AB's Seal: Digital Short Story, January 2021
AB's Seal
ISBN: 978-9920-32-981-1
Dear Reader
Let's draw benefits out of this confinement
release your soul and let it wander and sway in the realms of dreams
Dedication
I
dedicate this book to my late brother Abdenbi who continues to
inspire me and influence each aspect of my life from another world.
Special thanks go also to Bentaleb Zakaria, for his paintings included in this blog.
My thanks also go to J! Wooten, Jr. for being so helpful.
Foreword
Reading
this story makes you one of those passionate readers looking for weird
abstract realities, and yet it cannot be grasped by all of you. If you
are ready for some amazing adventures, a flight to a world of mystery
and the unbelievable, welcome to this wonder world where every word has a
life of its own. Here might overlap the concrete with the abstract.
Life and Death are two faces of the same coin.
I came to believe that there is no coincidence in the making of the
world. Should you see a bee humming or a bird twitting, be sure it bears
a message to decipher.
Your opening of this
book might change your way of seeing things in life and make the
characters in it immortal beings whose souls start mimicking at the
first touch of every page of this story.
Indeed,
keep in mind that Life and Death are faces of the same coin. It is up
to you to make your coin polished deemed to shine in brilliant fares or
to let it be buried among the most antique treasures. Some of you strive
to make themselves immortal through their lavish existence on earth.
Others choose to remain alive in the hearts of people through their good
deeds, while others are made immortal through their creative works.
The
myriad forms of immortality can be felt here and now. In this book, the
dead and the alive interact and influence each other. The immortality
of characters of this book can be sustained through you and as long as
it sparks your attention and reading.
This story will take you at a slow pace to the meandering world of life and
death. You will strike open five windows through which you will see life
in the eyes of Farah. Farah’s way of life would give you tips to dig
into your inner skills searching for the real you.
Farah
invites each one of you to drink from five springs described
hereunder. Each spring will spread its grace and relaxing effect into
your muscles and veins for an ultimate internal spiritual and physical
self-connect, cleansing, evolution and rise to ethereal soul’s
infinity.
INDEX
Spring N°I: Cleanse your heart
Spring N°II: Self-connect
Spring N°III: Develop your skills
Spring N°IV: The art of accepting gifts
Spring N°V: The key to infinity
Spring N°I: Cleanse your heart
Abraham Lincoln said “Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds to be”
Take
a walk or find a place away from the hectic life and try to make zero
tech moment each day. You can stretch or sink in a bath tub full of
magnesium salt as one of the wise people once advised. Make it a better
day by brushing away negative attitudes and chasing bad emotions from
your heart.
Farah went to the nearby river as
usual carrying some seeds to the birds there. At midway she received a
call from her elder sister Sara who needed help getting her car fixed
nearby. They spent the whole afternoon indoors near the hearth talking
as the car was left for repair. It was a stormy evening. Time rushed
like the roaring wind in that cloudy day. Sara left with her car already
fixed around 11.11 pm. Though it was late, Farah regained the river
knowing the birds would be sleeping, she was resolutely carrying the
seeds, and was encouraged to walk, at that time, when she saw some
neighbours walking their pets around. She walked slowly in her dark grey
coat and purple scarf as far as the banks of the river, she threw some
seeds on the ground, hoping the birds would wake up in the wee hours of the morning,
the following day to pick them up.
It was dead silence and the mist of
the atmosphere was chilling her as she stopped hearing the barking dogs,
it was indeed time to go back home. In the way back, she stopped by a woman sphinx statue standing majestically on
both sides of the bridge overlooking the river. It is a well decorated
sculpture, the epitomy of her inner soul (half a human and half an
animal). She meditated the statue for a while. She bumped into a small
toy near that woman sphinx, took it and left steadily to her house.
It was a tiresome day, it was so tiring
she resorted to sleep in a matter of few minutes.
Her soul surrendered to a mild slumber and went on a deep sleep after few minutes.
Suddenly she woke up with her heart beats accelerating after seeing a
weird dream. She had a visitor in that dream, it was a strange creature,
it was a majestic woman the top of which was a beautiful empress-lik
woman and the second half a lion, it was no other than the sphinx lady
but that one was lively and a very fairy lady full of energy and colors
but the sphinx was scared. The reason was that it was chased by myriad
animals, wild birds enraged hounds and cats were outraged at the sight
of the sphinx approaching and preventing it from landing to the ground.
Farah had pity on the sphinx lady, and was trying to cool down the
enraged animals. At that time, an old man appeared and told her “my
child, these animals that we care after are our guardian angels”. The
sphinx lady had already rushed to quit leaving only dust behind.
