“Have you ever seen the girl with feet like boats and palms like sails, drifting away and laughing out loud, caught in childish play, having the sea and all living beings gazing at her, absorbing her crystal clear laugh and happiness… Have you even heard of her!?” said the narrator to himself whilst looking at his muse, in the form of a Murano fish resting on his TV, which reminded him of his home, when his mum was still about!
It was then, when the fish started moving and swimming acrobatically in the thin air of the room, leaving rainbow trails like from its tail, where a bouquet of colours were melting continuously and interminable! The narrator was gobsmacked and for the first time in his life, lost for words! The fish stood still and, maybe not as surprising as coming alive, it started talking: “It is lovely to see you again, my dear old friend…and old you have become, since I last saw you!” said the fish, grinning. “It pains me to see you like this but you did have a choice to stay, but chose to stay with her and now she’s gone! Not a wise decision, was it!?” Continued the fish, like an upset parent telling their children off!
The narrator was listening but was in deep thought, trying to comprehend what was real and what was not, who the fish was, what was what, and what it was on about. At a certain point his voice brightened up and he spoke: “I do recall you, my… dear friend! You…you haven’t aged a bit” said the narrator, trying to overpower an unusual stammer. “I also remember her, now…my beautiful Mal…”
The narrator, didn’t finish what he had to say as he suddenly got sucked into a bubble of mud, whilst his room got inundated with fire and smoke! Covered in dirt and slime, not being able to see and breathe, he started punching the slippery walls, trying to exit, but to no avail! As his movements got slower and breathing shallower, the bubble got harder and harder and he found himself nearly dead inside an egg shell like, made of stone! He then heard a big bang and a crack, followed by a powerful light! That was what he saw last, before passing out in a deep sleep!
“Wake up, my dearest!” A gentle voice was slowly penetrating his occluded hearing from the big bang! “Wake up…you are back home!” He opened his eyes and in front of him was the girl he was trying to recall! She was wearing a light white shirt with flowery pattern, just like the East European traditional clothing! Her hair was of a light brown, with relaxed natural curls, floating over her shoulders and dancing, being led by the breeze, whilst her feet were barely touching the ground! Her skin was a testament of the sun spraying its rays over her, helped by the tender wind! “It is you…lovely Maluma!” Smiled the narrator and fell asleep again!
Meanwhile, the World Beyond , the World Above, Middle World and the Transit World were going round and round like conveyor belts, which was only normal, but their distinctive colours were become more and more homogeneous, and that was not the way they were meant to be! The World Beyond was red, a belt of flames, the World Above was like surfers waves, the Middle World was of green and brown and the Transit World was of a pure and bright white circling around the other three worlds, which conferred a balance. But that was when things were going following their natural course and it was not the case now! The natural course was when Maluma was able to control all transfers from one world to another, to ensure the balance but ever since the transit world stopped, the belts got closer and closer, to the point of causing friction and forming one ring, with no borders and imposing an unwanted acquaintance of those living in their own separate world!
The running of all worlds was coordinated by Maluma since the beginning of all things and not even Maluma knew who created those worlds but instinctively knew what to do, helped by Melto, the flying fish. She first met those glimmers of light flying erratically when the belt that formed the Transit World started moving, and she collected each and every one of them in a picnic-like basket made of fine silver strings knitted with cloud fluff and padded with cotton flowers, compartmented in the shape of a honeycomb where, for some reason, the light bubbles were resting comfortably! The Transit World was ever so bright and peaceful and was gently circling around the other three worlds, of which, only the world above was spinning beautifully, emanating a grandiose blue mixed with bright stains of white and yellow, leaking from the transit world! She kept the bubbles of light for a while until one day when, guided by an unknown force to her, she encapsulated the light bubbles in a great ball of light that got sucked into the World Above! All bubbles got scattered across the vast place and in contact with the ground they started popping and blowing, turning into plants, insects, animals and humans! Maluma watched all this in amazement and her curiosity grew bigger and bigger at the marvel the world above was offering! After a while, Maluma started to visit the World Above and she was seen marvelled by it and its harmony. She was very happy she had company, other than Sebastian and Melto, until one day when something strange happened and the first human and animal to reach an old age stopped their existence and got sent back to the Transit World in the form of brown and green bubbles and this is when the middle world started circling at the same pace with the world above! Maluma, for the first time, experienced the feeling of sadness but realised that she may be able to send them back! She focused all her powers to source the bowl of light but instead, a ball of water appeared and got sucked in by the Middle World! This happened in numerous times and the living things in the World Above had decreased in number but was still bright and peaceful!
