This piece is meant to become one of my “Motivational Daytime Stories” that will lay in a volume, at some point. 2 of the main characters are the courtesy of Richard Craig.
Thank you, doc, for lending me the helping hand I desperately needed!
In times of disbelief, greed and false values, there was a boy – Makeen – born in a usual family, about 15 years ago. He had a very good friend – a girl (Seena), living few streets away from him, 3 years younger. They would always hang out together, surrounded by other youngsters. However, there was something special about the two… They would find more joy in discovering unusual things and they would like to create new, thought-provoking games.
One day, while seeing each other as usual, Seena said:
“Let’s find a new spot. Let’s explore!”
Makeen, a bit insecure, replied:
“I don’t know… I would rather stay here today. I don’t feel like venturing. Not today…”
“But you trust me, right?” the girl said.
“I do! Of course!” replied the boy.
“Then, Makeen, give me your hand, close your eyes and just come with me.” Seena said.
“But… But…” mumbled Makeen.
“No “but”! Come on, I feel like we’ll find something extraordinary today!”
“How can you tell?” the boy asked amazed.
“I can’t. I just have that feeling, that never fails me. That feeling of “something’s out there”. I just know!”
The boy, eventually, gave in, as Seena was too excited about it and had a sparkle Makeen never saw in her eyes before.
“Ok, let’s do this!” Makeen goes, while taking her hand into his.
So they started walking, in a relaxed rhythm, taking the joyful tempo with them. They took turns… and side paths… they jumped… they sang… all of it by wearing the confidence of the awe on their faces. “The feeling” was in charge, guiding Seena on hidden ways. She was in some sort of stand-by, as the unknown was there to reveal a bit of its infinite magic.
After some time, they stopped – for a short breath – by the lake already bathing in the sunset. They were tired, yet her hope was increasing with each moment. Seena wasn’t ready to call off the day. It was like she felt that the last minutes of it had something in store, if nothing happened by then. But Makeen started whining:
“Let’s go back! I’m hungry. The only thing I can picture now is my bed. And my pillow. And a bowl of soup.”
“We can’t give up just yet” Seena said. “I know it’s out there, somewhere. I can’t let this slide. Not yet, Makeen!”
“But, Seenaaaaaaa… It’s getting dark soon. Come ooooon…”
“You can go. No one can force you, my dear. But I’m staying.! Something’s calling my name!”
Makeen was in doubt. He wanted to stay with her (he would have never left her alone, out there, as pray to danger!) but wanted to leave in the same time. Just a few seconds of doubt clouded his brain. But NO, he couldn’t be that coward to walk away! He would stay! Seena knew something and he would never fail her confidence. He was there to support her and build her up (if ever needed). So, NO! Leaving was no option, despite his vision of the pillow and hot soup. He turned to his friend and said:
“Ok, Seena, tell me more about that feeling…” said Makeen, as they started walking again.
“I don’t know how to describe it. It’s like a fast pumping of blood in my veins. Like a heartbeat increase, with every second. Like, like… Oh, my !!!”
But, as Seena said the last vowel, she saw it. Yes! Her calling was real. She knew it!
“What? What is it, Seena?”
“Oh, my! Oh, boy! Oh, boy! Oh, boy! Makeen, come! Look at T H A T! My Goodness!” said Seena stunned.
Makeen was confused:
“Seena, are you mocking me?”
“How many times have I done that, Makeen? Are you serious? Just shush and move your behind… Oh, Makeen, you’re looking the other way. Come here, at once!”
“I’m moving, girl. I am… Oh, that’s… No, it can’t be… Is that…? Nooooo way!“
“Yes, it is. Now, be quiet, Makeen!”
The thing started rolling. And jumping. Just moving forward faster and faster. It was as if it was calling them. Makeen and Seena would soon be starting to run, almost failing to keep up.
“Where is it going, Seena?”
“How would I know? Do I look like a GPS? Or do I have any of those stuck to my forehead? I have no clue! But we can’t let it go away like this. Move, Makeen, move!” Seena said.