Farah is a goodwill Ambassador. She dedicates her time, heart and soul
to charitable activities, helping the needy, saving souls and
vulnerable beings. She helps orphans and poor families needing her help
and cares for stray animals as well.
She believes in one thing: what you loose in the swings you gain in the
roundabouts. In that way, her efforts are never going awry as she
dedicates time, money and soul to helping vulnerable beings.
This is the manifestation, par excellence, of unconditional love and
altruism.
Spring N°II: Self connect
Rumi said “today I am wise so I am changing myself”
Self-connecting
is the art of listening to yourself and connecting body to the soul and
to the spirit. You learn to know your needs and balancing attitudes.
In the same fashion, Farah likes to take some time for introspection
into herself. It is more of her inherent nature than a practice she
fostered. She remembers a conversation she had with her niece Myriam
asking her if she has ever seen an angel before.
"yes, I have seen them” she answered.
“No, Really?” the little girl was goggle-eyed.
"I once dreamt of angels carrying long feathers in a rosey hue and all
was engulfed in a rose bubble of light and their feathers were swaying
over something high up in the seventh sky." went on Farah in great delight.
“Was there a licorn as well?” asked again the fifteen year-old girl.
“No
but I have seen another dream" she resumed a deep breath and continued
“I once saw a dream where I found myself behind a short horse the size
of a donkey but it was not a donkey, it was a fair short horse but I
could not see its face because I was behind and got on its back. As
soon as I got on the horse’s back, it took off immediately to the
seventh sky like a rocket and I had the impression I was riding on some
jet but it was quicker than lightening and I landed back in few seconds.
It was amazing!” related Farah.
“If it were not a licorn nor a donkey, then what was it?” asked her niece.
“I fancy it was a Pegasus” said Farah thoughtfully.
“Do you think these things exist in reality?” asked her niece.
“They exist in another world may be” answered Farah.
Farah
has a spiritual side with a strong intuition and spends some time
reciting verses from the Quran and invoking God.
One night, she saw a dream where she rescued her best friend Dalia. The latter was scared and kneeling
in a frenzy of fright; her friend could not utter a word nor move a
limb. Towards the corner, Farah noticed in the path of her friend an angry big
lion, it seemed very strong and its wrath was awesome. Farah began to
recite “Ayatul kursi: the Throne verse” from the Holy Book, while stepping forward and as she was reciting,
the lion vanished like dust.
Dalia was astonished that Farah could chase the lion away, then Farah helped her friend get up.
“How
could you defeat it?” asked Dalia.
Farah tendered her hand to her friend to help her walk ahead.
Farah was full of empathy and she knew that some creatures can sacrifice
themselves for others just like a gem when its color fades while it
absorbs negative energies from other creatures.
All the good things one does can be gained back. Farah used to see the
animals and poor people she helped in her dreams coming to her rescue.
Some were sacrificing themselves and others pushing off threats that
come her way. In fact, unconditional love is truly capable of creating
miracles.
Farah was also a good communicator. She
learnt to communicate not only through words but through genuine feelings as
well. She came to weave ties with every molecule in the universe. She
can feel the vibrations of animals, plants, gems and interact with them in a
meditative and smart way.
In as such, her senses became acute and intuition grew stronger, so
strong that she can feel others’ thoughts and needs. It happens to her
to come just at the right place and time when needed without being
asked to.
She also learnt to communicate with her loved onces through her dreams.
Often dreams are premonitory and drawing attention to the right thing to do or
not to do.
One dark and cold night, the darkness was as
misty as fog and the cold as freezing as a snowy Christmas evening, Farah saw a beautiful bride in her dreams. The bride was wearing a bright
golden gown and was stepping up the stairs. She could not discern her
face though. It was like the apparition of a dreary spectre.
Unlike such night spectres, she would tend to meditate on the sun’s
colourful spectres made of seven hues with eyelashes half closed, a
magnificient landscape to ponder upon.
Yet that dready lady in the golden gown would pay visit to her
repeatedly, night after night, and she vanishes leaving only the golden gown behind. She would wake up frightened and her heart would beat like a
drum as she tried to figure out who was the lady and to decipher the
mystery of her disappearance leaving that gown behind.
It was a saturday morning, she woke up shocked at the news of her grandma’s death. They paid a
short visit to the mansion in which her grandma was living with a wide
grange located in far-stretching miles of lands on a greenish valley. There were abundant
fruits around which the birds were warbling, Eucalyptus trees swaying to
the rythm and tilting sound of zephyrs. From there, one can see some
pinnacles studded with many an olive tree.
