Chapter 1: The opportune Time

The world is changing again. I have been around long enough to notice that, but I am afraid of where change is going this time. Trees cannot breathe in this world; oceans have no space for living and the soil has lost its heartbeat. This was not the world I knew before. It is not the world She made or intended when She whispered in the wind: "Let us". Through the wind, Her voice carried and with vibrations, it registered in our ears and hearts. "Let us…Let us…Let us". To some, this was just another noise that came with the wind. So, they did not spend a thought on it and simply continued their normal activities. Some others did hear it but engulfed with many toils and aspirations, they ignored it and pushed it to the corns of their imagination. This way it was easier to resume the normal endeavors of life. But it was not normal and as time progressed it became louder and louder, that none could ignore it. Ignoration was not an option anymore and the daily competing ventures of life needed to be silenced, so we could listen.

Instead, everyone talked about this voice they heard on the road, in their home, and even in the fields. The town elders were displeased about this disruption in our daily routine and sat together to deliberate solutions when in through their clamor, a sturdy deep voice said: "I recognized this call. I know this voice." In the whole room only the cracking window you could hear. Heads slowly turned in the direction from where the words came. 'Was that Chronos? Did he speak to us?" they whispered to each other. And again, he said: "I know this call. It is Hayah; She is summoning us." Too many lines formed on the faces of our elders when Chronos said Her name. They seemed familiar with Her name, but it was the first time we heard it, Loni and I. Surely, she was not an elder. We knew all of them by name and birth. We each had our favorite elder; one we would become when our time was there. None of them was named Hayah, so who was She? And why did the elders have such a reaction at Her name?

In the crowd of displeased and confused faces, an extended and open hand calls me to her side. "Shatha, let go home. The meeting done". "Later Loni, we can pick the herbs," I said as I proceeded to go to my mother. In the distance, I still hear Loni small voice say: "Ok, yes" as she also disappeared. This was our first meeting as a young Wayyibras and my mother stayed with me, at the back, throughout the meeting. An exceptional being she was, my mother. She stood tall at the same height as the men and to me was the wisest among them. I did not understand why she didn't become an elder like my father. She was brave, even more than him. Sometimes, when I sit quietly on this tree stomp, I can still smell the hem of her garment. Freshly cut grass mixed with mango juice and a hint of parsley is what she would smell like for you today, Protos. Her hands had callus and felt harsh when she rubbed oil on my skin but they were the warmest and most loving hands one could ever have. Often, I thought that it was the callus and the life she had, that made her such a loving being. When I think about her, I smile and think of this moment.

"Mimi, who is Hayah? And why is everyone so astonished to hear her name?" She looked down and the ends of her mouth pushed her round brown cheeks up to her eyes as she said: "oh, Shalta, She is everything and everyone and no one and nothing". "She sounds like a great elder, Mimi". "Not an elder Shatha, She is the One. The old Wayyibras believed She was One of Three, that created us and everything". "Ohh, She was a creator?" "Not a creator, The Creator, Shatha". "What, well how come I don't know anything about Her, Mi? Why didn't you ever tell me about Her? She seems amazing. And why isn't everybody happy She is calling us? I don't get it. Wouldn't we want to meet Her? I would. I want to be like Her and create whole new beings of Wayyibras. Hoooo....shaaa (creative hand gestures) . Just like that" "Take it easy Shatha" my mother chuckled. "Many don't believe this anymore. None of us have ever seen Her. Chronos told us these stories and for a while we believed him, but we waited so long for Her return. It has been many moons and no one has ever seen Her. Maybe it was just a tale he told us to keep us hoping, but hoping and waiting in vain is exhausting. That is why a lot of people are not particularly happy to hear him saying this". "Do you believe him, Mimi?" "I don't know Shatha, I just want us to live and have a good life. Nothing fancy, just good". "Enough talk about Hayah. It's almost time for lunch. Let's hurry home."

I wondered why Chronos decided to break his silence that day, after all these decades, but it was time to pick herbs with Loni, so this will have to wait. "Loni, you ready to go?" "Yes, let me take a basket". There were so many herbs and fruits in the forest next to our house. Loni and I often went there to play, to run, and just to be. There were no restrictions there, just space to be and we always enjoyed it. Skipping and talking we went in there. "What a meeting today. Did you think that is what they do at meetings?" "Girl, no. I thought they did dances we weren't supposed to see until we were grown," Loni said laughingly. "Hihihi, seriously. You see these old beings dancing? They are as stiff as sticks" we laughed loudly. "but what's up with that sound they were talking about? Did you hear anything?" "Oh gush, Loni, I thought I was the only one who thought it was weird. Why take so much time to talk about a sound. That makes no sense". "Adults are weird, Shatha".

