REVISED EDITION of THE GREEN MAN of DESTINY — Part 1
Green Man 13: Past Life and Present
Two Lives
He dreamt of the inside of a whirlwind. The wind whirled, while a profound stillness presided within. Images appeared that he could not place:
~ A tall thin man and a boy who lived in a cabin. A one palm tree oasis. ~ A man called Uncle Tipadoe. ~ A pretty girl named Silken. ~ A small creature with a long slender beak and a sparkling red breast. ~ And one in a raven’s mask and headdress.
In the sky over Meanna and Might’s cabin, three shooting stars pierced the night.
“No … !”
He woke with a long sorrowful moan. The sound echoed through the valley of the Third Island. Meanna hugged him. He came into himself.
“I am Might, and I am a man,” he whispered to her. “Yes, yes, you are, and you were dreaming. It must have been a bad dream. But you’re here now with me,” she said.
“Yes, it was a dream, from that other world. A silly dream.” And he gathered his strength and took her, and they made love with power and force.
“Kon is your father?” Might asked.
“Yes.”
“When can I speak with him? When can I question him about my return from the desert?”
“Today,” she said.
Might/Gren lounged in a chair surrounded by small plants and vegetables. A creature buzzed down from the sky. It stopped. It stopped in midair — hovering and lit on the branch of a tree. This was no buzz bug. It was a bird with green wings and a ruby-red breast. The bird said hello to him with exquisite gentleness. He fell to sleep. Awoke thinking the bird may have been a dream.
Late in the day a horse-drawn wagon pulled into a circle around the house with the green silver plants. The beast had pulled this tiny wagon in a slow, rough journey over broken ground through a dying wood. Kon disembarked.
A servant brought rich vegetables and steaming meats to the table. “When you found me, Kon, was I carrying anything unusual?” Kon held up his long thin hands. “Wait, I will show you.” Meanna looked at Might and sighed almost inaudibly.
She will be relieved if I recognize my belongings, he thought.
Kon returned with a cloth shoulder sack, maps, and several metallic instruments. He spread them out along a low table for Might’s inspection.
“These are my belongings?” he asked.
“Yes… You don’t know these things?”
The one they called Might gazed long and thoughtfully at these things and shook his head “No.”
Meanna burst into tears and buried her head in her father’s chest. “Now child, have patience. Your great-grandfather took thirteen moon cycles to recover his memory. Only two have passed now. We must have patience.
“Might, stay here with these things. I must speak further with my daughter,” Kon said with forbearance.
Kon and Meanna retreated into the murky darkness of the next room as if they had disappeared into a dark mirage. Lost with an absent gaze, Might wondered about their function.
Kon whispered to his daughter:
“His face is beginning to heal. In two or three moon cycles his face will heal and we can permit him to see his image in the glass. But for now we must be patient and endeavor to find out what he knows about the water and its source. Both you and I will reacquaint him with his profession. That will help him remember who he is.”
“Yes, Father.”
That night Might and Meanna stayed in the guest cottage behind the main house. He had a fitful night of dreams and distant cries.
In the following days and weeks, Kon taught Might about Water Engineering. He showed him the maps of possible water wells. Might showed no sign of remembering his identity. He was eager to learn the tasks and skills of the Water Engineer.
After one full cycle of the moon, Might still had no clear memory of his past as Might or anyone else. His grasp of the skills of a Water Engineer encouraged Kon, but Meanna felt.
“I believe I am Might,” he told his wife.
Resting her cheek against his chest, she listened to the beat of his heart and asked:
“But, my darling, do you know in your heart that you are Might?” He appeared thoughtful.
“You do not know, my husband, but I am practicing my patience.”
“Belief is not enough for you?” he asked.
“It is. But is it enough for you?” Within his heart, he knew that belief was not enough.
He had to know in his heart that he was Might, in the same way, he could feel water engineering flowing through his veins.
Daughter and father held a long talk one night while the dry lightning tinged the dying woods. Might, frustrated, burst in on them.
“When you keep a secret, it has power,“ he shouted at them. “I know you work in my interest, but it is now time to include me!”
“Oh, Might, we were talking about a trip to Second Island, to the city where I met you and we fell in love. It is the place of your office. We were discussing the timing.”
“Then we must leave at first light!” Might faltered in his step and collapsed to his knees, sobbing.
His mind overwhelmed with images of the Gusha, Wry, and the One. Disjointed images — knives cut him from the inside.
Kon and Meanna crouched by his side.
“Spirit Coat,” said a voice. It was as if his true self was speaking. Then the voice of Might restored itself and he asked, “What does ‘Spirit Coat’ mean?”
“It’s from your nightmare in the desert, your ordeal, your former life inside the dream,” Kon told him.
“Yes,” Might said thoughtfully. “Those are alien dreams from another place.”
He stood.
“Yes, I want to go there,” Might pointed to Second Island on the framed sketch hanging on the wall. “What is this word — ‘island’?”
Kon explained that an island was originally surrounded by water. These forgotten ancient time of great waters. The name remained: “Islands surrounded by sands of the desert. We are on the Third Island,” Kon pointed. “This is the Second Island, our destination. The Third and First Islands were once much larger — but that is a story for another time.”
Might saw the “island” as it had been. In the blink of an eye, he saw as Gren; the greenery, and the water flowing through it. Might returned. The image was gone.
“It is a two-week journey from here,” Kon said. “Meanna and I will make preparations to go.”
Next Chapter:
Green Man 14: Travel to Second Island
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Thank you for joining me in the hero’s adventures across a dying planet ready for resurrection through the ways of alchemical magic. And in search of the Being to restore the world to greenery once again.
Blessings, Passion, and Grace on your journey. May whatever or whomever you looking for — find you.
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K. Pearson Bradley | Rebecca Romanelli | Joseph Lieungh | Dr. Preeti Singh | Pene Hodge | Dr Mehmet Yildiz | Kris Bedenian | Alberto García 🚀🚀🚀 | Blaine Coleman | Lee David Tyrrell | DL Nemeril | David Price | Rip Parker | Annelise Lords | Libby Shively McAvoy | Alison Hollingsead | Bruno T. | Vlad Casian