Farah remembers when she was young and used to spend some time there
playing in hills that echoed shrieks of laughter and screams. Children used to wash
some grapes in the meandering streams collected on the sly from the
neighbouring lands before rushing bare-footed to hide between lilac
trees.
Sometimes, Farah used to join her father in
collecting prunes, figs, oranges and grenadines under a summer fiery sunshine. In the evenings, they would be relaxing near the hearth when the sunset
covers like glowing embers the ashen sky in shades of grey and tangerine
and a mellow tint like a patchwork to the eye.
At night, they would watch, in the balmy breeze, the navy blue color of
the cleared sky, as blue as the ocean's hue. Then they would listen to the
barking dogs and cows’ hoofs. Now she assumes that all is gone
and has been.
Her father could not control his tears as he was weeping and sighing out
of sorrow.
Her father Yusef was never seen in that state before, not even when his only son Ab died in a tragic accident. Yuseph chanted in deep sorrow:
Heaven bliss my house that cuddled me at birth
mourned my misfortunes and witnessed my growth
Gave me a shelter security and warmth
It is my mausoleum henceforth
This house is not only rooms, a kitchen and a bath
Under this roof I burst into outrage and wrath
Here I learnt the precepts of love wisdom and faith
I learnt that life is both birth and death
I should have been limited to what was permitted..
When my perversity was mildly indulged the way not merited
Her
father was swaying like a spectre in the house, peeping pitifully at his
mother’s portraits at times and ruminating as he watched her things in her room at other
times. Farah decided to share his grief and went to her grandma’s room to console him.
At that time, Yusef brought a wooden box that resembled more of a
sailor’s box than her grandma’s private box. He started showing her the
things hidden inside it.
The box was like one of those ancient treasures. There were jewels
and antique clothings. Then Farah noticed a gorgeous dress that belonged to her
grandma. It was a beautiful golden dress. She, then, realized it was like
the gown the lady left behind in her nightmares. The same gown. She
examined the cloth closely.
It was a marvellous antique gown hand-made in golden silk.
Her
father noticed his girl’s interest, then took it and gave it to her. He
also gave her a pearly necklace beaded with special opals and saphires.
“This is yours keep them in memory of your grandma!” said her father with trembling fingers.
“Thank you” All that Farah could say to her father. She just wanted to
soothe his pain.
(one of the twelve springs of Karlovy Vary)
Spring N°III: Develop your skills
‘Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself ‘
said George Bernard shaw
‘Energy and persistence conquer all things’ said Benjamin Franklin
Honing
one’s skills is a lifetime struggle to build
capacities, reach maturity and improve talents through developing
one’s communication, understanding, coping up while believing in your
abilities through Research, listening, adaptation, truthfulness, and
positive interaction.
Communication
Farah
has learnt non-verbal communication with her friends: the animals. Who,
better than a non-speaking creature, can communicate through gestures
and mimes.
She learnt to be patient and give time to any creature to understand the
language of silence. After all, communicating heart to heart is more powerful than
words.
Listening
Speaking is less
important than listening. You learn through listening not
through speaking.
Listening can be external or internal. When you listen to your body’s
needs, your inner thoughts, feelings, intuition, that is of higher
importance. Listen to the energies within and around you and develop
the inner power to recognize energy flows. Be open to subtle feelings
within and around you. Farah had that inherent nature to listen to others and to her body and soul vibrations.
Positive interaction
Positive
interaction improves one’s well being. It relies, in its success, on
positive thinking and action from others and towards others. Farah pays
attention to the single tingling that her body generates.
She comes to get into a room where handicraft products are exposed made
from genuine material and she can feel the flow of their energy into her
veins. She feels the vibration of a place or the presence of a
particular energy in it.
Again Farah learnt to interact not only physically but also mentally.
She is more of a listener. Not only does she listens to the suffering of
others but she came to develop a positive interaction with her
surroundings.
Farah’s lost brother Ab was like an angel
watching over her. He taught her many things in life and would not leave
her without accomplishing his noble mission, that of perfecting and
imbuing her with knowledge and guiding her throughout her achievements.
Ab was a charming guy, with a refined look, always smelling good like a
summer breeze, an exquisite and expressive face with outstanding
alphabet. His laconic voice was engaging and graceful limbs made
him like a Hollywood character coming out of an imaginary world. He was a
talented person. Unfortunately, Ab left to the underworld at the age of
32.
Ab would communicate with his sister in her dreams. She never thought
that even after taking away his life in that tragic accident she would
continue to see him in her night views and receive messages from him.
