lucky, part 2…
Once, on our long path in search of a new home, we were travelling along a space trail, one of those mysterious yet distinct paths that seem to form in space travel…
At first, the path seemed clear & bright, as straight as an arrow & easy to follow…
The path eventually darkened, and I was not sure that I could see the way…but there was no way back–the space trail had closed behind us.
It was dark forever, & again forever…but we just kept going. LB & Seala grew very quiet, which had never happened before.
Suddenly, we saw a glimmer of light up ahead…
It was something beautiful & mysterious…& we had not seen light for so long…I had to go closer.
All at once, I recognized what it was…it was something I had only heard of in stories & legends…it was also something very dangerous…
…a meteor.
The only thing was, it was sitting so quietly & still. I thought maybe it was injured. So I parked our space kayak & got out. LB pulled at me & whispered frantically, “Get back!”
We had heard about meteors…their wild, unpredictable paths as they went about their dangerous jobs, their rough & careless ways that could cause so much destruction…
But I had never met one & only half believed those legends the ancestors told…
“Hello,” said the meteor, in a deep & beautiful voice…He seemed so calm, & steady, & shined so brightly in the dark, infinite space surrounding us everywhere…
I just had to go a little closer…somehow I knew that everything would be all right!
And at the same time, I knew something was dreadfully wrong…because my children were very frightened…
In a flash, I got too close! I was branded with a searing scar across my forehead…
I woke up as if from a dream, & ran for the space kayak, which was tossing & almost overturning from some invisible waves… ohh, my children!…
We flew the space kayak away as quickly & steadily as possible…
I just looked back once, as the meteor sat quietly in the vast expanse of space all around, infinitely, in all directions…He did not try to come after us…but just waited there, alone…
We flew for another eternity…
…until, gradually, our path brightened with some familiar glimmers of light coming to greet us, and we knew we were back on a well-marked space trail again.
The children were quiet for a long, long time after that.
They know now that all paths are not clear…& there is truth in the stories our ancestors tell.
I think they’ll be okay carrying that knowledge.
We are very, very lucky to have found our way back!
Sometimes, when I’m in that dreamy place halfway between sleep & wakening, where those partly buried truths unfold themselves, I’ll ask myself, “Don’t you regret that reckless thing you did, Clay Ball?” and I will feel enormous relief to be home, safe, with my children.
But, then I remember the Meteor, & his wild, solitary path. Maybe he wasn’t born a meteor, but his destiny became a lonely one, far from the inhabited & friendly spaces!
In the time that I knew Meteor, I chanced to ask him his heart’s desire.
He replied simply, “I want to live the full circle of life.”
Isn’t that what we all hope for?
…Of course, like my Mom before me & her Mom ball before her, someday I’ll tell my grandchildren & all of their young friends, “Stay away from meteors, or you will surely get burned!”
And yet, I still believe…
Love rocks the stars!
love,
Clay Ball
…wishing for the full circle of life to all the meteors out there…
