Angels in the Architecture (24 page)

‘He does not speak,
sir.’

‘No, of course. I’m sorry. I wasn’t sure the extent of his
... affliction. Has he always been like this?’

‘He seemed as usual a boy as any when he was born,
sir. But he didn’t grow up as the others did,’ Alice replied. ‘I had six before him, you see. All boys they were.’

‘Were?’

‘Three have gone to the Cathedral, Father.’

‘Three? Oh yes. Of course. Well, with so many
... And it’s a great task they commit for the Church of course.’

‘
Yes, Father.’

‘And your husband?’

‘He’s gone to the fields today, sir, with the other boys.’

‘Hmm.’
Father Taylor nodded. ‘These are difficult times, madam. You must pray for your sons. All of them.’

‘I pray without cease,
sir, for my sons and others, and for Thomas most of all.’

‘Thomas?’

‘The youngest, sir. The one injured in the village. He of all does not deserve such pain or suffering as that. I think of him as one of God’s angels, put here to show us something of great meaning. I’m grateful for him really because of that. Blessed, I think God has made me, through him.’

The priest had far from expected more than a few words from the woman, and wondered how it was that she could articulate anything at all
of God’s will or indeed any other matter. The incongruity of this woman’s lot with her good graces was one of life’s unfortunate errors of birth, and he was grateful he’d not had the misfortune himself to wake each day to the filth of a peasant life.

‘May I see the boy
, please?’

‘Yes
of course, sir.’ Alice turned and went back through the small cloth door, returning a moment later with an altogether normally appearing boy, albeit that he showed sleepiness and some inattention. Thomas squinted in the sun and rubbed his eyes, moving his head left and right and peering from the corner of his eyes. Although he looked to be searching for something out of the darkness, his eyes did not light upon the priest.

‘This
is Thomas, sir,’ Alice said, her arm about Thomas’s shoulder as she held her eyes lovingly to his great ruff of blonde hair which stood out every which way.

A great smile perched itself
across Thomas’s face and Father Taylor couldn’t tell if he found this disarming or disquieting, and he studied the boy closely.

‘He’s a happy child then?’

‘Yes, sir, he’s happy, almost always, except yesterday of course. He seemed frightened when they brought him back.’

‘Hmm,’ the priest muttered again, still studying him. ‘Can he do anything? Anything at all?’

‘Not a thing, sir. He has no skill in anything.’

‘Then it is an extra mouth for you.’

Alice looked up at the priest now. ‘We don’t mind him, sir.’

‘No, indeed
.’ Father Taylor looked at the woman, wondering why he ought to feel chastened by this lowly creature. ‘Well, be about your business, madam. I won’t keep you.’ And then he turned quickly without another look at Thomas, to mount his horse and turn it away from the small holding and back again down the dry clay road towards the town.

Thomas looked then to the departing horse and rider and the smile went from his face. Alice paid no more mind to the priest and his visit, not wondering as to its peculiarity in any way. There seemed no value in it for her. And if some misfortune her husband would not tell her had befallen the boy, then it had passed now and perhaps that would be the end of it. Perhaps she would keep him to their house a while though
.

Fulk had been lying a good while in a new and hidden watching spot beneath the tree he’d previously occupied. There was nothing about hurry
that Fulk needed to know of in his life. He was mainly about eating and sleeping and staying warm to the extent that he could. There was no trouble with that today though and the warm that there was had made him sleepy, and he’d dozed and not quite slept through the high sun hours.

He stretched now and sat up from his warm nest of leaves and other forest droppings. He needed to walk about now or he would be stiff later, even though it was warmer. Fulk got up slowly and quietly onto his big feet, crouching a moment and looking about, listening for any sounds that were not the usual ones always there. Sensing no risk or menace
, he crept slowly, and a little stooped, to a large tree and stood quietly against its trunk, almost blending in entirely to the rough bark. He looked about once more and edged slowly away from this tree to another, again stopping a spell until moving on again, and in this way he manoeuvred slowly and quietly in the direction he wanted, without much insistence to get there in any more time than this method would take.

In a while
, he got to the edge of the forest where a small lake rested ponderously in the warm day, and here Fulk sat back against another tree a while, thinking he might scoop a drink from the water since he found himself dry in his mouth. He was not too familiar with water, having never understood to wash himself, and only once having ventured a little way into a pond, to then have to suffer an unbearable itching for days from some mite that got under his clothes, which he’d had no thought to remove any part of before his wading.

Fulk liked the shining on the water. Things didn’t shine in the forest much, at least not like this, not this much. This shine was so bright as to make him blink and close his eyes
, and when he looked away, he couldn’t see some things for a while; he thought this was not so useful, so he tried not to look at the water’s surface where it was alight, but it was hard not to also because it caught his eye..

