Samsaara : Devadoot

Cherry on the Cake

It had just been a few seconds after old man Ishrafil told me of the origin of the world when I heard a droning sound which was somewhat muffled by the walls.

"Our ride is here," the old man exclaimed as he stepped out, "let's proceed before it raises too much dust."

I could see some dust being kicked up by some wind. The sound that I heard was very similar to a humming bird but it had more lower end bass. I followed the old man out. We turned around the corner of the corridor and into the open field out back.

There I saw it for the first time. A gold disk made up of octagonal sections about two feet in diameter. It had silver feathery wings spaced diametrically opposite to one another and were flapping so swiftly that they were making that loud droning sound. The body of the golden disk was made up of a honey comb structure and the edges were like sprockets.

The old man walked towards it and it gently came down to about six inches above the ground as the droning sound reduced. He stepped up on it and crossed his hands.

He said, "Come now! Make haste."

I asked, "W-what in the world is this?"

Lord Ishrafil said, "A cherubim, it's our ride. Now stop hesitating and come on."

I walked towards it, although I was hesitant. It descended to a comfortable elevation to step on it. I placed one foot on it and at once I felt the quiver of the flapping wings. Leaning forward, I shifted my weight and put my second feet up on it. Instinctively I stood sideways on it like a surfboarder.

Old man Ishrafil asked, "Why sideways? That won't do you any good. Now stand properly and we shall go."

I did as he said. The flapping of the wings intensified and we began to rise upwards. The old man had crossed his hands and calmly looked at me and said, "Why do you appear so clumsy? Just relax. Cherubim's are intelligent enough to keep your centre of gravity balanced. Let your body loose and enjoy the ride."

The cherubim began to pick up speed and it tilted forward on its own to keep the acceleration from throwing me off. Whenever it had to turn, the honey comb disk stayed in place without moving and the wing just moved around perpendicular to the direction of motion.