“But it’s too fast…”
“Stop complaining, boy. Come on! Come on!”
They kept on chasing it till their breath was close to being the last. They barely felt their feet and their hearts would easily break out from their chests…
All of a sudden, Makeen said:
“Seena, stop! Stop! Now!“
Yet, she wouldn’t hear him. She was too attracted to listen. That thing was like a magnet! Seena’s eyes were glued to the thing, so she didn’t see the big picture. She was blind to what was rising, just in front of her big green eyes.
“Seena, stop at once!” Makeen made another attempt to stop her.
But no! She was too stubborn! A “quality” that drove her the wrong way this time… Makeen could do nothing but watch her being absorbed by some kind of different dimension. The thing was, however, outside of the zone. (How could that be?) It was Seena only that got caught. Without escape. No door, no window, no handle… For God’s sake! No nothing! What was that?
The thing would keep on bouncing restlessly! (Would it stop already?) It was a blue, sparkly ball, of which the 2 youngsters have only heard rumors, believed to be the greatest myth ever. This ball was as blue as its color. But, in its sorrow, it did enjoy playing with curious minds. (Yet not just for fun – the ball was seeking for an answer. An answer to an empty existence… To sad moments, that have been sprinkled all the way, for the past 20 years…) But this ball had a conscience of its own and a secret desire, related to the magic dimension Seena was being trapped in.
You see, this parallel world had something the ball could never decipher – a special, dark halo that could have only been broken by a genius mind. And the ball knew these 2 people had something special. It had been observing them from their first breaths. Their first years seemed to have had nothing special, but the ball knew there was something different about them, since she first saw them. And, when that very day came, the blue ball knew it was time. The moment of its redemption had come! It was time to break free!
The story goes 20 years back…
The ball (called Tika) had a friend – a pink elephant (by its name Rucca), that would do anything to change the ball’s mood to a better state. Rucca was always joyful, looking for the bright side in everything. Even under the most horrid circumstances, he would find a silver line. He would pick flowers, deeply inhaling their fresh smell; jumping was at home with Rucca and Tika loved to compete in this happy game; the elephant would send that encouraging good vibe to the ball, at all times, by just giving it a warm hug and the “You can do it, Tika! You’re stronger than you think!” kind of line.
But one day, as they were carrying their joyful living, they got lost and landed to the exact same place Tika brought the 2 youngsters. Neither did they spot the invisible door opening in front of them as they were jumping and playing exactly towards it. It was just a matter of seconds and took a step only for Rucca to get trapped, with no way out. Not even the chance to realize what was going on, till it was already too late…
Fortunately for Tika, her power to jump higher than imagined and an incredible spirit of the present helped her escape the zone. But she didn’t see it as fortune, as she was left alone, feeling lost and misguided, without her forever loving friend… Ever since that day, after trying everything she could think of, she decided (despite the empty space in her heart) to go look for aid and never return until it was found. That took 20 years…
“But what did Rucca do as all this time went by?” you may ask…
Rucca understood pretty late that he was alone, that Tika was nowhere to be found and that he was trapped, without anyone to hear him. Without having the chance to see or talk to anyone. That there was nothing to play with, but his own thoughts. Yet, his sadness would soon be elapsed, as he found the most magical place to be and the most challenging game he could have ever found.
Beyond the invisible walls, he found a place with geometrical shapes: a green triangle, a yellow circle, a purple hexagon, a blue rectangle and 2 brown squares. And something beautiful happened as he was thinking: “I would have seen these squares red, not brown!” One instant later, the 2 shapes took the colour Rucca thought about.
“Waaaw! How… How did this happen…? Did I…? No, did my mind do that? Can this be?” the elephant kept on asking himself.
