The form of a glass; a vessel to carry water and space.
Volume to hold water.
And the space of the vessel not filled with water,
a space to hold more.
Dear Patient Reader,
Last week I had the Aesop fables and anecdotes in mind. As well as the relevance of children’s stories, tales, and myths. Even if fictional. A little bit of storytelling, though not too sure if it makes sense. Excuse me, this is a rather raw piece with not much editing, but I enjoyed writing it nonetheless. I hope you like it.
A Glass
Half Full
A late afternoon.
Mira sat watching her glass half full, left on the table in front of her. She moved closer, watching the glass carefully as she inched nearer to her carpet, an object closest to the table with the glass, slowly falling asleep. Her eyelids grew heavier, as she thought she had seen something jump in her glass. “Was it a phoenix?” No, it couldn’t be, as Mira fell fast asleep.
I
A faint glow grew closer, intensifying the darkness of the deep waters. Mira swam forward, holding her breath, as the glow came closer. It was a bird with metallic feathers and iron eyes. The creature came closer then stopped, watching Mira swim. “Where am I?” “Somewhere deep in the ocean, far from your home”, as the creature continued to look at Mira. “Swim with me, I’ll take you back.”
Mira and the creature had been swimming for hours, with no words exchanged between them. Mira turned, “How do you glow like this? “My heart burns with fire at the centre.” “And nothing ever puts it out?” “No, nothing can. I’m a phoenix, which means that I go through renewal. I go through rebirth. I remember all my past memories, which is why I sort them under each feather. One feather for each lifetime of good and bad memories.” “But you have a thousand scales.” “I’ve had a thousand lifetimes.” “How do you stay so steady with so much to carry?” “That’s called balance.” “You carry weights?” “You could call it that, yes. I keep enough sustenance for a long swim, and enough empty pockets for the lessons I learn during my swim. I learnt that from a friend of mine.
Mira and the phoenix continued to swim forwards in the darkness of the deep waters. I can only take you this far. You’ll need to swim across the pond where the mountains are. Keep your pockets half full and half empty. Good luck.
II
The deep, dark waters drew back to welcome clear waters. Mira swam ahead, her hands, her arms, her legs and her feet pushing her body through the pond’s water. She saw a fast flash of a white fin with red spots in the distance, and called out. “Hello, is someone there? I was dropped here and need help to cross the pond. I don’t know which way to go.” Mira swam for a while then stopped. She saw the same white fin with red spots slowly approach her. “Hello, I heard you calling out earlier. I usually don’t talk to strangers. Are you lost?” “No, not really. But I do need to get home. I’m on my way.” “You’re not far from the mountains now. Swim forward, someone else will help you there. Call out to him like you did with me.” “Who are you?” “I’m a Japanese koi fish, who are you?” “I’m Mira, how do you keep on swimming in this pond everyday?” “I use the courage nature gave me.” “That must be nice.” “It is.” “Maybe I’ll meet you again one day.” “Maybe you will. For now swim up to the surface for oxygen. Breathe in deeply, then swim back down. Keep on doing so for as long as you need to. Breathe in fully, though keep some space in your lungs for more oxygen. Over time, you’ll be able to breathe in more oxygen the more you try. That’s why I only need to go to the surface three times a day. Take in oxygen, but leave space for more. Walk through the mountains to the other side. From there you should have one last stop before reaching home. Good luck.
Mira swam to the surface, taking in a deep, full breath of air. Mira thought of the koi fish, swam back down and continued on her way to the mountains. The koi fish had told Mira that she would need practice breathing because the mountains were high. It was difficult to breathe there. Mira reached cobbled steps at the edge of the pond and carefully walked out, taking in a deep breath. She turned back for a moment, noticing her wet footprints quickly drying up with the heat of a hot afternoon.
III
Mira, her clothes, and her hair dry now, looked up at the mountains looming over her. She was so high up in the mountains. Mira thought of the phoenix and the koi fish. She took in a deep breath as she felt the pressure of the air around her press down onto her. With the koi fish’s courage in mind, Mira pushed ahead, climbing rock after rock to the top of the mountain. Her feet were bleeding and her hands were cold. But Mira carried herself forward, the same way she had swam in deep, dark waters. She imagined herself there. Mira looked up from the ground for the ninety-seventh time and stopped abruptly, her body crippling with fear. Mira slowly drew herself behind a large tree, terrified by what lay sitting on the mountain peak. The creature’s enormous scales glistening in the setting in of a late afternoon. Reading her thoughts, the dragon said “The phoenix and the koi fish told me about you. I won’t harm you, do not be scared. Climb up, meet me here, the view is magnificent.” Mira, terrified, made her way up to the mountain peak. “You reached, very good. What do you see in the distance?” “I see trees that have nuts growing on them. Can we eat them?” “Yes, they are very nourishing.” “Is that how you grew so huge, by eating nuts?” “No, but I do collect them before the winter months. I carry a hundred baskets using my tail and fill them all midway.” “Why do you leave so much space?” “When I find better and rounder nuts, I’ll have enough space left to collect them. If I don’t find better, rounder nuts, I’ll still have enough for the winter.” “Do you collect nuts from each mountain?” “Yes.” “There are hundreds of them.” “There are hundreds of trees to learn from. Every nut is different. Every nut has something to teach me. Are you on your way home?” “Yes.” “There are so many mountains to climb over. Let me help you.” Mira climbed onto the dragon’s back. Years had passed. Mira and the dragon had reached the last mountain. “Climb the last mountain, and continue walking from there until you reach the waterfall. You’ll meet someone there, you’ll share a few words, and then you’ll be home. Good luck.
IV
Mira and the dragon looked at each other, and both their ways. As Mira started to climb the last mountain she turned around and watched as the only part of the dragon was his magnificent tail disappearing in the distance. Making his way back over the mountains. Mira checked how many nuts she had left in her pocket, took in a deep breath, and continued to climb. After many hours, Mira reached the mountain peak and rested under the leaves and branches of a tree. On waking up, Mira stretched her arms and her legs and started her descent down. Step after step, and rock after rock, Mira reached the bottom and saw the waterfall, not so far away from where she stood. She made her way through tall grass.
Sitting on a rock was a mermaid, who looked at Mira. “Are you the one the dragon said I’ll meet?” “Yes.” “You’ve come a long way.” “Yes, I have.” “You’re almost home. Pass through the waterfall, think about where you’ve been and what you learnt. Go now, it’s dark.” Thinking about the phoenix, the koi fish, and the dragon, Mira savoured the gushing water of the waterfall as it fell hard on her back. Mira closed her eyes in that instant and opened them to find herself lying on her carpet. “It was a dream” she thought, as she watched the phoenix, the koi fish, and the dragon swimming in her glass half full, with enough space to jump to stretch their fins and wings.
The End
Moral of the story
The moral of the story has to do with the expression “A glass half full” which is attributed to optimism. The message being that filling a glass half full can be beneficial. Because it gives us enough to sustain growth, and enough space for more. The “more” being anything you want at the moment or in the future.
Till the weekend.
P.S. Cyclone Batsirai and the Water Tiger sure brought in a lot of water. A source of strength and this year.
P.P.S. This week’s post is titled “A Future I Can Love”, which includes some figures, facts, and statistics about why our future ahead of us isn’t so bleak.
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