Sailing aboard the Pneuma (Part Four)

The direction of the light wind changed and seemed to invite me back down the hill. Before me was a picture postcard scene. The gentle curve of the bay connected to the sea by strips of white sandy beaches interspersed with tight coves and tiny peninsulas of rock.

Down to my left lay the town shimmering white in the sun. While in the town, I had not noticed, somehow, that the majority of the buildings were of a white stone. I was convinced that this place acted as a beacon to travellers miles out to sea. When the sun light reflected off those walls, there would have been no lighthouse that shined brighter.

Beyond the town, the line of the bay continued into the distance. A low range of mountains began to grow from the earth, beyond them far larger and higher peaks topped with snow.

I became aware that the walk down was taking far longer than on the way up. I looked back only to see empty green fields stretching up and over the hill. The glade of trees was still where I remembered it to be. I stopped and looked around, all around, one, twice, three times. I was alone but not lonely. The gentle breeze was in evidence, but I could no longer tell its direction. The grass beneath my feet compressed like a sponge, the air was warm and the sky so very big. I waited.

Quite suddenly, out of the corner of my eye I noticed, for the very first time, what appeared to be an ordered grove of fruit trees not more than one hundred yards from where I stood. I had not seen it on the way up even though it now appeared impossible to miss. I had not eaten in some time and, as if prompted by my stomach, I noticed the trees were laden with oranges. My pace quickened, spurred on by an aroused appetite.

As I entered the grove, I was about to reach up and pluck a large orange, when a voice spoke. That sound of river rapids caused me to freeze in what to me was a ridiculous position. From my shadow I looked like one of those cement statues that sell at garden centres back at home.

The waterfall said, “Come, sit with me I have a meal prepared for you.” The table was set for two with seven golden candles lining the middle of the rectangular table. The candles burned although it was still day, yet they seemed to have the power to illuminate even the daylight.

Dishes arrived with just the slightest movement of his hand. The aromas were out of this world. They were like nothing I had ever smelt before. Every dish that appeared on the table contained my favourite meals prepared in a way that no mere mortal could have managed. “Eat.” He invited. I was going to, but suddenly food and my stomach’s protestations no longer seemed important.

Across the table from me, Shekinah sat in a crystal cloud of glorious and riotous colour. From within him there seemed to flow a force so powerful yet utterly gentle. His eyes were like diamonds that refracted the glorious light in innumerable directions. Fire burned upon the grass yet it got greener. In the midst of this storming of the senses, I felt only goodness coming from within him.

I took a deep breath to prepare for I know not what and sweetness filled my lungs that fed my very being. That one intake of breath seemed to suck in all that was flowing from my host.

Hands were on my shoulders. I looked and two men of immense proportions, clothed with such brightness that I could not look at them for long, gestured for me to get up. We moved away from the table and the one to my right said; “Look”.

There, as if suspended in mid-air, I saw three. One was Shekinah. An orchestra began to play. Nothing natural, it was beautiful beyond description. The music was not heard it was felt, it indwelt while being dwelt in. The sounds were as clear as crystal water. The three danced. At times facing one another, at times apart, but always in unison.

Every note released a colour that hovered, or exploded, or shot across my view. Each sound was a living thing. I could not be sure, but it was if a new galaxy was being born. Stars rocketed into the sky, from the steps of the three came planets and Milky Ways of many sizes and colours.

I heard clapping behind me as if keeping time and to my astonishment, it was the trees.

I tried to see the orchestra that was playing I could not. As if sensing my frustration the other man took my head in his hands and pressed his thumbs to my eyes. When he let go I saw birds, sea creatures, beasts of the fields and the forests singing. Their song was not words but music. The three danced.

I wanted to join in but felt so, well, so unmagical, so inadequate, so incapable of such rhythm. Shekinah’s hand took hold of mine seemingly in protest against my preconceived notions and I danced. The three and I danced.

In the dance, I saw what no eye could see and no ear can hear anywhere else. In that rhythm, I began to understand the reason for so much. More importantly, I became acutely aware of what I was still to do, still to become. At last, I could truly see.