Rucca was kept in an awe for about 5 minutes… When he managed to snap out of that state of trance, he started playing with his newly discovered power: changing the color to everything in his way. A few hours later, he discovered another insight of this power – changing even the shape and state of an object: from green tree to blue bird, from pink house to gradient colors of a rainbow ladder and from solid to liquid. Now wasn’t that pure magic? Wasn’t there so much to do? So many things to play with? Why be sad? Well, there was one reason… Tika couldn’t see that!
But that was not all. Rucca soon started to explore the suroundings, in search for a food source. (Even though, surprisingly, there was no hunger to bother his stomach. But maybe it was the reflex of eating or just the thought itself.) Nonetheless, as the reader could have easily guessed, there was no food source. For, in that dimension, one could satisfy a need just by thinking about it. Alike the color and shapes changing, if Rucca thought about hunger, his brain was enough – so the hunting for food would be just for fun. But the elephant didn’t realize that. Yet. So he went on searching; but, instead of food, he found another opportunity to enjoy the rest of the day: a huge, open box, that seemed promising, after all the happenings of the day. So, without a doubt, our pink elephant stepped in it, looking for that magic only the unknown is ready to unfold to the thirsty seeker.
The next thing Rucca saw was a slide, leading to a smaller box. Then, another slide, with another box; at its end, the same story, again and again; it was a never-ending slide, with boxes everywhere. At first, it was the most amazing game Rucca had ever seen, especially as the slides would change colors as soon as they were being touched. It was so much fun! There was no need for food! He had surprising powers and not the slightest reason to be sad! (Though, being with Tika and playing together, would have been sooooo much more fun!) However, at some point, Rucca fell into the utmost enchanted box, changing colors and songs like Christmas lights. But this box was only open for the bravest to reach out (one should have had the courage to take all the others; there was no way to have skipped them, as they were building some kind of hidden, mazed tunnel). But there was a secret about it – no regular way out, meant for an ordinary thinker to find it. Rucca was the kind of creature having hard times to obeying the convenient and compelling to doctrines, yet was still blind to the power his mind was ready to unleash.
He tried soooo hard to figure a way out: he looked for doors, handles, windows, even a small pointy or bumpy edge that could have provided a hope! Yet, he was too focused on the edges of the box and on seeking for a secret trap or checking each and every single corner, that he would let the only real escape plan slip through his fingers.
And so, for the last 2 decades, the pink elephant tried in vain to find his way out.
Outside of the zone…
During all this time, Tika was desperately running in search of brave a helper, ready to take up such a challenge, as rescuing her friend. She knew that it was no ordinary task and that there were some critical ingredients needed for such a huge success recipe to get the necessary taste. She searched on all the surroundings, she asked the trees and birds and animals… But she couldn’t possibly find a way to communicate with humans. She was just a ball and talking to people would have been strange and frightening. To them, not her. Yet, every time she saw some sparkle in a pair of eyes, she tried her best to guide the human to the place Rucca was in. But the failure rate has been way harder to understand than the success one (was there any?).
Nevertheless, at the point where she was ready to give up and accept there was no hope left, she heard the crying of a newborn human, nearby. She, instantly, had her hopes climbing as fast as the mercury of a thermometer does to fever. She jumped as fast as she could, as she felt some weird vibe rushing over her, growing from the baby’s cry. As quick as a blink of an eye, Tika reached the place the sound would come from and had a peek inside. There it was: a beautiful little boy, that seemed to have such a will of living that the blue ball was deeply impressed. Yet, Tika knew that was not all. She understood there was so much power within that little body and that he could have become the hope she was looking for, for setting Rucca free. Therefore, ever since that instant, our glittery blue friend would check on the boy’s life, on a daily basis. There was no way she could have indulged herself to skip one single day! She needed to see how Makeen was growing and clearly set the appropriate moment for her friend’s redemption.
