Secret Sky

2.

A few years later, I decided to go see the tree again. I knew that I wouldn't be able to ask for any answers from it but I also believed that it was the only living thing that will not frown upon my questions. A part of me also started to doubt if the tree ever even existed. I wondered if the whole incident I remembered was just a dream or an illusion.

There it was. It did exist. That night did happen.

I let out a sigh of relief as I saw its canopy towering above the trees around it. As I got closer I realized that there was someone sitting under it. The man was old but not as old as the village elder. He also had a stick in his hand but it did not look like something he beats people who don't listen to him with.

He was singing. Upon closer inspection I found out that this man was totally blind. I asked him if I could sit down next to him. He stopped singing and asked what a young man like me was doing wandering in a place like this. As an owner of a voice deep enough to be mistaken for someone much older than me, I was surprised. He explained that he could sense a curiosity in me that is not found in people after a certain age. When I asked him what he was singing about, he told me that he was complaining about the sky. Taken aback by his answer, I requested him to continue singing with me as an audience, to which he agreed.

Moments of complaint are a waste

But my eyes bring me this one strife

I can hear, smell and taste

But there's one want that runs rife

To see how the night sky is placed

I am ready to give my life

Should I thank him or curse him

The man that touched the sky

The reason for this hymn

The reason behind this cry

His views didn't match peoples' wills

So he headed towards the path of stars

Went to and through neighboring hills

Adding verses to this song of ours

You watched the sky to your heart's content

But what about my own intent?

What about my own intent?

Alas this wretched blindness

Didn't wait before coming by

I was to search with utmost kindness

For Abram's beloved secret sky

The moment he finished singing his song, he got up and started to slowly walk away. He didn't say a word to me. He didn't want to disturb the state of trance he had reached through his verses. I didn't say anything either. I just watched him walk in the direction of the village until he was out of sight. It's me and the tree again. We looked at each other for a while and thought about what we should do next.

I needed to leave. I'll turn into a bitter old man like the village elder if I stay here. I need to find Abram and ask him about the swirling sky. I decided to go back to the village, take two days to secretly prepare for my journey and sneak out as soon as possible. I did just that and I was on my way on a pleasant summer evening after three days.

I was to search with utmost kindness

For Abram's beloved the secret sky