And that they are. They are very weird beings. At the meeting, not all of them were in agreement. Some were even vigorously opposed to the idea of Hayah speaking to us or even existing, but curiosity is a powerful thing. With just the right amount of it, believers and non-believers can be drawn to its purpose. How easily persuaded we all are by its wets, because it was curiosity that drew me to the cave, where I too would hear the call and become weird. There it was, at the end of the forest, near the great waters, a stone rough cave with green and brown leaves all over it. Loni and I ran there many times before, but for some reason we never notice it. "Shatha, where are you going? Let's turn back. I don't like this. Shatha, Shatha". But I was captured. I needed to know and to see what it really was. "Stay here Loni, I'll be right back".

The sound of dried leaves cracking under my feet disturbed the cave. Every step I took was loud and amplified. I tried to see where the pathway was leading but it was pitch-dark and at a certain point too late to turn back. I couldn't see the way anymore. How was I going to make it back out? I could hear my own heart beating in my ears. I was lost in this cave and Loni is outside. So many thoughts went through my mind. Maybe I should scream to let Loni know I'm lost so she can get help. But what if I do and there is something else in here that hears me too. Or Loni doesn't hear me at all because I'm too far away. No, no, no screaming. I stood still for a moment and that is when I heard it.

The rhythmic drops of the water carried the voice. Like drumbeats, every drop spoke the words: "Let us…Let us…Let us". Each one was louder than the previous one. Louder and Louder with the wind it came and whiffled my ears: "LLLLET USSSSSS. I panicked and screamed and ran out of there. I forgot everything I said to myself and just ran until I saw the light and Loni. She sat there waiting for me but when she saw me running towards her, she took off herself. "Loni, wait for me". "No, I am going home. We played enough".

That night there were many questions to answer and sleep did not come easy, but when it did, I was completely gone till the morning, when Mom's voice woke me. "Come on Shatha, we going to the mountain today". I was amazed to see the sea of Wayyibras that make their way to the mountain. I guess curiosity did its magic again. Young and old, tall and short they came with expectations and need, not always pure. "Is she real?" a young one asked and without a pause or gasp a skeptic voice behind him answered: "we will see, my youth. We will see once and for all. Then we can put these tales to bed". "Every time something happens Chronos starts this nonsense. We will put it to rest, today," he said marching past us with a straight face. It was elder Qinah, the grandfather of Loni. One of the tallest Wayyibras we had. He was very strong and not one to joke with. He did not like Chronos one bit.

Maybe because Chronos was a size bigger than him or the size many Wayyibras wanted to be. From his hair to his shoes, everything on Chronos was precise. What a delight he was to behold. He wore a long silver tunic with blue triangle shape lines fitting in each other perfectly at the neck, hands, and heels of the tunic. His hair was big and black, like a hat cut diagonally, and matched the bottom of his tunic. His shoes were never too small or too big, always just the right size. But perhaps it was Chronos his piercing black eyes that did make him mad. For, with those eyes, he could see into the soul and connect with every being in ways many elders could not.

Whatever it was that made him upset was going to be his problem, because nothing was going to break my spirit today. Surely not a grumpy old elder. I was finally allowed to go and be in places we were not permitted to be before. That was too exciting to waste on elder Qinah his ego. The mountain was also restricted to us, young ones and today we are marching there. From a distance, it looked like the mountain top reached the orange surface of the sky. It wouldn't be far-fetched to believe that anyone, with the right height, could touch the moon or stars when standing there, right? I believe it. I thought that was why we young ones were not allowed up there. We were not tall enough. However, it would later appear that the restrictions to the mountains had nothing to do with our heights or a shortage thereof. It had more to do with the fact that our elders slowly became consumed with their survival than the community life and growth. They restricted us, so we would not remind them of their duties and responsibilities to us and the community oneness. The mountain top, Krino, was a place where our elders used to come together often to settle arguments and disagreements. They stayed there until the arguments dissolved into a solution, even for days and weeks. It was a place where new things began and old things ceased to exist. The old community with disagreements would dissolve and a new one with renewed commitments would arise. That is why they stayed however long it would take. But through the many moons and stars, those elders with the moral courage grow old and the new ones did not follow in their steps.