The legacy he left her was even of more consequence than what she ever
thought. It was the most precious treasure she could hunt for.
An unpredictable gift was waiting for her wrapped up just between the
shelves of her mum's secret drawer.
Ab left dreary memories of his mishap to his mother let alone to
his father. His mother lost the sense of life and always keeps her son's chair
empty. Yuseph was always hiding his anguish but would collapse at
hearing some bad news of any unpredictable death.
Ab's gift to Farah was a precious one and came just in time, before her 40 years’
birthday. It came as a nice surprise. Ab was keen on surprises and he
would always pay surprise visits to his kins and relatives. No doubt,
his accident was not the only surprise he did to his family.
She was chanting lyrics composed especially for him:
Shall I close my eyes and wait for a gleeful moment with him in a dream
Shall I imagine his angelic shape in the misty beam
Shall I recall my body grasped against his in a hug so tight
Shall I go to the airport and wait for his usual flight
Ruthless destiny tore us asunder
We are no more living together
To palliate my disappointment and soothe my pain
Craving for sympathy is all I can gain
Ab resting in his tomb heaving an eternal sigh
His soul wandering angelically to the seventh sky
Ab was only thirty two,
death enchanted him he was fighting it though
Life is but a stroke of luck what can one do
If one is born under an unlucky star one’s fate can only be a friend or foe
Spring N°IV: The art of accepting gifts
Charles Dickens said “whatever greater gift than the love of a cat”
Carlos
Ruiz Zafon said in the shadow of the wind (the cemetery of forgotton
books) “presents are made for the pleasure of who gives them, not the
merits of who receives them."
" It isn’t the size of the gift that matters but the size of the heart that gives it." Eileen Elias Freeman;(touched by angels)
There
are many types of gifts in life. Some are physical and they are things
given by those who love and care for us to make us happy. In this case,
one should strive to learn how to accept them and not be resentful,
others are spiritual. This category includes wisdom understanding, knowledge, piousness.
Extra-senses that are inherent
to us are yet another category of gifts like inner vision, inner
thoughts, intuition and healing. Some other gifts are in the way between.
Farah's father seldom shows his sorrow. She remembers when Ab died, in
that tragic accident, Yuseph tried to hide his grief. But the family
would find him alone in sporadic hysterical fits.
Farah had a strong
bond with Ab, so strong that that bond would be sustained even after his
demise. She sustained their relationship talking to him and sending him
ethereal messages. Strangely enough, Ab would respond back.
The impact
that Ab had on her was eternal and infinite. Not only he used to coach
her in life with his guidance and advice but he would teach her how to
evolve and how to improve herself.
She often saw Ab in her dreams sending her coded messages. Those enigmas
she would live with and try to solve the mysteries surrounding them.
Farah still remembers how she would see Ab in her dreams before and
after his death. Some were premonitory dreams and others were coded
messages she strived to decipher.
Farah was also living with that heavy burden of her father's grief after Ab's death. The last staw that breaks the camel's back is that some folks would consider a family without any male offspring like a kingdom with no heir.
One
midnight, she was seeing a dream. Her desk was in the middle of a
library and she was near the book shelves in that library, then she came
across a novel. That novel, in reality, belonged to her late brother.
He bought the book and sent it to her, while he was still alive, as she
was his disciple learning writing techniques from him and yet she never
had time to read that book. The Novel had a gothic character. Its cover
featured a charming lady in bloody tears and behind her were pillars and
retinas over the pillars which overlooked a cliffed valley whereas the
sky was dark and cloudy. She wanted to open the book, then her mum came
in and took it. She struggled to get it back and put it back to
the shelf in that library which belonged seemingly to her.
Farah remembers the novel really existed as she has seen it and put it
in Ab’s hidden treasure. It was a story by a famous writer called Clive barker titled
“weaveworld”. She sought it in the dusty shelves of her mum’s secret drawer. It
was wrapped up in some of Ab’s clothes lest it be damaged because it
had some emotional value to her eyes. She searched and found it as was
seen in her dreams and she uncovered the voluminous book to find out its
back cover was branded with stains of purple blood. She resumed her courage then went
on curiously through the pages to discover the theme of the story.
The
book tells a tale about a magic universe embedded in the real world woven in an antique carpet stumbled upon by the son of a poet. The
latter would fight to save that universe from some folks who were determined to rule or annihilate it.
She has always hesitated to reading that bloody novel but her dream was a
strong reason for her to ultimately open it. She was determined to read
it to the last page. One can defeat time and space with will and
persistence. She dedicated a week to decipher its story.