One day, three years later, as Tika was looking out for the little boy, she heard another baby cry. Just a few feet away from the boy’s house. So, another vibe rushing over her and yet another opportunity to find another helper. Again, she jumped towards the building, looked inside and found this amazing girl: beautiful as a princess, with an unknown, magic-like sparkle in her eyes, all dressed up in lovely soft clothes. By the time Tika found her, little Seena has adopted the happiest smile the ball ever saw. But her eyes… Those beautifully outlined big green eyes! Those eyes had something… That “something” Tika was looking for since forever!
“Yes!” Tika thought, “I’ve found myself the perfect team. These 2 kids have the perfect ingredients of amazing souls and brilliant outside of the box minds.”
Then Rucca’s image popped into her mind… “Not very long left now, Rucca! Hang on! We’re coming for you!” the blue ball sadly, yet paradoxically full of hope, thought. And the loudest sigh was let out…
For the next 12 years, Tika would build an entire strategy and the strongest habit to watching over the two soon-to-become best friends. And, when the time was right, she would lead them to her trapped friend! Perfect plan!
And so, every single day, she visited both kids. But only by the window, shyly peeking inside, when no one was around…
When the time for the kids to play outside – by themselves – arrived, Tika secretly set some signs for the 2 to follow, leading them to meeting each other. (They had to meet! They had to become best friends! They were perfect together and Rucca needed them!) Without a surprise, Makeen and Seen would soon become best companions to each other. They discovered their common interest in creating new games, helping others and discovering brain challenging activities, along with building an empire of original stories about anything and everything – even the most ordinary rock could have become the hero of an exquisite story. However, it was both that had to engage into the creation process of it. Otherwise, where was all the fun?
The 2 kids tried to pursue other children into joining their original world, yet their friends would rather stick to old, secure games and ideas. It was easier like this. Warmer and safer. And Makeen and Seena were just freaks to them. They were accepted in the friendship circle, but the other children would rather close their eyes to the magic of the unknown Makeen and Seena were playing with. Thus, the boy and the girl learned to trust each other as if nothing could have ever put them down. They would encourage each other’s creativity, the masses non-following concept started to plant a seed in their brains and they would rather explore a new world, instead of just using chalk to draw a dream; their fantasy world was one full of challenging to growth activities and debates. Long walks would reveal strange, yet beautiful adventures; each book was an opportunity to discuss; each song would – in time – be cornerstone of their memories and each glance was able to build a fire; when they were looking at each other, their energies would meet in the middle and melt into the most powerful tool: an iron-like companionship, based on unconditional love, trust, integrity and transparency. Lies would never find a home there. Disbelief was just an ugly story. And opacity was as far as the last layer of clouds. And they just couldn’t obey the rules! Thy were considered rebels by 99% of the people who knew them. They were just too weird! Why wouldn’t they rather fit in, listen to rusty laws of life and blindly move on? Why did they have to make an opinion about everything, instead of agreeing with what was “the right thing to do”?
As hard as everyone tried to “straighten them up” they simply wouldn’t give in. They knew this world would be better off without imposed rules. They knew freedom was in everyone’s hands and they simply knew their minds were their greatest allies. Choice was their favorite game:
“If you were to choose a principle to guide yourself by, just one, what would you go for?” Seena asked Makeen one day.
“Hmmm… Kindness and freedom! I can’t pick just one.” Makeen answered without a second thought. “You?”
“Well, in my perfect world, everyone would have enough sources to live with and we would all care for the other. So, I guess compassion and abundance. It seems like I can’t pick one either.” Seena replied.
Tika would secretly witness all these discussions and their never-ending hunger for adventure. For the new. And the passion for living in the now. For these 2 youngsters, everyday was a new beginning. Every evening was an opportunity to discuss about what they discovered during the day. Unconsciously, they were sharing with each other the lessons the day has brought. They were at peace with being “weirdos”, because they had each other. And they knew there was no possible way for anything to ever separate them. Not people or events, no different schools or new circles of acquaintances. They were each other’s best friend and family. No, more than family! That invisible string that connected them on a higher level, even though really thin, was too strong for anyone to break it!
