Secret Sky

1.

As my back touched the ground, I realized how tired my journey had already gotten me. My belly is shouting at me to feed it and my legs are vibrating from fatigue. However, lying down allows me to see the sky above me and marvel at how enchantingly beautiful it can be. This is a special night. There is no moon in the sky and only the shine of the stars light the world around me and the path to my destination.

When I was a little boy no taller than his waist, my father ordered me to never stare at the night sky for too long. When I asked him why he told me with a stern voice, "Everything is not to be questioned or explained, Kalidasa." The order would not have been so difficult to follow if he had not given me such incomplete reasoning. That very night, I ran out to the edge of the village and climbed the biggest tree I could find. When I reached the top, I immediately looked up and fixed my gaze towards the heavens. It's just the sky, I thought, with stars, half a moon, and darkness. Guided by my juvenile curiosity however, I decided to watch for a little longer. As my eyelids started to get heavy from sleepiness, I started considering giving up on finding an answer. I felt a little silly for coming all this way only to risk getting into trouble. Just a few seconds before deciding that it was getting too hard for me to keep my eyes open, it happened. The sky started to move around and form a spiral. The night sky no longer seemed like a bed for the moon and stars to rest on. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief as everything above me began to swirl and be pulled into a hole in the sky that seemed to be right above my head. I lost grip on myself, and the tree, as the sight became too much for me to handle. The tree appeared to be angry at me for not being able to hold the weight of the night and threw me to the ground.

The next thing I remember is opening my eyes at home and seeing three figures towering above me.

My father would have beaten me to a pulp if I didn't already have broken bones in my body. The look on his face showed a level of anger and disappointment that confused me. It was clear that he did not feel this way because I hurt myself but because he knew that I confidently disobeyed his order.

The village elder was examining me in a manner that made me feel like my face looked different from what it did yesterday. I did not like this old man. I had always seen him telling people something but never listening to them in return. He was stubborn in his beliefs and was always too strict about the village rules, which, conveniently for him, only he and his forefathers were allowed to create and alter.

I felt sorry for my mother. Tears flowed down her cheeks, not due to any pride or rules, but merely due to the love and care she felt or me. I wanted to get up and comfort her but I wasn't able to leave my bed for another few weeks.

When I was healed, I decided to go ask the village elder about why it was so wrong to stare at the night sky. No matter what kind of a person he was, he had to have the most experience and knowledge among all the villagers. I found him strolling with his stick towards the village center. He must have definitely scolded some people on his way there. I walked up to him, bowed and conveyed my inquiry. Instead of giving an answer to my question, he lashed out and hit me with his stick. As I ran away from him, I heard him shouting at the top of his lungs, "Curse you Abram! Your spirit does not leave this village even after your banishment!"

Abram? Who was Abram? What did he do to get banished?

These questions, along with my initial inquiry, formed the much needed baseline for the journey I am on now. It has been ten years since I fell from that tree and twenty days since I snuck out of my village, forever.

To my surprise, there were a few children of my age that had also heard Abram's name. Some had heard their parents or older siblings talk about him. Others had heard stories about him that were a little hard to believe. These stories included incidents like how he once extinguished all the fires lit in the village with one scream so that he could watch the night sky without any obstructions and how he once stretched his arms to the clouds to push them away from the village to see the moon, frightening the rain away or years.

My interest in Abram and his mystery annoyed not only my elders but also my friends. They had developed a perception of him that highlighted his villainous intent and thought that my questions were a clear indication of my admiration for him rather than simple curiosity. At one point,I simply stopped talking about the matter.