In centuries Krino had not seen one Wayyibra until this day. For those who had been there before it was a nostalgic moment of reminiscing about the past. But to us who had dreamed and made tales about this place, it was an utter disappointment. I could write my name on the floor with nothing but my fingers. The whole place felt like a netting room for spiders. So, without hesitations, the murmurs started. Like boiling water, bound to burst at some point, it tore through the murmurs and called our attention: "Is this where we have to wait for Hayah? In this abandoned place? I thought there would be some water here. Not even that". In a flash, others joined the trail of complaint and voicing their dissatisfaction loudly towards Chronos. "You didn't tell us this place was so depleted. Else I would have brought some water for my family." "It is such I long journey back." "Did you bring us here to get sick from all this dust?" "I am going back. This is foolishness. I don't know why we keep falling for his tricks"

And just as our quarreling had reached its climax, the sphere around and in us began to change. From one moment to another we became happy, happier, and continent with ourselves and with each other. It was as if our vision became clearer while we stood there. The clouds in the sky moved towards us and into each other. The water from the oceans, at the foot of the mountain, travel up to meet the clouds halfway, as the dush on the chairs and ground extended themselves to meet, the two others, in the air. Their formation was splendid to watch. Completely mesmerized we kept watching as this formation came closer and closer to us. The nearer it came, the clearer the figure in that formation was. From the back, you could hear all those in front gasping in awe. Something magnificent was before their eyes and just like an ocean wave, the whispers traveled all the way to the back, where I was: "She is here. She is here. Hayah is here". I felt it that day. Her presence. The elders in front saw Her, but we at the back felt Her. It was like a fountain gushing and spurting happiness and joy. The place was brighter. As fast as the light traveled, grass grew and water sprouted forth out of the rocks, where it always did so, many eons ago. "Quickly, Shatha, quickly get the jar. Let us fill our jar with water for the journey home", my mother urged. And we did. We filled our jars and assembled our seats to start the summit.

Then Hayah began to speak and even though I could not see Her and I never met Her, I knew it was Her. I recognized Her voice from the cave. It was the same voice. She began: "I roamed over the whole Kosmos and strolled in many spheres. I found many things, but none that looked like me. In the whole Kosmos, there is no one like me. In all your glory, Wayyibras, you do not speak like me. In all your magnificence, you do not look like me. Will the Kosmos not be better if more would be like me? Will you not be better when you have ones like me in your midst?" The question brought about an intriguing thought. From what we could see and feel, we knew She was beautiful and stunning, to say the least. Her presence made the sphere around us and in us satisfying. If now, we could behold Her beauty every day and anywhere, and pass the moment in life in such satisfying space, it would surely make time pleasing and always refreshing. We wanted to have that forever, if possible. So, we all, all generations from the front to the back, shouted with one voice: yes, High One! She of Three! Beauty of the Kosmos! It will be excellent! With that conviction, we all went with Hayah to create ones that might be in Her image and likeness.

Chronos was walking a step behind Her to the left. He kept obliquely glancing at Her and wondered if She still remembered him. It was so long ago since She spoke to him. "She probably created so many others that She forgot about me" he taught to himself while walking behind Her. Exactly, then, when this thought passed through his mind, She turned to him and extended Her hands, the way a mother does to her children. "Come Chronos, take my hand and open the portal". His heart rushed to his throat and kept beating there. For a moment he was paralyzed.

"Is She talking to me? Yes silly, She is talking to you. She still know my name? She didn't forget about me" he conversed within himself while looking with a frozen stare at Her. So, She said again: "open the portal Chronos". "Wait, what?!!" he replied. "Open the portal" Hayah repeated once more. "What portal? I don't know any portal. I…I.. I don't know what to do." he stumblingly told Her with a hint of fear in his voice. With a smiling face and suiting voice, She said to him: 'Take my hand, Chronos'.

Through the small openings, between the arms of the elders in front of me, I saw them standing so close to the edge of the mountain. To fall from that precipice would mean certain death, but they stood there comfortably. As he extended his hand to Her a portal appeared. First dimly but when they finally joined hands it completely revealed itself, floating and passing right in front of them. It appeared on their left side and then quickly disappeared on the right, like a train determined to reach its destination. It was very difficult to see everything with all the tall ones in front of me, so my father picked me up and placed me on his shoulder. On his shoulder, I had the best view a young one could have. I saw everything: Hayah, the portal, and everyone else. Looking back on that day, I think that might have been the happiest I have ever seen my father. He was always working and tired. For a brief moment, we looked at each other and smiled at the same time. We were in sync and we both silently agreed: this was good. Being on his shoulder was good. I felt supported and held. He gave me the advantage of a better sight and I felt proud because I was with him and my mother in that place.