When the day of this story arrived, they were already inseparable. Only their parents would be able to – hardly – bring them home, in separate buildings. But to them, home was where the other one was. They were like one heart and mind, beating and thinking in different bodies.
But here we are, reaching to the moment when Seena got absorbed by that different dimension. The same one that got Rucca trapped in for 2 decades.
When Seena got trapped, Makeen was left feeling deserted. He was unable to find his focus. The only thing he did was thinking about how he suffered because of her absence. He, was, however, trying to understand how the invisible passing gate could be torn down. But he was giving too much power to sadness… Too much space of his brilliant mind to just a shallow aspect… So there was not much left to the unconventional thinking to flourish.
As observed, doubt and sadness were the 2 factors to have kept Tika and Makeen outside of the zone. Whereas excitement and bravery brought Rucca and Seena together, in the other dimension.
As Seena stepped into the dimension, she saw the slides, the colours, the shapes…
“Oh my God!” she said gazing at all these surroundings. “How can such thing be real? And where was this place all the time?“
She went though the same discovery process as Rucca did. And with each step and each new thing, she was more excited than ever. She finally took the “master-slide”, engaging into the ride of her life. But ending in the same box Rucca was in.
When the pink elephant and the girl met, that was the most unbelievable moment of awe. Rucca was so happy to see a living creature after all this time! And Seena? She couldn’t believe her eyes when seeing the pink skin of the elephant. Everyone said that there’s no such thing! But everyone has been hiding it. Just lies! (“But do they know it’s real?” Seena asked herself, while barely helping her amazement. “Humans are so quick to judge each other” the girl carried on with her thoughts. “We’re just so comfortable with thinking how everyone wants to hurt us! What if they DIDN’T KNOW this creature was real? Ah… (Sigh) I don’t like being judgemental. Ok, Ok, moving on…”)
“Hi there, my beautiful pink elephant! You’re a wonder of the nature! How are you?” Seena asked happily.
Rucca was happy, but he was thoroughly thinking about not answering the girl. “What if she won’t like me?” Rucca asked himself. “But, well, why not?” he went on thinking. “We’re both trapped in here. What’s the worst that can happen?” So, he finally decided to greet the girl.
“I’m pretty well, thank you. What about yourself?” the elephant replied.
Seena was a fan of magic and talking creatures, yet she could hardly believe her ears.
“Did you… Just… Talk? Can you really talk?”
“Oh, I had a feeling you would let yourself led by disbelief…” Rucca said.
“No, no. I mean, yeah, everyone says there’s no such things as a talking pink elephant. But, no! I knew we would be able to communicate. Especially as this seems to be some sort of enchanted place!” Seena replied. “How did you get here?” she went on.
“Long story” Rucca said. “But I guess we have plenty of time for story telling…” he carried on. “You see, long time ago…” started the elephant and told Seena how he was chasing something; without knowing what that something really was, until he got trapped in that dimension. And about all the beautiful things he found in there. And how he got trapped in that particular box… “Watch where you’re going! I was about to warn you when you set foot to the last slide,” the elephant said “I wish I could have stopped you from letting yourself caught up as I did!”
“But I knew it would be fun!” Seena said. “So, wheeeeeeee! down I went… Nonetheless, I really am happy that I did it. As, otherwise, I wouldn’t have met you, Rucca.”
“Indeed” replied Rucca “but we’re both trapped in here now!”
“But tell me, my friend, how come you’ve been trapped in this box for so long?” (Seena was confused that, with all the powers and wonders around, the elephant didn’t manage to get out.)
“I couldn’t find an exit” Rucca said. “As you can see for yourself, there’s no door, no secret passage, no window… not even the smallest crack in these walls. I believe I searched every inch of this square, I checked every bit of wall, but there was nothing to have led me to an exit… However, if you ever dreamed of having peace of mind, this is the perfect place to find it. Thus, I’m not sorry for all the time I spent here, except that I miss Tika.”
“Who’s Tika?” the girl asked.
