The timeline

further down the road

Do we always have memories, or do we have to revise the things we forgot down the road. Somethings vanish, are lost or are taken from us. And then all that remains of us are the memories, that remain within our reach.

These memories are something we cherish. Some of these can't be forgotten and stay with us for a long time. Some of them vanish away.

Somethings within the lifespan of a average human, like the rising and falling of the sun can always be predicted. And they can also be seen when desired to.

Someone might be lost or never wake up. In another way they might permanently leave the earth or become part of it with their remains spreading over the surface. Only thing left would be the memories, whether it is the hearts and minds of the people or the photographs and written stories.

Pieces of happiness left together. With that Demark was also thinking , recalling the past and his memories and the emotions related to it.

Demark had already returned home and after sharing pieces of his long day with his brother, he had reached his bed. He didn't discuss about the experience in the temple as he wasn't sure what the unexpected incident was about or what the future held.

He thought and recalled his day on his bed. He thought of the words the priest had given him. He imagined those flowers, hundreds of them and the books. The flowers had looked like a impressionist painting with red on top of green. He could still remember their beautiful fragrance. He wondered what kind of person could envision such a wonderful place.

But it was not only the beauty of the place that attracted Demark.

The books, he had hardly scratched the surface. Could there have been something the priest had seen on him? Why did the priest lead him there?

Mysterious, and yet something he needed in this world. A kind of reason to live, a reason for why he had been suffering. The sometimes acute pain would force him to yield to his body. But could this pain be healed or ignored when he had a clear path ahead.

Of course, the world was filled with uncertainty and there would be uncertain things he would have to deal with. Sometimes having that adventure wasn't what he wanted but sometimes even though he respected the old generations before him, he did have that urge for the new. New places and new discoveries encouraged him to search. But he did want an identity, a source of security in the changing circumstances. He wondered if he read more and applied more of his knowledge whether he would be to find this inner security.

After thinking for about an hour Demark dozed off. Little did he know that something big would occur in the days to come.

The next day, the second day of his 7 days tour. Something was going to happen today. He believed. It was raining outside. Demark was going to get his wages today. The first wage of his life in the city.

Getting his first wage in the city didn't mean he never had worked. He had done chores at home and worked in the field. He knew the pain there was in planting and sowing and irrigation. He would do it with his family. It was for the sustenance of his family.

In the city, he found out that day, that the money earned in the city was much higher than that earned in the village. There were drawback though. He thought such as having to live in the slums and away from the fresh air and peace and quiet of the village.

Doing something mechanical for eight hours straight. With a lunch break in the middle of course. He drank bean soup with bread during the break. He was very hungry when he ate it, so he ate it greedily. With half the day still remaining, he got prepared to work again and stay energetic for the remaining shift.

Not too energetic though. He thought. He would have to save energy to go to the temple , the library and enjoy those words those pages , the feeling and smell of the books. The sunrays piercing through the windows, something he couldn't see in the factory.

Demark felt a shiver like a dopamine injection when he thought about the temple. The brown wood carvings, reflecting the other ancestors beliefs, and the people who put their effort into making it a representation of reality.

People in the past had raided Lyson. Demark knew about that. He knew that people had for wealth and grain invaded Lyson many times in fact. Lyson while having defeated its enemies many times, had sometimes fallen to its knees. There had been a series of rulers in Lyson. Those who wielded got to survive and those who didn't, well let's just say they rulers hadn't been so kind.

Rulers of Lyson had not been so ambitious to increase their land. They were satisfied with what they had and preferred doing research. They preferred science and technology and had invested a lot of money on it. And much of it had paid off. Long lasting pitched roads, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and universities would share their research and publish journals.

After thinking about Lyson and completing his work and receiving his first ever wage from the city, he set off to the temple again. When he reached the temple he found that the temple was not full of people. He could see the empty space that filled the huge relatively empty hall. However he did recognise the person sitting at the end of the hall. He was sitting patiently as if waiting for the arrival of someone.

Maybe the person he is waiting for is me. Or maybe he is waiting for the other devotees of the temple. Thought Demark. Demark closed his eyes imagined the great hall of the temple, as if he was trying to keep it in his memory, then opened his eyes comparing the memorised version with the version he saw now, in reality.

To be continued....

Light is something that makes us feel alive and the dark helps us relax. Perhaps that is why we all feel asleep at night. Perhaps most of us anyway.