Maluma was always in transit from one world to another and started to notice the difference between the two worlds, where harmonious living beings were getting on with their existence in the Above World and the Middle World had a tumultuous activity where all individuals where different and sometimes chaotic but forming a strange harmony and balance through the feelings and emotions expressed, making them unbearable sometimes but loved altogether!
And it happened again…the first few ended their lives naturally and ended up back in the Transit World as little bubbles and, strangely, their colours were different…some in bright white and some dark in the middle and covered with red burning flames but none brown and green, all coming from the Middle World! Maluma focused her power once again and the dark bubbles got absorbed by a great ball of fire and sucked in by the World Beyond which, as expected, started circling at the same pace with the other two worlds, surrounded and protected by the Transit World! The bright bubbles coming from the Middle World got sucked in by a great ball of light and absorbed by the World Above. This is when Maluma first saw the equilibrium of all living beings, without yet knowing its purpose and how the selection was done!
“Good morning, Sebastian!”said Maluma with a big smile on her face! The narrator was still not with it fully and got even more confused when he realised he was just a boy…no wrinkles, no back pain, not feeling tired and fed up but full of vitality!
“Where am I?…how is this even possible!?” said Sebastian in wonder!
“You are back to where you are meant to be, from where you’ve left to the place you call home, but Home is this!…There is your temporary home” pointed Maluma towards the Middle World!
Sebastian gazed in awe and started having flashbacks of the place he was finding himself at and of the flying fish and Maluma! They were both his friends since that day when he popped out of an unusual rainbow-like coloured cracked cube! Even Maluma was surprised and didn’t know what to do! She tried her magic but the boy was going nowhere! The strangest thing was yet to happen and was to change the course of all things.
It happened one day when Sebastian was looking at all the World Above and at the beings walking its surface, all aimlessly and expressionless and started talking about how it would be nice for them to interact, to socialise, to multiply and die when they had lived for too long and to come back to life, starting all over again! Maluma knew nothing of it but noticed things were changing amongst the beings routines as what Sebastian was saying, it happened! And, as the story went, all worlds were formed and Maluma was yet to realise that the architect was Sebastian who had the power of telling stories that came to life! When Maluma was in transit visiting all the worlds, Sebastian was surrounded by all his friends (imaginary audience) and they were listening to all his stories about all the beings living in all worlds and all these stories were self written in the bright lines that formed the belt that was the Transit world, the moment the words were coming out of his thoughts! In his stories, Sebastian gave all beings the ability to change their fates and to make independent decisions! Some chose to be good and some to be bad and this is how all the worlds came to life, where all those not being good were sent to the World Beyond, in detention, and to return to the Middle world for another chance to make up for their mistakes, or they were sent to the World Above where all was granted for them, living a life of no care and opulence! Those on the World Beyond were ever working to ensure the luxury for those on the World Above, when the Middle World was a mixture of good and bad!
Sebastian became jealous of the humans and as much as he loved Maluma and his friend Melto, the flying fish, he wanted a family so he decided to tell a story about himself being born and having a mum and a dad, brothers and sisters and he told the story up to the point of returning to the transit world! And the story came to life and the boy disappeared from the Transit World and Maluma and Melto saddened and all the worlds followed an independent course with no intervention from the architect himself!
But Sebastian was back and Maluma was hoping for the balance to be reinstated, but was she in for a surprise!
“I now know of your powers. Can you tell us a story where all worlds are back to the way they were and where we are following the normal course of ensuring the equilibrium of life and death and the way they are to be!?..Can you!?” Said Maluma full of hope!
Sebastian looked at his friend and at Maluma and started talking…”Once upon a time there was a world where all creatures were living in harmony, a world where those creatures help each other and where there is no illness, no death and no sadness, a world where art and love are the main preoccupation, where people sing to each other, they laugh, party, where dreams become reality and where imagination is the power of creation!” said Sebastian!
“But what about the other Worlds!?…what about us!? Asked Maluma!
“You will be the sun, to keep them warm, I will be the earth to guide their steps and Melto will be the infinite sky and we shall return if all fails and their hearts will get corrupted!”
“But what about the other Worlds…” Maluma asked with insistence more than curiosity!
“All the Worlds enumerated will become One World where good, bad, redemption, spirituality, luxury and more will ensure its balance and harmony!”
Lucian B. 