Windy day on Khao Sadao July 26, 2018

7. PARADISE LOST

I like magic! Early next morning I was dreaming. That is I believed I was dreaming. As on the previous days, some early morning birds were chirping so I am not sure. When I turned around in bed, the small box was there once again. Nothing rattled inside. I opened the box. There were some sheets of paper. I started reading chapter 7, Paradise Lost.

Paradise Lost? If I do not remember wrong, that was a poem by John Milton, published in 1667. I was intrigued, wondering who wrote all the short stories in the box. Not possible that the author was John Milton?

No, this is John Milton: “Of man’s first disobedience, and the fruit

Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste

Brought death into the world, and all our woe,

With loss of Eden, till one greater man

Restore us, and regain the blissful seat,”

No, the author has to be someone else. That mystery would have to wait. Anyway, I continued reading.

7. PARADISE LOST

It was summer. Bumblebees were buzzing and butterflies fluttered in the light winds. Jill and Johan were relaxing under a canopy of blue sky dotted with small white clouds.

-         -  So, said Jill. – Where is the time traveller today?

-         -  He will come. No doubt about that.

They waited and waited, and then fell asleep. John and Jill woke up when someone touched their shoulders.

-          - Ssh, said the time traveller. – Watch out!

Under a big tree full of the most wonderful red apples were two people. None of them had clothes on. It looked like the woman urged the man to bring her an apple.

-         -  Do you see the silk cloth close to the trunk of the tree, the time traveller asked. – That is where I put the dagger.

When the man did not move, a rooster crowed three time. Then the woman found the dagger, picked one of the apples, cut it in two pieces, and they started eating. A heavy rainfall followed, and there was no visibility.

-         -  What is this, John wondered. – What will happen next?

-          - Just wait and see, the time traveller said in a low voice.

The rain stopped, and two small boys appeared on the scene. They were growing fast. After few minutes had passed, they were full-grown men. They were quarrelling close to a small brook. Then the oldest and strongest found a knife and killed his brother.

-         -  Is the man lying there bleeding no one else than Abel from the Bible, John asked.

-         -  Might be, whispered the time traveller.

-         -  Then why did you give that dagger to Adam? Not very nice if you ask me.

-          - Paradise is no place for men to live, said the time traveller. Just try to imagine for yourself.

-         -  I would have no problem about living in the Garden of Eden together with Jill. Not very different from lying here in the grass watching the blue sky. However, why are we here? If this ever occurred, it is not our concern. Is it?

-      . -  What is your concern then? You do not want me to come back?

Before John was able to answer, thick fog covered everything.

-          - Do you think he will come back, Jill asked.

-          - We will see.

End of chapter 7. To be continued in chapter 8.

6. THE BUTTERFLY QUEEN

I like magic! Early next morning I was dreaming. That is I believed I was dreaming. As on the previous days, some early morning birds were chirping so I am not sure. When I turned around in bed, the small box was there once again. Nothing rattled inside. I opened the box. There were some sheets of paper. I started reading chapter 6.

6. THE BUTTERFLY QUEEN

- What is fluttering in the air, here, and there, and everywhere, John said.

- Don’t you see? They are butterflies! I think they are wonderful. The butterflies make me forget what time is. Very different from the time traveller.

- By the way, where did he go? I want to know more about Stalin’s dagger.

A large colourful butterfly settled on Jill’s shoulder.

-       -   Do not worry, it said.

-       -   You can speak?

Jill winced.

-      -    Sure I can speak. All butterflies can speak if people cared about listening. Most do not. That is how things are. You wanted to learn about Stalin’s dagger?

-      -    Yes.

-       -   That is an almost never-starting never-ending story. Maybe I should start in Lindisfarne?

-       -   Lindisfarne? How do you know?

-      -    I was there, and I saw everything. The monks had gardens full of flowers, and when monks perished, and with them flowers later, I knew this was no place to stay. That is why I hid inside a chest and went east together with the Vikings. We arrived in a land of plenty. Lots of flowers and butterflies everywhere. People were happy, too. That is, until the Vikings came back and brought the dagger with them. I do not know if it was all the gold and silver or the dagger, but everything changed. It was as if there was darkness even if the sun was shining. Where there was happiness there was greed and fighting. Everyone who saw and touched the dagger, wanted to leave and hunt for treasures.

-      -    I have heard about the age of the Vikings, John said.

-     -     What did they win when the day was over? They could not eat the gold and silver. Many lost their lives, others lost an arm or a leg.

-    -      How you know, Jill asked.

-    -.       I am the butterfly queen and my destination is to live forever. I flutter around together with the time traveller.

-      -    So you know the time traveller?

-     -     Yes. When I am around, he normally is very close even if he is nowhere to be seen. We followed the dagger on its way to the east. The land was divided in half by sky and earth. I preferred the warm summers to the cold winters. I wondered where the dagger were to go, and where it came from. On the way east the dagger disappeared. Rumours said that a boy named Temüdjin found it. That is another story. I chose to trace it back in time and went west to the land of milk and honey. What I remember there, is the pungent smell of thyme in the fields.

End of chapter 6. To be continued in chapter 7.

5. LINDISFARNE

I like magic! Early next morning I was dreaming. That is I believed I was dreaming. As on the previous days, some early morning birds were chirping so I am not sure. When I turned around in bed, the small box was there once again. Nothing rattled inside. I opened the box. There were some sheets of paper. I started reading chapter 5.

5. LINDISFARNE

-       -   Where did it come from, Stalin’s dagger, asked Jill.

-       -   I think the time traveller talked about Djenghis Khan, did he not?

The wind rustled in the aspen leaves. At the same time the sun disappeared behind a summer cloud.

-       -   You will have to follow me, a voice whispered. – You will have to go with me to Lindisfarne.

The time traveller was standing right behind them in his dishevelled clothes.

-        -  Lindisfarne? Why Lindisfarne?

The time traveller looked down on Jill with a smile in his greenish blue eyes.

-        -  You wanted to know more about the dagger?

-        -  Yes, Jill answered.

-       -   Then off we go!

Suddenly the air got misty. The contours of the landscape kind of vanished. They heard a swell of waves against the shore, and then the sun broke through.

-       -   This is Lindisfarne in the second week of June in the year of 793. Do you see the sails out there in the northeast?

-       -   Yes, they look like Viking ships. I am quite sure. That is not possible! All the Viking ships I know about are in museums, John said.

-       -   These are not. Remember this is 793.

Less than an hour later, the ships sailed up on the shore. It was low tide. A ragged bunch of men with battle -axes jumped into the shallow waters. Only a few of them stayed on board.

-       -   Is this real, Jill worried.

-       - This is what it was or is like when Vikings plundered the Lindisfarne monastery. Neither of you need to be afraid. They cannot see us. Watch out now to see what they are doing.

Soon after the wooden buildings were ablaze. Some of the monks were killed. Others were brought on board the ships. The marauders carried artefacts of silver and things of value to the ships. One tall man brandished a dagger over his head.

-       -   Do you see that dagger, the time traveller asked.

-        -  Yes.

-       -   See how it glitters in the sun! That is Stalin’s dagger.

-       -   How did it come to the desolate island of Lindisfarne?

-         - That is another story. Believe it or not – that dagger was the start of the Viking raids in the years to come. The Vikings did not know, but I know. The curse of Stalin’s dagger hit everyone who touched it.

The sun was setting in the west, and mist was coming from the sea. Soon it was not possible to see anything.

-        -  They were real, the Vikings, John asked.

Jill nodded.

-          - The time traveller went away, too. He is nowhere to be seen!

End of chapter 5. To be continued in chapter 6.

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