In between looking at the water and not looking at the water, a great white duck moved from behind some reeds and floated a small way towards him, coming side on to him and looking with a sharp dark red eye in his direction. Fulk hadn’t seen these white ducks before. It was much, much larger than the usual ducks and had a very long white neck. In fact he suspected it wasn’t a duck at all, but something else – just as a hare wasn’t a rabbit but it was something else instead. He wondered
whether the bird was dangerous with its big black beak, and he wondered whether he could catch one and what it might taste like. He’d seen ducks take off into flight from the water’s surface, and he thought about what this giant bird would look like if it came up off the water and flapped its wings to fly. Possibly because it was very large it might be very slow to move, and this could give him some advantage to catching it. Perhaps it had claws instead of wading feet, but Fulk couldn’t see through the water to tell this. Claws could be a problem. Not that the pain from bleeding or tearing was too much difficult for Fulk, for he’d had plenty of this, but he’d once become so ill that he’d known he’d lost several days, and he knew this had come from a sharp tear in his neck from a ferret he’d not quite handled in the best way. And he knew also that some animals’ claws were bigger than others.

The bird floated across the water in front
of Fulk, all the time looking at him, and he looked at the bird. It glided across the shiny patch of water, and for a few seconds Fulk couldn’t see the bird at all, and then it swam across past the shine, and it was still looking at him. Fulk, the man, had only animal instincts and killing thoughts of the bird, but the bird itself had almost none of these.

10

Those who have ascended have different attributes

from those who are still on earth, yet there is no real separation.

When you do not know it they are able to make suggestions to you.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá

The two men at the lake edge attracted no attention from all those around attending to their own business, which was in large part the loading and unloading of canal boat
s and barges of different kinds and the transport of shipped contents to and fro. A city such as this was notably full of those of some holy order or other, as well. These two, one older and one younger, were less conspicuous than many, dressed as they were in the coarse brown robes of simple monks.

They walked slowly; anyone who spied them would say that the older was stooped
, and the younger walked slowly for his sake. The truth was their thoughts, many and complex, slowed their pace as they sought the essence of their discussion. It would also be apparent to an observer that the younger was a novice of the older, and this was more or less the case, although not in a way most would understand. It was also true, as many would assume, that their talk was not
of this world
, but that too was of another nature entirely and may have been cause for alarm among some contemporary quarters of the time, had any of it been heard. As it was though, there was no one near enough to pick up the words and their meanings, and the two strolled undisturbed bur for the background of shouts and pulleys and rattling cartwheels and horses.

It’s not an easy life here.

No indeed.

So physical. And such poverty. Obstacles to spiritual development, surely.

Or a benefit. A bounty even.

Yes, perhaps. Tell me, why are they both boys?

No reason.

One is so disadvantaged.

By his poverty? No, as I said, not so much
.

I was thinking more the lack of education, the lack of an aware environment.

Yes and no. There are some interesting and reverse correlations between the two communities.

I don’t see the point.

Of what?

Of making it harder.

There’s always hardship everywhere. You need to do better with this; you won’t help them if you focus on the negative.

I don’t connect with them well. I don’t have your special powers.

Your problem is you think too much. You believe these children will succeed by learning to think?

No, of course not
, much more by feeling.

No, not feeling either. Emotion is not much more useful than thinking and can get in the way even more. We’ve been through this before
.

I’m struggling with how.

Explain to me then, when we meet with them
...
how does that work? Do you ‘see’ them, do you ‘feel’ them, are you ‘present’ with them, what?

All and none of that.

Not good enough.

Why did
you
choose this task? It was never going to be easy. It’s virtually impossible.

Nothing’s impossible! I chose it because I believe it’s possible. Because it presents an enormous opportunity. It’s important to prove what’s possible
, to make a lie of supposed limitations – limits of time and space, obstacles of mind and body. We chose to help them. That’s our role. To make the connection with them and get them to understand the possibility, the potential of making this huge difference in the world.

But no
one will know. Even if you succeed. No one looks for a cause for something that
didn’t
happen.

That doesn’t matter. Remember the story
of Odin, who walked among mortals; the poor but virtuous family whose cow died – such a tragedy, it seemed so unfair. But in fact nature had determined the wife otherwise would die. Until Odin stepped in and the cow was taken instead – who would have known that? Did it matter that they knew not? And then the wealthy and cruel family who built their mansion above a buried treasure and so never found it. It will be known simply because it will change what’s possible, and the Energy of that in the Universe will influence more change. We are simply Scientists, my friend. That is the greater morality.

You mean it’s more right?

Morality is not about right and wrong – that view is for simple, limited minds that can’t see and refuse to understand.

What is it then?

It’s whatever moves us more towards the light and enables us to make better use of our talents, our powers, and our faculties for the betterment of others’ lives and the development of their talents and powers and faculties, and their ability to make that difference in others lives too, and so on. Ours is to have Faith, as is everyone’s. Belief in what is possible. That is what will change the world – just Belief.

Well
, that’s simple enough
.

Yes, of course it is. But it’s made complicated by the minds of men. They want to put rules in place ostensibly to manage this development, but in reality few men are comfortable that those they support may exceed them in power, and especially not in piety and closeness
to God. But there are some – some who can truly see
.

So what is the morality in this situation then?

Which one?

Either. Both have a significant task.

Yes, their positions are handicapped in one way of course. But then they also have such direct connection too. They’ve set a task to go over and beyond their surrounding limitations; it’s an enormously positive goal, with enormous power to advance the world.