"ZHIANN[1] RAVINDHA."
My eyes were still closed as I listened to this melodious voice. It was beautiful, my heart cooled deeply.
"Zhiann Ravindha, anzaan[2] sleeping? Rhakhianharha?"
I slowly opened my eyes and saw a beautiful woman who looked like a 21-year-old girl sitting in front of me, staring at me. We were separated only by a square table, one by one, quite low and made of errendha crystal, clear as water. Her hair was black, with thick curls that blended perfectly with her yellowish-brown skin, and her face was oval. Her eye line was slightly upturned, letting the charisma of her face shine through and making me look down, not daring to stare at her for too long.
"No, Darminia," I replied.
Darminia, as the woman was called, sat cross-legged, but still looked very graceful. Her chin was neither up nor down, the line of her face straight ahead. Her eyes were reassuring, without judging me, her student, who was also sitting cross-legged. There were just the two of us in this large, peaceful room. And I knew that the call was addressed to me. It was clear to me because it referred to my father's name, Ravindha.
Behind her, on a creamy white wall, is a calligraphy in Lemurian letters that reads Savalla Entharda[3]. The Lemurian script flows like water, written from right to left and unbroken. Above the writing is a logo or symbol of Savalla Entharda itself.
The emblem and writing are not actually displayed separately from the wall, but are integrated into a part of Darminia's house. This represents the deep meaning of the two words regarding the connection between the self and the universe. The colour used for the words and symbol is glossy black, the result of the Rodzha process of natural rock, earth and Errendha with a structure resembling natural stone.
"May ann[4] continue?"
"Please." My ears sharpened their senses.
"Always remember that the present inhabitants of Aradha[5] are still in the dimension of consciousness that favours wishful thinking. Let not anzaan be influenced by wishful thinking as they are. Wishful thinking that creates anger, hatred, that leads to violence and fighting, that is what anzaan must eliminate.
"If necessary, show your strength when things are out of your control. For they have great respect for strength. They can only be controlled by a force they find irresistible.
"Ann understands, Darminia."
"Wishful thinking will only lead to anger wrapped in justifications and doctrines called pride. If we are controlled by them, we are no different from those who choose the dark path and the dissident, Daxx."
I looked down for a long time, absorbing Darminia's words.
"Zhiann Ravindha, have anzaan decided to go to Aradha and leave everything here? Abbia and Ammia will be very sad when they hear this. Especially the Lemurian Warugha will question anzaan for suddenly disappearing without any news."
I took a deep breath and held it for a moment before letting it out. "Ann asked anzaan for a promise and anzaan kept it. Someone like anzaan wouldn't break a promise even in death."
"Ann mind is made up, that's why ann here, because anzaan've been my teacher since ann was born. Thank you for accepting ann into this room without artidha[6]." It would have been useless for Darminia's artidha to accompany us to talk about this.
Each Lemurian family has an Artidha, with one Artidha per family. According to their function, the Artidhas collect all information for the benefit of the population. One Artidha to another is connected like an unbroken network, therefore all Lemurians must be aware of any news and information with the Artidha. Everything is done for the betterment and benefit of the entire Lemurian Warugha.
There was a specific reason why I did not want Darminia's artidha to record this entire conversation, none other than I did not want the entire Lemurian warugha to worry and wonder at my departure this time.
"Leave before everyone notices anzaan gone, Zhiann Ravindha. Remember, even though you brought the Tulak[7], there is not a single functioning Barkhia[8] in Aradha, rumour has it that the Atlanteans destroyed them all."
"Ann was already aware of that fact. Farewell, Darminia." I stood up and greeted Darminia one last time.
I stepped out of Darminia's pyramidal house. Darminia's house is the largest pyramid among the other pyramid houses in this small village.
The cool breeze hit my body as if it resisted my departure. I don't know why it feels like I've been leaving you for so long, I muttered to myself. And suddenly everything went dark.
"Rhakhianharha..." The screaming voice of someone I knew pierced my ears. I froze, unable to do anything. Everything was dark.
Wait. I saw a point of light directly in front of me, emitting a very bright white light that pierced my eyes even though it was only a speck. I approached it, slowly and carefully.
"Rhakhianharha... please..." the voice echoed again, coming from behind the light.
I stretched out my right hand, slowly the white spot of light widened and swallowed my arm. Consciously, my hand gripped the hand of the person behind it just as tightly. The light continued to widen and seemed to pull me into another dimension.
The glare. I covered my eyes with my arms without releasing my grip on the owner of the voice. Suddenly I felt a strong wind blow against my body.