“My best friend. The one thing I would always be sad to live without. If you found me, I’m sure she was the one to lead your way. I miss her so much! I’d do anything just to see her sparkle one more time…” Rucca said with an extinguished voice, but the most powerful sigh.
“Are you serious? The sparkly blue ball is your best friend? I believe she’s outside, with my best friend.” Seena said. “What I don’t understand, however, is how come only we got trapped in here and they were left outside…”
“I’m not sure…” Rucca replied.
“This is weird” Seena continued. “There must be a reason! But, listen, we need to get out, as much fun as it is in here. I’m sure our friends are worried about us. Especially yours, as there has been a 20 years time gap between you two.”
“I know. I definitely want to see Tika again. But how do we do this?” Rucca said, as a slight hope rose in his heart. “Tell me, Seena, what are you thinking about?”
“I have no idea yet” the girl said. “But we’ll find a way, trust me!”
And so, as they agreed upon their common escape wish, thinking about how much they missed their best friends, Seena said:
“Rucca, tell me what exactly did you try. Every little thing. As foolish or fun you may think that is.”
“The only thing I did was look, Seena. I had nothing else in mind, but looking around. As I told you before, I checked every little inch inside this box. But, really now, there’s nothing in here…”
“I see…” Seena sighed. She could feel the lack of hope in her new friend’s voice. And, for a second, she felt disoriented about all this situation herself. Almost letting herself grabbed by the claws of doubt…
In the meantime, outside of the zone…
Makeen and Tika were heavily trying to understand how come only their best friends were trapped and they were left there, with no hope of getting in. They would have done that, just to get the slightest chance to find the girl and the pink elephant. However, they carried on having doubts regarding a possible re-encounter. Makeen was even thrown in the deepest, darkest barrel of despair, as Seena meant everything to him.
As he was carrying the thinkig process, a question rose: what would his friend have done if she was in his shoes? And, as impossible as it may have seemed, he realized: “She would talk to the ball. But can a ball talk? Could that be? How naive must I be?” But he would try whatever it took, just to hold Seena in his arms again.
Therefore, holding his heart in his teeth, he went near Tika and, shyly, said:
“Hello, friend…” be he didn’t actually believe the ball would answer. But his disbelief proved to be wrong.
“Hi, Makeen.” Tika said.
“Hi… wait, what? How do you know my name? Who are you and where are you from? Why so you know my name?” Makeen panicked.
“I’ll tell you everything you need to know, boy. But you need to trust me and the fact that everything I will tell you is nothing but the naked truth. As crazy as you may consider me…” Tika replied.
“Why would I trust a talking ball that already knows my name? Wouldn’t that be weird if you were me?”
“Maybe. But once you learn the story, you’ll get all your answers. All I need is a chance to prove my good faith and the same intention of setting free my best friend. And I believe you too have a friend trapped in there.”
“Ok, you’ve got a point here. Alright, I’m listening. But it’s still weird, you know?”
“If you believe a talking ball is weird, wait until you find out the rest….” Tika said, a bit insecure, as the boy was like scolding her with his big blue disbelieving eyes.
