Love's Joy

by Emil Toth

  “There is nothing wrong with having people voice their discontent, so long as the minority does not control the majority. At times, the loud and discontented minority are the voices heard by governing bodies.”

  “Why are they not learning how to get along?”

  “You are observant and I am sure have noticed we are not created with the same skills and reasoning powers. Differences are prevalent in our physical bodies and in our temperaments. In addition, there are imperfections in our body composition making it difficult for some to control certain aspects of their personality.”

  “How unfortunate.”

  “Hmm. I like to look at the differences in us as what makes us unique. Those of us better able to control ourselves are the ones who should exhibit more compassion for those having trouble controlling themselves. These gifted people should be teaching those less knowledgeable and less emotionally even keeled.”

  A pensive look settled on Sharika’s face. “I suppose you are right. I know several such people in my village who fit the category. I never could figure out why they were so different. A young man of nineteen suddenly started acting strange. He had huge emotional swings from excitement to deep depressions. His wife and he sought help from our medicine man and he had him try various ointments and even had him eat food he normally would not eat to see if anything helped him regain his normal behavior. Nothing seemed to work. I felt sorry for him and his family.”

  “His situation is an example how challenges can appear at any moment in our lives,” added Kaathi. “It is why we must seek Creator when we have all of our faculties. Sadly, many people turn to Creator only when tragedy strikes.”

  CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

  The peace emissaries, floating on the river, were screeched at by a large gathering of monkeys in the trees on the banks of the river. It was the largest such family they had ever seen. A half day later they left the monkeys behind and welcomed the relative quiet. Evette remembered hearing stories of the massive number of monkeys, as a child. The advent of the monkeys told her she was nearing her home village. No one in the canoes was more anxious and eager to arrive than Evette. It had been nearly two decades since she and her husband, Gene, left Ebiji to find utopia.

  She had left behind her husband, Gene, and their seven year old son and five year old daughter in Kahali. She thought of them every day and missed them, even though the urge to see her parents and her friend, Nia, pulled at her heart. She prayed they were all alive and well.

  The group had been in the canoes for twenty days and beached the dugouts early to take time to eat and relax. They had eaten and all the preparations were set for the evening.

  Evette sat next to Kaathi and directed her words to the mystic. “I am glad you had Sharika and I come, Kaathi. I have had the opportunity to observe you intimately for many days and have noticed what extraordinary people skills you have.”

  “Thank you. It is so because I have cultivated them. Most of us have seen many qualities displayed in each other and have been pleasantly surprised. Frankly, I think all of us are extraordinary. The level of awareness I operate at is what appears to set me apart from others. This awareness is within everyone, waiting to be cultivated in much the same way as any one of the other skills we utilize.”

  Jacob sat opposite them across the fire and shook his head. “I highly doubt it.”

  “It is true. One of the major problems is even before birth we are flooded with stimuli and it continues incessantly for much of our lives. Much of it is useful for survival, yet there is a great deal cluttering our ability to function efficiently.”

  Jacob tugged at his ear. “I am not sure I follow you.”

  “Prior to birth your consciousness contains information from other lives, other acquired beliefs, skills, remembered experiences and intelligence to name a few. While you are in your mother, you are collecting and processing new information, experiences and beliefs from your parents and everyone your mother comes in contact with. Upon birth you contend with learning how to function and manipulate a physical body, learn languages, accept new beliefs and acquire reasoning and a host of other important life skills, in a relatively short time. Learning how to exist in this maze of dualities is a challenge. For most of us, there are far too many things to distract us from reaching our potential.”

  “What is our potential?”

  “It is to be aware of our origination and to be fully love oriented.

  “While I think I know what you mean by being love oriented, I have no idea what you mean by being aware,” admitted Jacob.

  “A general description would be to be aware of yourself and what your source is. You are an expression of Creator and Creator is your source of being. You are subjected to and guided by your memory, but be aware your memory is not who you are. In essence, you are consciousness and are in a state of constant creativity. It involves you being aware of the various levels of consciousness comprising your essence. Your awareness is also the expression of cells in your bodies, their function and joy. Awareness connects you to Creator and all of creation.”

  Jacob was dumbfounded. “Are you saying you are aware of all of it?”

  “I have experienced some of it and I have seen hints of it.”

  “I am going to have a hard time falling asleep thinking about all of this.”

  Indeed Jacob did spend a great deal of time thinking, while he awaited sleep. He recalled Ashlee telling a marvelous story of awareness. She and the group from Kahali and Zafir had come upon Netti struggling in her attempt at suicide. Ashlee had sensed Kaathi knew of the attempt beforehand and the mystic waited to marshal everyone until the last moment to rescue Netti. Kaathi explained why she held them back. It was so Zafir could see how horrible things have gotten in his village. She said Zafir needed to feel the true impact of Netti’s desperation, otherwise he would not have been the spearhead of the reformation in Nubilon.

  Jacob smiled. He was proud he had recalled the story and was able to marry it with Kaathi’s description of awareness.

  CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

  Ashlee was deep in thought and not conscious of her surroundings. She was remembering how happy she was to have seen her Uncle Ravi was married and to renew her friendship with Amira. She was pleased to have renewed her friendships with Devra and Nena and happy the peace treaty had been accepted. It was a testament to the unifying skills of Kaathi. In spite of how nice her visit was with her uncle, she had to admit there was still too much anger and negativity in Nubilon. She was happy to have left her birth village and on her way to Ebiji and then home.

  There was a lull in the conversation in the dugout. She took advantage of it. “Kaathi, you have taken a few trips and while talking about them, you often use the word adventure. I know you use words purposefully and I was hoping you would share why you use the word so often.”

  “They were indeed adventures. The word adventure implies new and exciting events will take place. I wanted specific people to go with me because they needed to see me do things they thought were impossible to do. On my first adventure, Jacob needed to see love is more powerful than anger or might. We also needed to make contact with the mutants, Leah and Isaac and bring them back to Kahali to show our people not all mutants are hostile and they are only different from us in form and nothing else. We brought back Zach so King Edmund would come after him. By coming, Edmund discovered his true identity and went on to reform his kingdom. It also provided Scarlet the opportunity to come to Kahali and rekindle her love for Jacob. Keri saw how strong her love was for her husband and opened her heart and home to Scarlet. Keri and Scarlet were instrumental in bringing about the Kahali law allowing women to have more than one husband.

  “The second adventure allowed us to come in contact with a simian race, Jacob named Stalkers. They were dominated by men. Because of our interaction with them, a simian woman, Gauri, was accepted as a teacher and a leader of their tribe. Her acceptance was a gigantic step for women in the clan. When Mara’s peo
ple, the Uchakwa attacked us, we killed the warriors except for her. She saw the folly in the attack and did not blame us for their deaths. She wanted to learn about wisdom and spirituality and came with us, as did Kacy from the Uchakwas. On the adventure, we saved Evette and Gene from the mutant Wanderer tribe and they went on to teach the Sumati people the Relationship principles for two years. That same adventure to Sumati was significant because we saved you from death on the savannah. You my dear, heroic lady have shown everyone how powerful your need was to be free from tyranny and slavery.

  “The adventure, which took you back home to Nubilon, was essential. Zafir needed to hold a suffocating Netti in his arms while Ravi cut the rope around her neck. Seeing her attempted suicide shook him and made him look at what men had been doing to their women for so many generations. He and your uncle’s group are instrumental in the cultural change sweeping your home village to improve the life of women.

  “On this peace treaty mission, we will stop in Ebiji. It will give Evette a chance to see what effect she had on her father with her talks about equality and justice for women. She will also find out if any other woman has taken up her banner to further justice in Ebiji. She will also discover how great or how little her family and friends have missed her.

  “Lastly there is Sharika. She is the ideal for all women seeking to be physically equal to men. She has fought beside men in her village and has been acknowledged for her bravery and skills. Her adventure brought her to Kahali in search of a husband. She found him and so much more. She never dreamed her heart could lead her on such a magnificent adventure to discover her relationship to Creator. When we set foot in Hun Nation, it will present them with the opportunity to see a side of Sharika they had never seen. Hopefully, they will see she glows with a new light, the light of love and spirituality.”

  “How well did you see our interconnectedness?”

  “Well enough to know we needed each other’s friendship and help. In spite of it, I did not probe the depth of them for I wanted the pleasure of the pliable, exciting and suspenseful future.”

  CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE

  Evette sensed she was nearing her old home. With it came a restlessness for she was uncertain what to expect after being away for so many years. The yearning to see her parents was distinctly prevalent. She prayed they were still alive and healthy. In spite of all the differences of opinion she had with her father, she had never wished him harm. They were the first people to love her and she them. Nothing could break the bond.

  Her eyes closed as she went inward to think of her husband, Gene. No amount of talking and reassuring could convince him to come. She was certain he would have come on the mission, were it not for having to visit the mutants. She was aware he still had the recurring dream about the atrocities he and she suffered. He was able to function under normal circumstances in Kahali and Sumati, however his gentle character was unable to handle coming face to face with his horrific memories.

  She was honestly surprised he had made the trek with her to find her utopia. Despite what he shared about why he accompanied her, she felt the driving force was how everyone in Ebiji would think him a coward. He was not strong enough to survive being shamed. His feminine nature was too powerful and drove his personality. She was well aware of him being trapped into being a male. His parents and society had cast his future and he was unable to proclaim his true identity. She loved him for his gentle nature and for standing bravely next to her as she voiced her proclamations. She was proud of him, and he would forever remain her hero, while fighting demons in his mind.

  The dugouts ran aground and brought Evette out of her thoughts. She exited the canoe and helped unload the supplies and gave a hand in securing some of them in a small tree so animals could not get to them. She refrained from talking as she worked and was quiet while they ate. There were no large trees nearby so the men were gone a long time collecting sufficient wood for a large fire to dissuade predators from approaching during the night. While the men were away, Kaathi sat next to Evette.