"Rhakhianharha, my husband, please let me go. You'd better save our child. I beg you." As soon as I heard the voice again, I lifted my arm from my eyes.
Right before my eyes I saw the woman who had been with me just after I left Darminia's house, floating, pulled behind her by a wormhole more than three metres in diameter, her fingers gripping my hand tightly. Hold on.
My heart was beating fast, a sudden sense of fear of loss washed over me. My body shook violently at the sight of the woman's face before me, a look of... expectation in her eyes.
"Wh-what exactly happened?!" I screamed, pulling at her with both hands, but I couldn't.
She, the woman I love, is in danger. A feeling came back, I love her, she's my lover, my wife! The wormhole continued to spin relentlessly, trying to suck her in and throw her somewhere. What I feared was, what if she was thrown into another time, the future, the past or even another dimension or galaxy? No one knows.
I continued to pull as hard as I could, relying on the weight of my body and my footstool, which was almost out of balance. Dripping with sweat, my eyes looked down. One more step and my feet would lose their grip. We were both at the edge of the cliff.
Small and large rocks fell every time I moved my feet, the boulders resigned to follow where gravity took them. The sound of the rocks hitting each other grew fainter as they fell from where I was standing, a very steep and high cliff.
"Abbbiaa..." a child's voice called out to me hysterically.
I turned my head towards the voice not far behind me and automatically recognised who it was, "Raaiiooosss!!!"
I saw my son crying, Raios's body upside down, dangling by one leg, held by a man with a fierce, hairless face. He wore a black cloak that covered his shoulders to his ankles, his clothes flashing as the winds from the warm hole made this place look as if it had been hit by a fierce typhoon.
The man joked, "Rhakhianharha, so?" He lifted Raios's feet higher and placed them on the edge of the cliff. The sound of Raios crying grew louder.
"Stop Daxx!" I shouted until my vocal chords hurt. "How dare you treat my son like this! He has nothing to do with our business, let him go!"
"Whether there is or not, as long as you have Lemur blood, that means you have business with me. So does he," Daxx gave Raios a sharp look, "I wonder what a baby of your flesh and blood would taste like." Surprisingly, he licked Raios's smooth cheek.
Enough is enough! My anger was at its peak when I saw Daxx touch my son's cheek with his disgusting tongue. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
Daxx's loud laughter, Raios's screams and the horrible sound of the wormhole wind all rolled into one, nothing took my breath away more than seeing my own son treated like an animal.
My jaw hardened, I channelled all my energy into my whole body and –
"Husband," I was woken by the shaking of my hand. "Remember what Darminia said then. Do not be like the dissident, you are a true Lemurian. Walk the path of light. Try not to let anger control you, that's what Daxx wants you to do. Return to the Creator, return to the Path of Light. Entrust all plans to Him. Now keep your promise, the promise of the Rhakhianharha. And now, I would like to ask you to promise to take care of our child, for my sake. Please?"
I looked deep into her eyes, there was a hidden peace, I could not reach it, I could not touch it. Tears filled the corners of her eyes, time seemed to slow down, her hands gripped my head with all the strength she had left. She kissed my lips warmly before finally releasing the touch of my hands on her waist, "Please take care of Raios for my sake-"
In an instant, her body was pulled out, swallowed and the wormhole disappeared. I stood there for a while until it finally dawned on me what had happened before my eyes. I dropped to my knees and screamed as loud as I could, hoping she would come back. "Radhaaa...!!!"
How important is a promise made by someone like me, when it actually binds me to save the people I love? Tears streamed down my cheeks without a sob.
My eyes were still glued to the spot where Radha had disappeared, hoping for a miracle from the Creator to bring my beloved back into my arms. A soft, orange-coloured sheet floated down in front of me, I reached out and smelled it. "Radha..." the unmistakable scent of Heliotrope blossoms, a fragrant blend of vanilla and cherry, filled the entire chest cavity with a sense of constriction as I realised that I would no longer be able to touch the owner of this scent.
I slowly turned my head back and gave Daxx a sharp look. He was still holding Raios upside down, head down.
Daxx gasped as he saw me stand up and walk slowly towards him. "What do you want? Don't you see what I can do to your son?"
My mouth shut, not caring what Daxx said, I continued to step closer.
"Hey... hey... Have you forgotten your promise? Lemurian would never break his promise, would he? Stop right there!"
My steps stopped, Daxx was less than two metres from where I stood. "Kill me now, but let Raios go. Let him live."
"Alright..." He shouted back as he saw me lift my foot to take a step. "Hey! Stay where you are or I'll-"
"What? What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to..."
