The Stone and the Shadow

The Stone stared at the tiny figure before him. ’Who are you?’ he asked curiously. ‘I’m Star. The Heavens sent me to you. Did you ask for me?’ replied Star. ‘Not that I remember; are you from the Heavens? What is it like?’ ‘I live there... it’s nice, very quiet, peaceful... Why did you call for me?’ ‘I actually don’t remember doing so...’ ‘Did you not ask for a friend?’ The Stone grew quiet. ‘I think I did... are you... an angel?’ ‘No! I’m a star. I’m not an angel. Why did you call for me?’ she replied matter-of-factly. ‘I... I don’t know’, the Stone fumbled for the right words. ‘I’m looking for answers; I know my life will be ending soon and I feel like it has passed me by when I wasn’t looking.’ ‘Why do you think your life is going to end soon?’ ‘I feel old. It feels like it’s time for this life to end.’ ‘If you could do anything in the world before you go, what would it be?’ The Stone sighed quietly. The ache in his heart grew deeper. ‘It’s too late now.’ ‘Try me… I’d like to know…’ ‘When I was very young, I had a purpose, a wish for myself.’ The Stone sighed sadly. ‘The years have passed and I haven’t even begun. It’s a dream that lived as a dream and will die a dream.’ Stone’s shoulders slumped. Star grew quiet. ‘What if it came true?’ The Stone turned to face Star. It smiled sadly. ‘I have no strength. I’m weak, I’m old, I’ve grown forgetful. It’s too late.’ A solitary tear rolled down his face. ‘It’s too late...’ he whispered. He looked at Star, so young, so energetic in her youthfulness. ‘A hundred years have passed and I haven’t even begun.’ said Stone morosely. ‘Well, I need to know what it was!’ said Star gently Stone turned around, walked to a small mound of earth behind him and sat down wearily. ‘Well, here goes… when I was a child, a young gypsy-girl found me by the riverside. I think she took a liking to me… she placed me inside a soft maroon box and that was my home for the next twenty years. I will never forget her… deep brown eyes, with the tinniest hint of mischief in them. She talked to me often, like she would to another human. I think she thought I was lucky for her and vowed never to lose sight of me.’ Stone smiled nostalgically. ‘Her name was Tikyun. I often heard her mother calling out to her in the mornings, or when she had forgotten something important, which was all too often.’ Stone stopped talking momentarily and raised his eyes to look at Star. ‘As many young people are, she was a dreamer. She… well, she always spoke of stones and pebbles that contained magic… the rare ones.’ Stone swallowed. ‘She… well, she always thought I was one of those. She thought I had magic within me. Magic that could change a lot of lives. She said that there were ways of activating this magic.’ Stone paused to see if Star was still listening. ‘Do you even believe me?’ he asked with a small smile. Star nodded slowly. ‘There is no reason not to! Go on.’ Stone turned and walked away from Star, sighing deeply. ‘Tikyun was very knowledgeable; she was an old soul in a very young body. She often spoke of wisdoms beyond her age. She would write into the night until her eyes ached from the dimness of the star-light.’ Star stood beside Stone, watching the shadows of the night play softly with strands of moonlight on the slope before them. It was a while before any of them spoke. ‘What happened to her?’ asked Star quietly. ‘Long story short? She got sick. She was taken away, maybe to get well… I don’t know and well, I was preserved by her mother for a while, among their other valuables. One day, her parents brought me and some of her other belongings and buried us here, on this hillock, though not very deep- I managed to wriggle out soon after. I don’t really know what happened. I’ve been here ever since. I’ve been like a grand-father figure to these young pebbles here, know what I mean? They come to me with their problems, when they are troubled or in grief. I’m like a counselor and pastor rolled into one.’ Star smiled slightly at the parallel. ‘Also, this is good weather, yeah? I like it here. I’m happy that I spent my life helping people be happier. I just… I just can’t forget Tikyun’s quest. She was so convinced that if someone… anyone… found the right way to activate the magical code, it could lead to something significantly crucial.’ Star looked at the old figure before her. She could see beyond the age ravaged scars and the withered body. The Stone’s Soul shone with brilliance within its hard, lined shell. Star saw more clearly than anyone else could, she could see the Lines of Fate and the Lines of Karma intertwine his Soul in a rich mesh of pulsating orbits. She saw the richness of his past intentions, the trials that his Soul had chosen to bear and the wisdom behind the mortal body. Star knew that she looked young and smiled at the presumption. She was old, older than Stone could ever imagine. She had chosen, so many galaxies ago, to help sentient beings uncover the Perfection of the Being within them, the spark from the Great Perfection itself. Star was accustomed to looking within Souls and helping them shine when Darkness threatened to engulf their Light. Stone didn’t know it, but his Soul’s journey was about to change forever.