gently at Her ears. The lotus begins to squeeze. She closes her eyes and prays: "Thank you, thank you, thank you..." repeating these words endlessly. The flower twists and wraps itself around Her, tighter and tighter. She feels gravity pulling the flower down, under the water. The flower gets warmer and warmer and inside it She begins to have trouble breathing. She begins to feel claustrophobic, She is being slowly crushed. She wonders if she will die.