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  Dream Snippets

  Zain ul Hassan

  www.taleofglobes.com

  Table of Contents

  Journey Towards Perpetuity 3

  Scream 5

  Aura Bloom 6

  Excuses 7

  Glimpse of the Forgotten 8

  One of those days.. 9

  Journey Towards Perpetuity

  There goes a legend..

  A legend that is the soul of the time itself;

  The fable of the wet dirt and the dry grains of sand;

  The tale of a tree that excretes the fruits of immortality.

  Tired of waiting for the Pied Piper to sing away the disease; one, with a dying woman, set out in search of that tree. With hope for a luggage, he walked away in eternity to gain the philosopher's stone that would keep them forever happy. For years he walked, but in vain. With despair and misery reeking from his face, he sat at the edge of a cliff on the fourth corner of the world. Pitying at his condition, the wind spoke, "Go East and you shall find what you seek in the forest beyond; where the angels sing and the fairies prance."

  So east, he went. With little faith that he had left in his heart, he followed the direction given to him by the gentle wind. Seven more years passed before he arrived at the mouth of the Forest of the East. Thick wooden walls hid the belly of the monstrous beast. Engulfed with fear of getting lost in the inescapable labyrinth, he asked a fox weather the forest really did contain the Tree of Immortality.

  "At the heart of the forest itself, yes," replied the fox, "but be warned, it is not worth the endeavour".

  "I have travelled all the paths known to man and spent many years in this journey to go back now," said the man before entering the woods. A hyena, listening to their conversation nearby, laughed, "Another fool seeks immortality". Ignoring those words, the man moved forward in the depths of the forest till he finally arrived at a tree; magnificent in stature, rooted twenty meters in diameter and stretching up to the sky.

  "The fruit sprouts at the top branch," thought the man as he approached the tree. Standing there, at the root was an Elf, staring at him as he came near.

  "Do not climb the tree," said the Elf, "I shall give you an elixir that would let her live longer."

  "But it shall only delay the pain," replied the man and started climbing the tree.

  Upon reaching the third branch, he noticed a golden sparrow with gleaming dust sprinkling over it out of thin air, and wherever would the dust fall, would turn in gold. With pleading eyes, the sparrow looked at him,

  "Stay and you can have all the gold that I produce," said the sparrow.

  "But this is not what I want, for what good is gold if none to share with," replied the man and continued climbing till the sky wrapped itself in the evening gown and prepared to sleep. There he noticed an owl, slightly dazed, sitting on the branch, trying to come out of his slumber.

  "Climb down and you shall have all the wisdom in the world," advised the owl.

  "Wisdom keeps everyone at ease but the one who possesses it." said the man and continued climbing. The owl saw the man climbing as far as his sight favoured him and then waited for him to return for a little while longer before getting busy in his routine.

  The man never came back and the woman disappeared..

  ..and soon everyone forgot that they existed.

  Note: "East", in some traditional writings, was usually referred as the path towards heaven.

  Scream

  All the obstructions of the world brought out the pain and suffering, mocked at the grounds of existing as a human being. At the brink of destruction, drowning in the inescapable river of misery flowing down the faces of the broken chains of life, one would watch the bleeding sun before being engulfed by the blindness or ignite to produce the fumes of hope. Soon to alter into a shudder, they would cause uneasiness in the heart fabricating to come out as a roar; a lion’s desire of the jungle rule, an escape from the caged prison. The wicked shall be shunned glorifying the just and the so called destiny shall lie at the palm of the hand awaiting the grasp of the stretched out fingers forever.

  Aura Bloom

  Sway; the leaves whisper,

  Glide; the water supports,

  Glow; the moon begs,

  Dance; the stars pray,

  “Why do stars twinkle?” asked the little boy from his father.

  “Why do you think?”

  “Maybe, because they’re happy?”

  The father smiled, “Yes, they are happy.”

  They say that a flower’s life is the easiest to manipulate. Given normal conditions; it lives a specific life spans, pollinates to spread the seeds and blooms at a given time of the year. To achieve maximum productivity, the plant measures the correct time of the year most suitable for the flower. It measures the surrounding temperature, calculates the number of hours of night and the water it gains. Control these variables and u can achieve flower forcing at any time of the year.

  “Come, its almost dawn. I want to show you something.”

  The boy followed his father to their small garden where a couple of buds laid asleep.

  “Watch one of these very closely.”

  First ray of the sun would soon shine to wake up the sleeping flowers. The buds took off their green cover and stretched their arms after a deep slumber. Dilated eyes, the boy gazed in amazement as each layer of petals began to separate itself from the inner one. The beautiful sight and the attractive fragrance grasped the boy in its majestic hold.

  “Waa..” the boy watched in awe.

  “Do you like it?”

  “yes.”

  “Watch closely, they are screaming.”

  Taken back he asks, “Why are they screaming?”

  “They are screaming for you to smile. Their life is very short; they will soon wither away and die. This is their last attempt to see you happy. Remember, no matter how harsh things become, there are always who would want your happiness. Smile, for you don’t want to disappoint them.”

  Sail; the wind sings,

  Shine; the sun hopes,

  Bloom; the flowers scream,

  Smile; the world desires.

  Excuses

  One of the basic instinct of a human nature is to fight. At desperate times, even the most naive can perform the basic acts of war; defend, counter and attack. An instinct gradually becomes the necessity of life with maturity. People fight, be it for sports or for recreation, they fight and fight and fight. Then, people fight to stop that fighting. They keep on fighting to uphold their cause. They keep on fighting to uphold their religion. They come up with a reason to prove themselves just; and then, they fight to defend their reason and to prove themselves right.