For about an hour, the 2 discussed intensively. Tika confessed how she knew him and Seena from the day they were born. Makeen’s mixed feelings were heavily taking turns: curiosity and distrust, excitement and aggressiveness; compassion and judgement!; love and hate; hope and disgust! The boy was doing his best to remain calm, but he was outraged by Tika’s will to get him and Seena there for a selfish purpose. Now Seena was there! With Rucca, but without escape. (If the elephant has been trapped in there for 20 years, how will they ever get out? Why was the ball saying that was it? The moment? What if Makeen would never see his best friend again? How did the ball dare to do all that? Was she merciless and had no bit of compassion running through that conscience of hers? But, wait, did the ball actually have a conscience? How could it? It was just a ball, not a being! What was he thinking at when the craziest idea – to talk to Tika – rushed into his mind? No, he was clearly losing his mind! All that was just the most unrealistic story he’s ever heard. Bettermore, it was just a horror dream, that will soon be finished, as the boy needed to wake up and get ready for school. He would pick up Seena and tell her everything about this weird dream. And he would prevent her from looking for strange places again! For good!) All these invading thoughts kept Makeen from actively listening to every detail…
As many experiences Makeen and Seena have had before (unconventional games; and talks; and wanderings and all that), at that very moment, his judgement was clouded by disbelief. He was deeply saddened by what his ears had to hear, but angry because he had no idea how to end all that sort of spell and see Seena! He couldn’t have been as patient as Tika was. No, if the ball sacrificed everything just to destroy their dreams, it was its choice (Makeen would still see Tika as an object and nothing more; the weirdest thing ever, but still an object!). He was so confused… If this wasn’t actuall a dream, was there anyone playing tricks in him? On them? Maybe one of their acquaintances? But why? Just because neither him or the girl managed to fit in? Yes, that must have been it! Pranks!
Tika tried everything to drive Makeen to understanding why she did everything and the real goal they needed to reach. But she was just hitting an invisible rough wall! He wouldn’t listen any more. He was disappointed… He needed his air back. And his air had a name: SEENA!
While Makeen was fighting with clouds…
… and Tika was trying to break the grey, Rucca and Seena were seeking for the sun. And a ray came in, unexpectedly, as soon as Seena said:
“Rucca, what if we try something new and unconventional?”
“But didn’t we explore all of them, Seena?”
“There is still one left, Rucca. The one we should have tried in the first place!”
The elephant was amazed and confused, at the same time.
“Seena! Are you talking about…?”
“Exactly, Rucca. I’m talking about the first thing we both witnessed when thrown in this place. The first lesson that we learned. The POWER OF OUR MINDS!”
“Seena, you’re a genius!” Rucca said rejoicing. “I can’t believe I’ve been trapped in here for so long, but never tried this. I didn’t even see this option!”
“This, my friend, is because you were checking the box. You were too absorbed in what was not there, instead of looking for what could have been outside of its area. But now… now we know! Yet, before everything, we need to share all the things each of us managed to do with our minds. Maybe one of us experienced more than the other. And, if we want this to be successful, we need to consolidate all our experiences in a big picture. Can we do this?”
“Of course!” the elephant said. “With you here now, with this vision of yours, I’m sure we’ll make it!”
From that moment on, the girl and the pink elephant would only focus on what they learned and what could an unconventional way of thinking bring them to. They talked about how they changed the colors of objects, about the shapes altering, the way each slide would change its color once touched, the lack of hunger… and they understood: their minds were their ultimate “weapons” ready to become their greatest allies or most fearless enemies!
Once they reached that very finding, they both knew there was nothing else there to stop them from escaping from the box…
The first thing they did was to establish how they would do it: they would focus to connect on a higher level of consciousness, so that they would be able to both think about the same thing, in real-time. Synchronicity had the biggest part in all this. Then, they decided that the belief in a final resolution should have not been shallow, but felt wholeheartedly. And the last, yet most important thing, was to not let other thoughts invade their brains, especially the failure one. They had to use all their energy on living in the present moment – no past and no future was allowed, except from visualizing themselves out. Which was, actually, the goal they were after, their driving hope.
“One more thing!” Rucca said this time. “Patience! We can’t lose our temper if the first attempt fails, right?”
“Right!” agreed Seena, though patience was not on her list of strong points.
As decided, Rucca and Seena, joined hands, as the first step towards their deep connection. Then, they closed their eyes.
“Let’s pray for a moment” said Seena.
“But I never did this before. What am I supposed to do?” asked Rucca.
“Don’t worry, my pink friend” replied the girl. Just keep your eyes closed and your mind empty. I’ll be your voice. But you need to fairly trust me and know that whatever happens is for the better. Deal?”
“Deal!” said Rucca without a second thought.
