Samedi, 1er Décembre 2007

It was the morning of his 18th birthday. He had hardly slept the previous night; Nerul pretended to be sleeping when his mother slipped into the room two hours earlier to keep his gift on the desk.

He found it particularly difficult to get off his bed this morning. He finally managed to pull himself up and walked towards his desk. He picked up the envelope his mother had placed, and read the inscriptions marked on it –

“To Nerul, your wings are now fully grown; it’s time for you to fly to your independence. Explore, discover and achieve your dreams. Love always, Mom.”

He opened the envelope and found a one way ticket to San José, Costa Rica. The previous month, Nerul had received a confirmation of acceptance on his scholarship to complete his bachelor’s degree in marine biology in the University of Alajuela. He was to leave in 20 days. He smiled, and put the flight ticket back into the envelope. At the time, he did not know that this would never happen, and that today would be the day of his disappearance.

When he was 12, Nerul’s father had left his family in the lurch, while pursuing a separate life with his mistress who had come to bear his child. Since then, Salina, took the sole mantle of bringing up her only child, Nerul, and, of supporting both of them by working two jobs. Nerul had grown to consider Salina not only as his mom but also his friend and confidant.

“Do you have it?”

Nerul turned to his left and looked outside the window. It was a bright morning and the rays of the Sun were precariously penetrating his window like golden arrays of escalators inviting him towards its heart of bright yellow fire.

“Hi.” Nerul responded.

“Today is the day, isn’t it?” the Sun added.

“I presume it is, but I haven’t finished working on my thermal shawl.”

It was 3 years ago that Nerul had discovered that he possessed the gift of communicating with all the elements of the universe. The Sun had been the first to speak to him, but eventually, he would be able to speak with other elements, including the wind, the earth and water. Through his gift, he had managed to discover a number of unanswered scientific questions, but for fear of being ridiculed, he kept his secret to himself. The Sun had convinced Nerul that he would help him create a special fabric, and that if covered in it, he would be able to partake in a unique journey into the Sun and experience wonders that stretched beyond any of mankind’s imaginations. Nerul had worked on this fabric for 2 years, and today would have been the day he completed his creation, except that he was very circumspect about his end product.

“So what will it be?” asked the Sun.

“I don’t know.”

“The choice is yours. You know the risks and benefits involved. But, you are the only one in charge of your next step which will help determine the path you lay down before you.”

With uneasiness in his stomach, and a fear that made his hands quiver while picking up the thermal shawl and wearing it, Nerul climbed on the ledge of his window and looked straight into the Sun.

“I am ready,” he said.

The next step was the most difficult footstep he had to endure in his lifetime. He mustered all the faith stored within him, closed his eyes and put his left foot forward looking for non existing ground.

Subsequently, Nerul felt himself being dragged by an uncontrollable energy, he felt his shawl disintegrate, his clothes and skin being burnt away and ripped into pieces, melting in the surrounding environment. His lips and nostrils seemed to be breathing hot lava, he felt suffocated, smothered, being turned into a ball of fire. He could feel his insides being torn apart. He had never felt such excruciating pain, and was only hoping that the moment he died would be soon, so that this torture would end. His eyes saw only deep orange and yellow, until everything went dark.

Nerul opened his eyes and looked at the golden adorned vast forest surrounding, it felt as though he had already been here, but couldn’t place the location in his memory. It was unknown to him but felt, at length, like home. He then looked down at his starch naked body. He felt neither cold nor warm, a sense of calmness filling his every pore of being.

“Hello, Nerul. How do you feel?”, the Sun uttered.

“What happened? Where am I? Am I dead?”

“No, you are not dead. You are within me, the Sun. And I am within you.”

“So the shawl worked?”

“No, it did not. It was never meant to. But you worked. You took the leap and here you are.”

“So if it was never meant to, why did I work on it for so long?”

“Because you were not ready; today, you were, as you’ve shown it. You would not have taken the leap earlier. How do you feel?”

“I don’t know… calm, I guess. But…”

“There is no ‘but’ over here. ‘But’ implies a contradiction, it will not help you move on and make your next choice. There is now, and there is here, and there are possibilities.”

“So, now what?” asked Nerul.

“Now, you lie down and let me take care of you. The energy that surrounds you and that is within you here is always at your disposal to help you consider your possibilities and your choices. You have to take awareness of this energy and this will help you fulfill the path that you opt to tread on.”

“What about my mom? And Costa Rica? Shouldn’t I be going back home?”

“You can, if you want to. Or you can see the sights of this wondrous universe you’ve reached.”

“I don’t know… I should be going back… But…Can I get some clothes? I feel uncomfortable being naked.”

“Make your decision and abide by it. It ultimately all leads to the same goal.”

“What about….”

“Stop. I am the Sun. I provide energy to all living things on Earth and to many other planets that you are not aware of. I am the source of life and have been for billions of years. If I can take care of more than a trillion living and ‘non living’ organisms, don’t you think you can put your faith in me who has opened my doors to you?”

Not knowing why, Nerul felt himself lying down on the earth, his naked body feeling a tingling of warmth, and as he let himself go, he was finally completely free as a new dawn began to unveil upon him.