Strangely enough, she had just hang a Persian "four seasons" rug on the
wall of her room. She bought it from the Blue souk in Sharjah one day. It was a meticulously knitted rug she found at an Egyptian
store. She was keen to buy it and was bargaining with the Egyptian
merchant until she got it. Having read the book, the sight of the rug
would now give strange illusions to her eyes, she started discerning
faces and the shapes of its motives were like goggle-eyed demons to her eyes.
The weird thing is that she just finished the story the day of her 40th
birthday.
She kept seeing dreams about
Persian rugs. It was like messages about her rug.
Undoubtedly, the book was a gift from her brother, the perfect gift indeed for
her to satiate her greed and love for reading and literature.
Spring N°V: A step towards infinity
Emily Dickinson said “Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality”
Farah
had always thought that life and death were two faces of one’s life.
One is on earth and the other is in the hereafter. She once came upon a
little dog in the street and the poor animal had one pierced eye
probably lost in some fight for food with stray dogs. She took care of
the poor creature and one day she realized the animal had a swollen
belly. Once she saw that abnormal swollen animal she took him to a
veterinary doctor.
“ He needs internment!” came the answer.
She
acquiesced to the veterinary doctor who was a sweet lady with a passion
for animals and rescue.
After a week, she got the dog back. He was feeling better and eating
normally. She released him in his usual spot and he took off rushing to look for
his stray friends again. She would come to give him food and make sure
he was in good shape.
One day, she found
out the poor dog was scared like hell. She stayed for some time
observing the animal. Some school kids were running and walking by and
would beat the poor animals in their way.
Blanco, the name given to the dog, was scared to death and would not
dare eat the food she would give him. Such stress would sap his health
and prevent him from recovering quietly.
In the afternoon, she was thinking about a solution to help that dog
survive. The only clue she had in mind was to take him from that area
to another spot. Where, for goodness's sake, can she find a safe area. All the areas
were full of naughty kids and careless car-drivers and stray animals that would chase
him.
She looked for a quiet and peaceful place where Blanco would survive and
would find his way easily. There was a big bath called “the City Hammam”. She
noticed a guardian there keeping some stray animals at a shelter at the back of the bath made
of boxes and cloth. She broached a conversation with him. He agreed to
keep the animal there unless he was not aggressive.
Henceforth,
that became her new pilgrimage each day, on her way, she would visit
the place give food to that guardian which is taking care of that
animals’ shelter and keeping an eye on Blanco.
One day, she
did not find Blanco. The guardian assumed he saw him in the direction of
the market of vegetables. Farah would patrol the area but in vain.
Over
a week, there was no news about the dog and no hint on him. In the long run, she
started loosing hope until the gardian told her he saw him back eating
in the animal’s shelter.
She was happy to see Blanco alive and back. She continued providing food
for the shelter until she learnt that Blanco moved to another neighbourhood,
she followed him there. He would recognize her and would run towards her licking her shoes. He would ask for love and hugs more than food.
He
caught a cold afterwards, then she gave him a treatment for that. He
became healthy and grown into a lovely boy.
He would wait for her at the side of the road
every day.
After eight months, she noticed there were works in that
neighbourhood and it was necessary for Blanco to leave the place. She
hesitated in taking him from there because he just started coping up and found new
human friends in the area she would not deprive him from.
One day, as the works were underway, she came to feed the dog. He was
not there.
He vanished again like a grain of salt
in the ocean. She thought her heroe survived more than once. It will
work for him again. She said he must be around, and should be just
scared of the construction works underway. One week, two weeks and no
one would give her a hint. She was desperate and sadly looking for him.
One grocer, in the area, told her that the dog was crushed one rainy evening by a
car. Yet, she could not believe that. Her heroe must have survived.
If
dead, then, why did not she found his body..??! So many unanswered
questions went through her mind.
She continued driving by and patrolling the area for him but in vain.
After two months, she was convinced that her heroe left to another
world. Her heroe appeared to her, in a dream, she could barely dream of her car sliding towards a wall and Blanco prevented that accident by standing in the way of the
car and sacrificed himself.
The message from her dog meant a lot to her. It was for him a beginning
of a new life.
She forgot the story but not the lesson she drew from it.
One can be
immortal in many ways, through creative work, through handicraft, antique things,
books, paintings..and every kind of inventions.
A book’s characters, therefore, can be immortal as they are brought to life
whenever a reader reads their stories. She started thinking about
creating a story about her life heroes: Ab, Blanco, Pot, Rub, Bob.. and many others. Rest
In Peace!
Comments
Post a Comment