My eyes widened, my whole body suddenly freezing. Daxx let go of Raios's leg.
"NOOOOOO!!!"
I saw Raios flying, screeching, plummeting towards the row of big sharp rocks below, as if I was hanging by a thread. I was instantly devastated, feeling useless, a loser. My reason for living and staying in Aradha was gone. I collapsed, staggered and let myself fall down the cliff. Out of the corner of my eye I saw my son floating down in resignation to the Creator. He was too young to understand what was happening, only a month old.
It felt as if time was spinning so slowly that I was falling deeper and deeper into despair. Raios' tears and Daxx' laughter became one. Radha was gone. I closed my eyes, ready to leave the cocoon, to die with Raios.
"Zhiann Ravindha..."
That voice... Darminia? Is that you?
"Zhiann Ravindha... If necessary, show your strength when things are out of your control. For they have great respect for strength. They can only be controlled by what they consider to be irresistible force. Show your strength when things are out of your control... show your strength when things are out of your control... a strength they find irresistible."
I murmured, following the direction of Darminia's voice that I heard from memory, "Show your strength, the strength they find irresistible."
I opened my eyes and tightened my arms and legs in an instant. I tried to catch up with Raios's falling speed by making my body as slender as a torpedo.
The speed of my fall accelerated with my head down, the distance between me and my son diminishing. Raios's position was only a few metres in front of me. Raios looked up at me, a smile on his little lips as he saw his father about to become a saviour. There was no worry on his face, he trusted me. Just a little more... I reached out to take his little finger.
"Raios, Abbia is here for you. As promised to your Ammia." One more inch. "After that I will embrace you and my body will be a cushion for you when you fall. You haven't seen what Abbia is really capable of, have you? Falling from this height is nothing to Abbia. You should be proud, child, when people call you Zhiann Rakhianharha."
Raios's hand reached out and tried to grab me as well, both of us racing against time. The bottom of the cliff came closer. Finally, Raios's little finger touched the tip of my middle finger.
"Yeah, keep it up, kid. Keep your hand straight." Just a little more.
"Abbiiaa..."
"Yes, dear... Don't be afraid, Abbia is here."
The wormhole suddenly appeared, just in front of Raios's eyes. His small body was swallowed up and disappeared without a trace in a fraction of a second.
Everything was suddenly empty. My emotions were gone. My purpose in life was gone. Was this the so-called attachment that Darminia had warned me about? I was defeated by myself. No more words could come out of my mouth. Who was I crying for? Who was I crying for? I was ashamed of myself.
If only I had been a few seconds faster, he would have been in my arms by now. If I could hug him and enter the wormhole, no matter where we were dropped, at least I would be with him. Let him live longer.
I saw a rock ten times the size of my body just a few metres away, waiting for me to fall on it. I closed my eyes. I gave up everything, there was nothing more I wanted or aimed for in this world.
And everything went dark again.
***
***
When the search is fruitless, the find is not found,
What is sought will never be found,
Isn't the search, in fact, to find?
Will a comma become a full stop after the change to finding?
The essence of finding never existed.
The essence is that when the Self studies the soul, it is not in vain that every inch is travelled,
But do not seek to find.
As long as the soul lives, the comma will remain a comma.
It will never become a point.
One day you understand this and the body trembles, the heart beats.
A fathom, a kun, a grasp, your soul embraces and wants to grow stronger.
Can your body and your lust keep up?
Remember one thing, a comma will never become a point.
Prepare yourself to move on to the point where the soul will be destroyed when its mission in the universe ends.
And indeed it will never end.
***
[1] Zhiann, a nickname for someone who does not call him by his name but by his father's name. Zhiann Ravindha, son of Ravindha.
[2] Anzaan, you.
[3] Savalla Entharda means the unity of the servant with the provisions/laws of the Supreme Creator. When explained more deeply, these two words represent that all creatures in the universe are connected to each other, including the Supreme Creator, without degrees, without classes, but all are equal without judgement. It also refers to the understanding of the essence of Oneness. The inscription and symbol of Savalla Entharda itself can be found at Pangukur Ukuran Temple, Darinddartha Heritage, Bali.
[4] Ann, me, I.
[5] Aradha, Earth
[6] Artidha, a Lemurian device of advanced nanotechnology, is an information gathering device. It is round, small and has a lens in the centre. As well as flying, Artidha can dive, but cannot penetrate the ground.
[7] Tulak, key. This word is still used in Sundanese today.
[8] Barkhia, gate, door, portal