Harmony

Settling into Village Life

No-one said much on the way back to the village after Suria's monologue. The waves of peace did arrive soon after she stopped speaking, surprising her. Nonetheless, they were all out of words anyway. They got back as the sun was quite low in the sky, and Suria was tired, both physically and emotionally. No matter how bad she had tried to make herself feel, she couldn't achieve it. She wondered why she was trying to make herself feel that way. Perhaps it was a way of helping her understand her situation – their situation. It didn't really work, so she gave up and tried to relax and enjoy the scenery. It was kind of a relief to have said what she said. For two weeks she'd been hanging onto threads of thoughts, never quite surfacing, never quite coalescing into what she wanted. Now they had. This was no experiment. This was a lifestyle.

They weren't being held here against their will. They weren't captives. Captives weren't given total freedom and a special place to live. Above all, it didn't feel right to think that they were somehow imprisoned here and if they tried to leave they would be rounded up and sent back. The more she went down that line of thinking, the more she was able to find roadblocks to it; reasons why it wasn't true. The waves of peace, for starters. They were coming from somewhere quite special and were being sent to them all when they needed them. Somehow, whoever was responsible for them had knowledge that they were having negative emotions and could correct them remotely. Suria knew of mental telepathy, but didn't know how it worked, or if it could be controlled. Apparently these people, whoever they were, had found a way. They must be truly amazing and she couldn't wait to meet them.

The always welcome but still mystifying waves of peace. Perhaps the biggest mystery of all. She assumed they were coming from the same people who had written the message and set up the village. All of this came from a place of benevolence. Every time she felt the waves of peace rushing in, they had a loving, caring quality to them. She recalled her words to Pixie on her first day with her: it was like the embrace of parents, but it was more than that. It was from a higher place than just parents, although she wasn't aiming to trivialise the special love that mothers and fathers can give. Love she knew she had experienced, but just couldn't remember.

No, the waves of peace came from a place of joy, love, safety and surety that promised so much. They gave her and her companions the sense that whatever happened, the end goal of their current situation would be something higher and more noble than they could ever dream of. This particular feeling, on the rare occasions it came, made her yearn for the place they came from. To always be there and never have to leave. Getting to the source of these waves was one of the goals she treasured the most, within her current existence. That place promised so much, and it was worth striving for. She hoped she'd find out some day who was sending them and how they were able to do it. Thoughts of this quest – finding out who sent the waves of peace and where from – overrode her former melancholia. She now felt bad and even a little foolish about inflicting that on everyone.

Suria apologised to the group as they all ate their dinner in the kitchen area of the community centre. Gimi immediately told her not to worry and said he was grateful for her thoughts. She spoke more on how this place was benevolent and not harmful, and that it could be some time before they knew what its purpose was, and what their parts in it would be. Gimi agreed, saying that patience was all they needed for now.

Before long, the conversation had returned to fun things and plans for the following days, along with some anticipation as to what the next message would reveal. The consensus view was that there would be answers this time. Answers to their memory situation, and their reason for being in this village, together. Maybe it was premature to think this way, Tau had said, but it was okay to hope for now.

The general consensus amongst the group was to wait for the next message and aim to follow its directions as much as possible. If, as was generally agreed, the authors of the message also constructed the village, their wisdom must be respected. The village was evidence of their intelligence and planning. Thus, they all resolved to wait, and continued village life as before. Suria loved being in the village, and the lifestyle it afforded, so she no problem at all with this decision.