Hayah reached for the portal and stopped it in its tracks. It was a big door with a golden arch above it. It looked very heavy as if a great force was needed to open it. On the door was a riddle written in a language lost to many these days. Translated it reads:

"Whoever wishes to enter must know my name.

I am present but each time arriving

I am the question: When? And the answer: Then.

Step through me at the right time,

And more will be revealed than the just one line.

Tell me: who am I?"

Chronos looked very confused reading this riddle. He asked Hayah: "how can something be present and still arriving? And isn't all time the right time? I don't get it". Her answer is still profound to me today. She said: 'In this moment you are who you were supposed to be at this time, but at the same time, you continue to have the opportunity to become who you were meant to be from the beginning. That is the opportune time; it is present and always arriving. In a sense you are becoming ripe; that is the logical progressing time. It continues to go in one line. If that continues to progress without the interruption of opportunity, it will ultimately reach a state of decay. The right time is the always recurring opportunity for transformation". I didn't understand Her then. It all seemed so philosophical and I wasn't a great thinker to dissect Her words. But now, the state in which our world is longs for the interruption of opportunity, so that our lives don't progress to the point of decay. We need to cease the opportune time for transformation.

Hayah whispered the word: 'kahee-ros', and the portal obeyed and opened. From the back, it looked like a large river pulling its waves back into its center. The wind blowing through it was refreshing, like none I have ever smelled and felt on me. Our eyes became wider and wider as we beheld this magnificent sight before us. I looked at my friend Loni and we both started laughing in excitement. Finally, something else, something new, and something fresh. Our town was nice but it got boring. Every day was the same, but this…This was exciting.

While the elders were debating whether it was safe or not, we inspected the portal and the place thoroughly. The gateway hovered above the precipice next to the mountain. Just where Hayah Stopped it. A small leap would have our feet in a new place and a new world. Loni and I looked at each other. She knew what I was planning to do and I saw the concern in her face, but I did it anyway. Without much contemplation jumped, with both feet in and hands forward. Yes, I leaped without my friend, my parents, or fear of what might happened and I did not regret it. The skies there were blue and the ground was a good mixture of sand, silt, and clay together, a bit moist but steady. It felt like it was good for growth and expansion. "Loni, come feel it. It's amazing". "They will get upset if they see you in there, Shatha. Come out!!". "Oh, they not watching us. Just be brave everything will be alright". Just be brave I said as if it were that easy. Bravery is never easy. There is always a thin line between it and stupidity, and I have to say, back then I had a lot of the latter.

With no regard for Loni's concern, I politely forced her and the others to do as I did. "Come on and put your feet in. Don't be a wuss. Jump!! You'll see it's worth it". So, one after the other they jumped in. It was reviving. It may just have been my imagination, but I felt a bit taller and stronger with my feet on that ground. I wanted to tell my parents what I felt and experience with the soil, but they were all preoccupied with their debates and arguments. One always had to win and all of them believe it should be themselves, so instead of listening to one another, they formed their debating points while the other was speaking. It seemed exhausting to be in their midst, so I never bored. I just closed my eyes, sat down, relaxed my head against the portal, and put both my feet in the soil. For a moment I forgot the others, the elders, and my parents. The forest where Loni and played every day pass before my eyes but not even that could compare to what I was feeling in that moment, when the soil held my feet. I felt its drumbeat. It was the same as my heartbeat. It played the same song my heart did. With each melody, I sink deeper and deeper into its harmony.

Suddenly, a set of feet was next to mine and a whiffling wind in my ear. I opened my eyes and right next to me was, Hayah. "Shathalet," She said. Instantly, I felt every hair on my body stand at attention. "Why are you sitting here alone?" She asked me. "huh…huh" I stuttered. "You can speak. Don't worry I don't bite". "The soil," I said. "It makes me feel good". "I know, it makes me feel good too. It's what I imaged a perfect garden would feel like. A place where everything works together and not against," She said. That was precisely what I wanted: a home where we worked together and our hearts would beat to the same rhythm, but with my leaders, that was a grueling endeavor to pursue. They sat there, at the entrance of the portal, arguing for hours, while a whole new world with endless possibilities was waiting for us.