  Be it a small scale or large, people will always find someone to fight with till they have no more strength. Too weak to continue, they'll find themselves successors as the heirs to their thrones; "And the faithfuls shall not astray from their path, nor shall they disappoint their leaders."

  Trying to bring a halt to human nature is insanity, and insanity is a taboo that we stay away from.

  Glimpse of the Forgotten

  The day had been long and satisfying for everyone sitting there. The college trip to one of the last preserved Persian temples was more than what anyone could have expected. Hiding in the midst of mountains, as if being distinctively sheltered from the outside world, this place had become one of the most majestic tourist resort existing. Exhausted from exploring the place, buying the souvenirs and pushing friends in an icy cold lake, everyone had gathered at what seemed like the 100th floor of the temple about an hour before the sun would hide itself in the mountains far away. Reaching as high as the clouds themselves, everyone sat wrapped by the fog and cold weather on the top balcony of t
he temple which had existed in its true form since the last three thousand years. Soothed by the environment, the history teacher exhaled and began speaking slowly to her children, "So did we all enjoy the day?” Everyone nodded in agreement with a smile upon their face.

 

  "There is something magical about this place," she continued, "This was called the temple of life, the temple of remission, the source of elixir for thousands of people all around the world who would come to rest and take refuge away from the worldly pressures and sins. The ancient wars never reached this temple and this peaceful haven gave birth to one of the biggest legends who dominated the history of the human race with their exceptional character. One of these legends was Artemisia, the speaker of truth, the ruler of sea and the rider of the land. Influenced by the upbringing within the temple, she grew up to earn the rubric of the holy, the great, Diana. It is said that in her early years she saved a white colt from dying which grew up to be a magnificent creature and became the symbol of righteousness along with The Golden Sword of the Rahamrus which was always in her possession. However, it is not the land that gave her the pre-eminence, it was the sea; the sea which also took her life."

 

  The teacher paused for a moment to affirm everyone's attention towards the story, and then pointed the painting hanging on the wall she was leaning against. Illustrated on the painting was a stormy sea with a vessel containing a female warrior on the left side of the image and the gods of Greek on the other. Zeus with all the power of the world and the heavens was flying high above the sea with clouds and winds blocking his lower part of the body. Held in his right hand was what seemed like a trident made from the lightening of the sky, glowing within the image itself. He stood there; ready to strike the lone warrior in the vessel. Beneath him, on the raging water, standing with all his pride was Poseidon, the god of the seas. As if obeying his will, the water swirled around him with all its might to reach the arm which stretched out towards the targeted enemy. Covered with the water, the blue stature of Poseidon was as terrifying as the storm itself. Underneath the water came a thin layer of land and then the molten lava, harbouring the last of the brothers; Hades. Hades had been drawn in black with near to none features visible in order to depict the power of the Helm of Darkness. Held in his arm was a staff, longer than his own height, with one end stable near his feet and the other end splitting in two right above his head.

  "All three gods were ready to commence a war that would shake the very world itself," continued the teacher, "They wanted her head, a prize of ten thousand gold pieces was announced to all mortals.."

 

  "Is that how she died?” asked one eager student.

 

  "No, they were unsuccessful," smiled the teacher, "for the power is not what you hold in your hand, but what you hold in your heart." With that said the teacher slid her hand slowly over the painting, and as if the image was not already alive, each weapon of the gods began to fade till it disappeared. "She never fought them," said the teacher with the consistent smile on her face, "She disarmed them and called out for peace. Even though the Persians lost the Battle of Salamis, it was the victory of the eternity".

 

  There was a moment of pause.

 

  "How did she die then?" asked another student.

 

  "She fell in love at the bottom Aegean Sea, from the rock of Leucas," Said the teacher after exhaling, "and the oracle was correct; to this day she is still remembered with her soul preserved in this temple."

  One of those days..

  Its one of those days when you stop by a fast food restaurant for a quick snack along with your friends to relax after a concert or a party. No crowd to disturb late at night, you sit content with how the day had passed. Not worried about what to do next, you try to blend in the soft music being played at the background by someone with an excellent taste. You sit there fiddling with your car keys enjoying the company of your friends when your attention focuses towards the glass door opening of the almost empty restaurant. In comes someone soft on her feet, relaxed in her movement, delicate in her sound and confident at what she's doing.

  Now, I have never been a perfect believer of love at first sight but I strongly side the fact that one can tell a lot about a person at the first glance. One can evaluate a person by just observation; the way they walk: grace, the way they talk: manners, the way they approach: calmness, the way they move: elegance or the way they behave: thinking. Seating her little family she approached the counter. Her hair neatly set, purse hanging off her shoulder, one arm bent to hold the other by the elbow, she stood fully relaxed. Not wary of the surroundings, as if living in her own world, her every breath seemed to last forever. Its not that the time slows down on moments such as these, its that you intake every little detail as if trying to preserve it forever. By then, you've stopped fiddling, the sound of your friends fades away, you forget where you are and at that little time all that matters is that nothing breaks the enchantment. You smile when she smiles, you sigh when she sighs, no matter what she still stands out, waiting for her turn noticeably apart from the rest of the crowd. You think about approaching; to talk, introduce, a little chat, hopefully becoming a friend or perhaps just to place another order at the same counter. Not afraid of being rejected, you just don’t want to loose someone without even trying. You cant come up with something to say, you cant divert your attention, perhaps just a simple "hi"..

  Disposing off the idea, not wanting to give any little chances of destroying her evening with her family, you smile at what your doing and pick up your keys; your friends have finished their snacks. You give another deep sigh before standing. Without giving any clue or being noticed by anyone you make your way towards the glass door..

  Its one of those moments that perfect your day..