Goddess of Time

The goddess waited in the nothing. Her succulent body was a reflection of woman as we know her today. From her head down her back to her feet was a cascade of shining lizard scales, her front was soft and gentle and luscious and human. For an eternity she questioned nothing. Her experience was bliss inside the nothing and she knew herself totally. Then, as if by chance, she had a thought. Almost like a dream. What if there was some other part of me to experience that wasn't inside this form. With that thought the dim light of a star appeared in the distance. Slowly growing stronger with each moment. And more and more stars began to blink into the blackness around her.

She watched the beautiful points of light burn and for the first time, felt time begin to pass. The stars changed form and danced in the sky. Resting eventually in the shape of a large wolf. And the wolf bore its teeth and snarled. Making a roar through the blackness that excited and frightened the goddess. The wolf began to chase her through the nothing. They two, both, like lovers and hunters, ran in the never ending expanse creating emotions and thoughts from each moment.

The goddess was exhilarated by the chase but deep inside she felt a new thought come forward. She longed to be caught. This idea bubbled up from within her and she stopped and let the wolf take her. He leapt upon her and drove his teeth deep into her flesh. Tearing and ripping through her. The bone and muscle of the goddess became the celestial bodies as he shook and threw the parts of her, creating planets and stars all around him. Her blood became the oceans and the rivers, her organs formed the earth and dust and clay. When the wolf had finished devouring her, he took his place in the stars and began to watch the sands of time flow. Still today he watches the movement of their creation and even sometimes, when the stars are in just the right alignment, takes physical form to relish in the chase once more.

The Wise Old Fool

I cannot remember how I came to be standing here. Very much in my own body at the edge of an earthed, clay cliff. Facing me, the statue of a terracotta man stands with his back to the viewing point. A large perfect square cut from his torso. Dark green pines line the landscape beyond. their gorgeous geometry sculpt the land and makes it their own. The fresh, stinging stench of rotting pine needles wafts through the fresh winds.

Gently I hear a whispering and a shape shifting fool joins me. At first it is an old woman in long white robes, and then an old man and then a woman again. Rushing words towards nothing in an eager battle with the wind. I can barely make out any words. I dare not look directly at him, her at first. Then I glance over and smile. I feel at ease finally. Almost like I'm not here witnessing this wise flow of gibberish.

Suddenly, as an old man now, he takes my shoulder and says loudly to me:

"There's no key for that lock you're searching for you know."

He places a small duplicate of the clay sculpture in the square hole. This one faces the land below us. And he is gone. As quickly as he arrived.

The Mountain Lord

The lord of the mountain lived deep within the snowy peaks but could see and feel all that was occurring in his realm. From the clouds that tickled the very tops to the joyful stream that flowed downwards on the eastern ridge. He felt the flowers grow in the meadows at his feet and the worms relishing the mineral from the earth below. His memory was long and vivid.

One day a strange creature arrived into the foothills. She was dressed in woven cloths and had long, tangled hair. Her voice rang out with melody and complication. He spent a long time observing this peculiar being. He felt the love and peace in her heart and also sensed a hidden darkness. It was a human child.

She was camped nearby with her nomad family and had come exploring. the mountain lord saw her acknowledge the beauty of his majesty. She picked flowers, drank from his streams and chased the wild goats. The mountain spirit was captured by her curiosity and sense of freedom and longed to run with her through the trees.

One day the girl came as usual to the meadows and a great sorrow filled her. The lord felt like a father to this beautiful creature. She wept onto his grasses and her sadness became his. He saw thoughts and images of a dying man reaching out. Speaking words and drawing his last breath. The girl grieved with anger, laughter and many, many tears.

He decided to send her a message so he asked the wind to send  an underground creature down to help him get it to her. The wind called to a kind badger who was digging in her set. It asked her to dig deeper than ever and call to the mountain lord deep in the earth. So the badger gathered her friends and family who helped her dig a cave deep into the mountain side. Finally they found the place where the mountain lord took his true shape, formed of roots and water and rock he spoke with fire and music. I have a message for the newest creature among you, the first to walk on two limbs in these parts. Please take it to her. And with that he sang a beautiful message for them to return to the surface with.

So the badger and all his friends used the largest rock face they could find and they scratched into the stone these words in the language that they had been told:

"From the mountain lord to the little girl

I am just an observer underground. Everything that is said is from the heart of things. I invite you to watch the seasons change. Look how the elements colour my rock and fill the streams into rivers. If you listen with your face pressed to the ground you will hear my mountain breathing. You will witness birth and death and how beautiful it can be. You will see the wildness of your soul reflected in these things."