As I sat in despair thinking, a mud-ball in the air landed precisely on my forehead shaking me out of my slumber. "Lorina, you will pay". "huh, what?! What did I do? Why is your face covered in mud"? "Because you threw mud at me, Loni". "Huh, no I didn't. That wasn't me". "Well, I don't know who it was, but you all are getting. Mud fight"!!

What a fun day that was. We ran the landscape and as far as our sight could cover, there was land, there was water and there was life. In the distance, I heard my mother shouting: "Shathalet, don't go too far". "Yes, Mi, I won't", I replied, whilst running off with the others. We played till the light in the sky turned orange like ours at home. Our elders were still at the gateway arguing when Hayah said: "It is time for your decision. Will you join or will you stay?" She stood at the portal with Chronos at Her side, us behind Her and our elders in front of Her. She extended Her right hand as to invite them to take the leap and join us. The flower paddles from our field covered Her entire body to Her feet and somehow formed themselves in a beautiful flowery dress that moved gracefully with her body. Her hair was like brown vines filled with ocean waters and long enough to be wrapped around Her head like a halo. There She stood with one hand extended and the other dripping with mud.

Needless to say, their disagreement did not dissolve into a solution, for my community was torn apart that day and I lost my best friend. While, some found the courage to jump despite their fear of the future, others refuse to give up all they have built for the unknown. Elder Qinah would not allow his family to be anywhere near Chronos or away from the life he had built for them, so he decided against the leap and kept his line from entering the new place. That meant that Loni had to return. We could not believe it. Were we never going to see each other again? Would the portal ever reopen if she was old enough to make her own decisions? Or was this goodbye forever? I wasn't ready and neither was she. No Wayyibra could really be ready. It all happened too fast with too little time to discuss and dissolve.

"Don't let me go Shatha, don't", were the last words I remember her saying. I held on as long as I could. But what could I do? They took her and my family took me. The last face I saw was her concerned face, the one from the cave, and when we leaped. Back then, I did not know a leap could hurt so much and bring all of this with it. I thought it was just a jump, but every jump has consequences and requires thoughtful consideration. That day the sound of sadness filled the new land. Friendships were broken, families got split apart and many unanswered questions lingered around. Would I want to be in a wonderful place with my friend? Is a place still wonderful without friendships? Was Hayah not unfair to place us in this position of having to choose to leave everything and start anew or stay and continue the life we know? How can we make a good decision about this with so little time? Questions that didn't come easy and inconsolable tears could not answer them. Our grieve was beyond count and our tears enough to fill a river. Yet, crying was our only comfort. It set the pain free and wash away my grieve day by day.

As hard as it was, we had to move on. A new life was waiting for us on the horizon. The portal was close, so there was no going back. We had to continue the journey with Hayah towards the light at the center of the land. Each elders was asked to presented a sacred totem of ourselves to Hayah in this place. It was a gift to the new ones She was about to create. She molded and formed their gifts together in the soil, as we bore witness to this eloquent design. When she concluded, she buried her design deep in the ground. The moist soil accepted and embraced their gifts and gave it nourishment. After a while She employed the wind to open the soil for the new ones to emerges with breath. At Her command, out of the soil came these magnificent creatures, opulent and outstanding, reflecting the beauty and splendor of Hayah herself. They came out of the soil, like a child coming out of its mother's womb at birth; they came out. They looked so radiant from every eagle, so we called them 'Protos'. These are 'the first to be like Her.'

Yes, I was there and I too stood amazed, as you made your way out of the soil, like a young plant rising above the ground. No one knew then, what you would become now. We had hoped you would become more like Her, as you continue to ascend from the soil in your high buildings and flying mechanical birds, but you didn't. That is why many of us came to regret the gifts we presented to Hayah for you. Many have withdrawn their protection and favor from you as you traveled through land, sea, and air. They want nothing to do with you and are brewing a war against you, Protos.

Yet, there are still some of us who believe in what Hayah said to Chronos that day:

"in this moment you are who you were supposed to be at this time, but at the same time, you continue to have the opportunity to become who you were meant to be from the beginning. That is the opportune time; it is present and always arriving". To let the time logically progress without using the intervention of opportunity is to waste everything. The opportune time is still here and the portal to a new beginning is also still within our reach if you wish to reach for it. If you find value in this statement, ceased this moment with us, and let us reach for this new beginning. Become who you were meant to be from the beginning, Protos: 'the first to be like Her.'