Stories
Messiah - Flash Fiction
He was told that the Messiah had come to a nearby town. He doesn’t remember the time, it was beyond space. It was actually timeless. Yet he remembers specifically that he had heard about it.
People were flocking the place to see him. There were reports that, literally thousands were going everyday to catch a glimpse of him. Why they called him such, he did not know. Was he a god man? He could not answer, but he felt the pulsating excitement. He even sensed a presence. He dreamt strange, exotic dreams. He prayed. Was it the Guiding Figure?
People came and said what they saw. He looked saintly. He wore a robe. He just sat, meditating and his eyes were closed. Deep they said, deep… Deep, what he thought? He was buried in his consciousness. But wait he said, I will not see him Now. I will see him only where there is a Need. (What was that ‘Need’? he asked).
In the meantime he was looking out for the Guiding Figure and the Diary which he kept, close to his heart. No one could see this Diary, but the Diary bequeathed hope in him. Hope? He thought. People thronged in crowds to see him.
What is a Messiah? he asked. People were excitedly going to the nearby town, beating their bodies, clamouring in excitement chanting what the god man said with fervour, hope… He waited for the excitement to abate. But it did not. By this time the entire country knew about him, he went without food for many days. His beard grew and the face was emaciated, withered. He prayed. Suddenly there was an earthquake in the town where the Messiah was. The town shook. There was destruction of property, ravaging it. No one died. The Protector has arrived they shouted. The Protector sat, eyes closed. He had no wealth…
Something touched his head. The wind was it, a lotus stirred his heart. The hills where he lived in opened in a yawning gap. He floundered. Where was The Diary? The earth trembled, skies shook, dogs howled, prancing in madness. Rivers were in spate in the entire country. What time was it? He thought in his home, in the adjacent town, where he lived. Will the Messiah come here? He asked. He wept. His body ached.
Something or someone touched him. He trembled. Lord he said; give me light, heart filling light… After that he slept for many days. People thought he had died. His parents wept. He came back to Life, came back viciously with a vengeance. Something touched him. He lusted. Can’t you see I am flesh and bones? I must go to the nearby town. I must see him. The Diary dropped down in front of him. All this happened aeons ago, in the flotsam and jetsam of civilization. That is Part One of the story. Part Two is yet to begin. When it ends, I will write…
05-Sep-2012
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Ananya S Guha
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