Stranger
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ophia had managed
to rip off a sewer lid and pulled us into it. It all happened in the twinkling
of an eye, and the barred lid was closed. We were curved now in a 4 feet deep
gutter that had, by now, a foot of rain water gushing through. I held Inno in my
lap so that she could sit straight and we kept our heads close to the lid. The
light from the headlights grew near and then disappeared completely, leaving a
fading trail of humdrum from the vehicles that eventually stopped. It was all
dark again. I wondered that my life had all been underground. If hiding was all
reality; then, the world did look like a cursed reality now. How long, I asked.
What wretchedness, I thought. The sky still flashed and gurgled, spitting rain
on the ground: it did look like spit on our faces looking up the barred lid
above.
Sophia softly
pushed the lid up and made sure that it was all fine. Then, she climbed up and
pulled us back onto the road. I marveled at her agility, but was not afraid to
follow her lead – she acted even before I could summon ideas for doing some
proper thinking. Her action nailed me
into submission; for they always seemed to be well calculated.
We moved swiftly
and found an intersection. The trucks had come from the right. I looked towards
the left. “Not that way,” said Sophia, “We’ll go the way that they’ve cleared.”
We moved on. We slipped into a dark street, walked through few turns of various
streets and found ourselves in a market place. The weather had become dry here
and the heavens above were as dark as nothingness. The walk we were on opened
onto a square where there were a number of people. The number of people did
gradually rise through each street that drew close to the shopping area.
Intriguingly, I noticed that the lamps here had a certain green shade. It also
seemed that the people here were a bit obsessed with snakes; for these
creatures, in their numerous varieties, served as the ground pattern for all
commodities here: shoes, suits, and snacks alike.
Sophia slowed her
pace, and I followed suit. From the distance, I could now notice that a number
of policemen were stationed at the square. Two of them were approaching from in
front of us. They wore dark green uniforms and had serpent badges on. “This is Invidia,
the territory of Envy,” Sophia whispered. The two policemen were discussing
something that seemed to be too important to them; they just passed by us
without even throwing a glance. I felt relief.
We reached the
square where a statue of the Lady Invidia stood. She was seated on a coiled
green viper. A plank on the serpent had these words carved:
INVIDIA
Venom of the Earth
Four lampposts
stood on the four corners of the square, each bearing a serpent’s head with
green light blazing from its eyes. The first was called Self-seeking; the
second, Blindness; the third, Hatred; and the fourth, Rottenness. I had a
severe desire to just get away from this appalling and disgustful sight. At
that very moment, it seemed like the scene in front of me was torn apart like a
canvas of painting, and a fiery dragon pierced through and leapt onto the
middle of the square out of nowhere. Seated on it was Invidia. Her dazzling
eyes spotted us and within moments we fell on the ground bound with strong
twigs. I looked at Inno and saw that she was bound as well. Immediately,
officers surrounded us and sprayed a green gas on our eyes. Then, everything
was pitch darkness and I fell unconscious.
I thought it was
rain, and then I realized that it was water being thrown on my face, and was
puzzled that I hadn’t yet awakened from this dream, as it seemed. I looked up
and saw that I was in some kind of a stony dungeon; some officers stood there
smiling at me sarcastically. One of them looked at me with utter disgust. I
looked and saw that Sophia and Inno were still tied; they were unconscious.
The disgustful
looking officer pricked a baton under my cheek and asked, “Who else are with
you?”
I answered nothing.
My mind reeled with the nauseating stench around. The officer was disgusted.
“Get that thing out!” he shouted. “Spit it out or you’ll be impaled on a pole
with your friends before all eyes!” another one cried. They looked extremely
violent and vulgar.
“Please leave me
alone for some time,” I cried out loud. Inno and Sophia awoke with a startle.
They officers looked stunned. “Let me deliberate a little; then, I’ll tell you
what I wish to say.”
They looked at each
other and nodded. “Think, then,” the officer said, “before your brains are
spilled out!” He then moved out and the others followed suit one by one. I
lowered my head in an utter sense of desperation.
“Don’t fret!”
Sophia said, “It’s impossible for darkness to overcome light!”
“But, where light
finds no way to enter, there darkness reigns. That is the kingdom of darkness!”
“If it were all
dark, then why would I have a ray of hope?”
I found no answer.
I felt just confused. I could think of no way out. For the first time I felt
that evil had triumphed over man through the venomous sting of envy. At that
instant, the only dim lights that lit our dungeon sizzled off and died, and it
was all pitch dark. Inno cried with fear. “Don’t be afraid!” Sophia tried to
strengthen her. I moved in every way possible to break off the strands; but
they held me tight. I struggled and I felt Sophia struggling too. Suddenly, it
seemed that somebody stood close to me.
“Who is it?” I
cried.
There was pin drop
silence. I could hear the panting of Sophia and the cries of Inno.
“Tell me, again,
who is it?” I cried out.
There was again a
deep silence. Then, something touched my strands and they broke off loose. The
next instant, I sensed Sophia and Inno stand on their feet too.
“Run away!” a voice
calmly said, “I’ve come to take your place.”
“Who is it?” I
asked groping around with my hands.
“Get away from here
and do not worry about my name; for, in a little while you shall see me again!”
“No, tell me your
name?”
“They call me
Stranger here. That’s all you need to know for the moment. Now, run!”
“Where do you
live?”
“I have no home
here.”
“What do you do?”
“Ask the ground
beneath your feet what it does,
Ask the firmament
above your head what it does,
Ask the daystar
that fills the world with energy what it does,
(Now hidden from
your view; yet, not annulled)
Ask the heart that
beats within your breast what it does,
Ask the cold rain
pouring from the fiery sky what it does;
Who has appointed
it? What office does it hold?
Is it paid from the
treasures of Hamartia?
Or does Sarx
marshal it like he does the forces of wild Desire?
Then you shall know
that my office is not from below;
Neither am I
esteemed by this estranged world of woes.
Sin finds nothing
in me, nothing worthwhile but profuse enmity!
Do not ask any
further; for this is not the time to ask and answer;
Run! Run away from
here! Stop not to look back,
Turn neither to the
left nor to the right! Just run, run away from here!”
“Where to?”
“Just run away!
Away now!” he cried and his voice struck us like an electricity; in an instant
we were jolted out of the dungeon and landed on a street.
The street was very
dimly lit and littered with all kinds of refuse. There was a far heavier stench
here than ever that we had to cover our olfactory senses. The houses were all
dilapidated and on the verge of crumbling. People walked clumsily on the road;
most just sat idle on the ground. A giant tower loomed at a little distance and
upon it were inscribed the words,
BABEL
Easy Come Easy Go
We three stood there marveling with our mouths parted wide. The walls of
this part of the City, including the tower, were made of stones and resembled
the back of a tortoise shell.
“This is Acedia, the province of Sloth,” muttered Sophia.
“What did Stranger mean when he said that he had come to take our
place?” I asked.
“I don’t know. But, one thing I know: he had come to save us.”
“I hope Stranger is safe,” Inno spoke with a deep pity in her voice. I
took her in my arms.
“Yes, he’ll be safe dear,” I said, “If he knew how to get in, he sure knows
how to get out as well.”
But, who was this Stranger after all, I wondered to myself. Deep inside
I had an assurance. Providence had not failed us one more time.
“If you promise to share with me some, I’ll show you the best liquor
shop just a little away,” someone suggested from behind. I was about to turn
back, but Sophia gripped my hand.
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