“You mighty Universe” Seena began the prayer “we leave our fate into your powerful hands, with full trust in what’s out there for us. We know that our minds are as strong as the greatest bit of star-dust. We let ourselves driven towards the One and only Greatness and raise our voices, asking for your help! In the same time, we gladly accept to become part of the most uplifting journey and vow to fight the dark and save innocent passengers from the mirage of comfort zone, guiding them towards the Light!”
As the girl spoke the last words of the prayer, a slight heat wrapped their hands, as if giving them wings. Their bodies would blaze some sort of special halo, giving them the sense of floating. Their heads felt lighter than ever, as their minds were slowly merging into one. Useless to say that their hearts were filled with pure joy and a satisfaction none of them had ever tried until then.
While they were in this state of intense concentration, they heard how the walls of the box were slowly cracking. Bit by bit, one wall at a time… Until there was none of the four left.
However, that has only been the first one. There were so many more boxes to go… So, as much as they wanted to sing the lyrics of their victory, both Rucca and Seena silently agreed that they needed to keep on going till all the boxes vanished.
After some time, tiredness crumbled down to their beings. The intensity of such energy could have easily melt iron! But they weren’t ready to break the magic of such connection. If they did, who knows if they were able to re-establish the same surreal hookup? Against all odds, their minds loved them beyond the imaginable! So, instead of decreasing due to the physical tiredness, their power was growing with every passing second.
Until the apogee of the process was touched: a burst of energy covered the entire dimension, like a huge explosion of colorful blinding flashlights. By the time it was all over, Rucca and Seena were laying on the ground of the outside zone.
Tika and Makeen saw the explosion and would rush to get to the place where the invisible wall has crashed. Despite the heavy sound of the explosion, which frightened the ball and the boy, the sight of their friends brought back the shine on their faces. Though they were scared, they would witness their bodies and minds being flooded by the utmost sense of gratefulness. Nothing shorter to ecstasy! No words would be enough to describe their happiness. Nothing in this world could have been compared to the racing of their hearts! Especially Tika’s. (Just imagine seeing your best friend after 20 years of silence! What would the feeling rushing through your bones be?)
The boy and the ball were impatient to talk and hug their friends, yet they imagined that something weird had happened beyond the invisible walls. Thus, they decided to try the waiting time. But it was growing too long. What was going on with Seena and Rucca? Why weren’t they waking up? Oh, no! Were they dead? They didn’t look like breathing!
These were the questions and worries Tika and Makeen would ask and suround themselves by, without rest…
By this world’s evening time, the pulse seemed to have regained space in the 2 exhausted friends’ veins. Their chests would betray shy breaths. Their skins recovered their original color and Seena’s cheeks were even covered in a pale-rose shade. Their wake-up process took a while after all those small signs of living. But they finally did. As they opened their eyes, Tika was Rucca’s first view and Makeen was Seena’s. How much joy! How much gratitude! What a marvelous feeling of togetherness would imprint on each of the 4 creature’s souls! Pearls of happiness would fill in 8 eyes. But their eyelashes would gladly embrace such sign of Universal Love!
They were too happy to speak a word for a while. Yet, by the time all 4 friends joined arms in the utmost compassionate hug, suddenly, out of nowhere, the following sound was filling the sky (as their hearts merged into one) like a prayer for a better world:
From that moment on, Seena, Makeen, Tika and Rucca became life-lasting friends, engaged to a common, higher goal: doing their best to make people see how dangeorous can be to let themselves trapped in a box and how looking for balance, the unconventional, compassion, trust and unconditional love can bring true happiness.
As much beauty as a box may be decorated with, as much warmth as the comfort zone may offer, we all have a choice. The choice of looking outside of it. The choice of stepping off boundaries and setting our own set of goals. Not expectations, but goals.
Change starts with one!
Strength, happiness and achievement are already inside of us. It all starts with a dream… And goes on with constant work for self-improvement…
Love,
A.
Photo credits: Matan Segev from Pexels & Pexels.com
Take No Fake 