  “I have noticed you have hardly spoken today,” observed Kaathi.

  “I think the nearness of my home has made me introspective. I have been lost in thought about Gene and my parents. I was thinking how nice it would have been for him to see his parents and his sister. She was fourteen when we left and must have her own family by now.”

  Kaathi patted Evette’s hand. “Unfortunately, Gene’s past throws huge, haunting shadows on his life. His willingness to wrestle his memories and work with Mara will a big step in his recovery.

  “After the attack by the mutants, Gene had been floundering. I was hoping teaching the Relationship Sessions in Sumati would give him a purpose in life. Perhaps he would be willing to go back to Ebiji to teach, if he knew you were going back to teach.”

  Evette perked up on hearing the news. “Do you think my village would be willing to accept us as teachers?”

  “More shocking things have happened in this world. It is one of the reasons I have brought you along on this trip,” Kaathi pointed out.

  “I had a fleeting thought about you wanting me to teach again.”

  “Your intuition is working well. You were vital in establishing the sessions in Sumati. You went to the village center and questioned women whether they felt honored and respected. Your easy manner and probing questions together with being an oddity brought women to you.”

  Evette smiled. “Many a youngster came to us wanting to know how we grew so tall.”

  “I noticed they took a liking to both of you and it helped you as instructors. Are you eager or anxious about going back to you home village?”

  Evette thought a moment. “A little of both. I was such a persistent protester, I am sure it is what people will remember about me. Fortunately, I was not always contentious at home. Thinking back I realize my father was patient with me. I am not so sure about the assembly. My father told me many times there was no one in Ebiji who gave the synod more grief than me. Anyway I will find out soon. I have felt we are close to my home.”

  “You are right, Evette. I have felt the same thing.”

  The men returned carrying armfuls of wood for the fire and Evette and Kaathi ended their conversation; it did not end the thoughts bouncing around in Evette’s head. Kaathi was correct, she did feel a little nervous about returning home. She had left without apologizing to the synod and was certain they were not going to be thrilled about her returning. At least her father had prepared her for leaving by teaching her all he knew about survival. What he had not prepared her for was the utter brutality of the mutants. No one could have.

  CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR

  Late the next day drums announced the traveler’s presence in Ebiji territory. With the first striking of a drum, Evette caught Kaathi’s eyes and smiled. A quarter day later they saw the villagers on the bank of the river. Evette’s eyes darted around the crowd hoping to spot her parents. She found her father, Adama, in the midst of the synod. She waved. Adama had spotted the tall woman in the dugout and knew it was his child. Even so, his face showed his surprise at seeing her. The group beached the dugouts and a few Ebiji men helped pull them farther out of the water. The moment her feet touched the ground she ran to her father. He separated himself from the synod and walked to meet her. Everyone’s eyes were on them as they embraced and cried. Evette’s mother, Nyah, trudged slowly from the crowd. Evette watched her mother approach and was stunned at how old and shriveled she looked. Nyah threw herself on her daughter and husband, weeping with joy.

  When they broke the hug, Evette’s mother exclaimed, “Oh my god. I never thought these old eyes would see you again. Evette you look wonderful.”

  “It is so good to see you, Mother, and you as well Father.”

  She was pleased to see her father was smiling and weeping. He missed her!

  The spontaneous group hug kept her from saying anything more. When they released her, her mother asked, “Where is Gene. Is he dead?”

  �
�No, he stayed back in Kahali. I shall tell you everything when we are alone.”

  She saw Elgar patiently waiting for her to finish her reunion. “I have to go to help with the introductions. Come.”

  She grabbed her parent’s arms and walked the short distance to the awaiting group. Disdaining protocol, she introduced her parents using the common language to her friends. Next she requested her father to introduce the synod. She did not see the head of the synod. Evette’s father, Adama, surprised her by making the introductions of the nine member synod and their families, which meant he was the head of the synod. When she was a member of the village, the synod had always separated themselves from their families at any formal function. This was a huge departure from tradition. Elgar introduced the peace contingent and their responsibilities in Kahali.

  “I know you have not come all this way just to bring my daughter back for a visit,” announced Adama.

  “You are correct,” replied Elgar. “We are here to present you and your village with the opportunity to ratify a peace treaty.”

  Adama looked at each one of the Kahali group before he spoke, “Before we discuss anything so serious, the synod and I want to acquaint ourselves with you first. We need to know what kind of people we are dealing with. After we share a meal and talk we can discuss the treaty… if we approve of you.”

  “Fair enough. I love to eat and have a good conversation.”

  “Very well.” Adama turned to one of the synod members behind him. “Could you arrange to have our wives prepare a meal for our guests?”

  “I can.” The man hurried off to make the arrangements.

  While the food was being prepared, the visitors were inundated with people wanting to talk to them.

  Evette recognized Gene’s mother standing in line waiting her turn to talk to her. She stepped away from her friends and went to her.