A Fictional Short Story:
On a fine, brisk, sun-filled Autumn day, after all my chores were completed, I found myself sitting quietly, enjoying a sweet-tasting banana, and gazing aimlessly through a window at the trees swaying in the afternoon light.
Prior I had been sizing up my life, assessing my strengths and my weaknesses, thinking of loved ones, both living and passed, my string of failures and accomplishments, etc.
As was usual, soon the dreaded existential angst of loneliness arrived, spoiling my moments of peaceful contemplative thought. I imagined myself falling to the floor, dramatically expiring from this life, ceasing to be, however that event did not occur.
Instead, I had an entirely new thought, which surprised me. I wondered if, somewhere across this great Universe, another being was having this same feeling of angst as I was.And I decided, yes, of course, surely there must be another. I became quite curious. Clearly we could never communicate nor meet, with distance so unimaginably vast between us.
Yet, it was such an easy leap for my mind to take, so I imagined mentally bonding with this unknown being whom I assumed existed somewhere out there. This mental game had no immediate result and I quickly dropped it.
The next day, at the same time of day, this novel new thought recurred, and I played my mental game once again.
Day after day I repeated this folly. A beacon in hunt of a receiver, ever hopeful of a return transmission. Surely it must be feasible.
I continued, accumulating months of this daily ritual, still with no result.
On a fresh Spring day, with bouts of rain showers, I noticed new growth of buds on the trees, and began to prepare myself for my daily thought experiment. I focused my mind on my state of loneliness and cast out my mental appeal.
The next day, at the same time of day, this novel new thought recurred, and I played my mental game once again.
Day after day I repeated this folly. A beacon in hunt of a receiver, ever hopeful of a return transmission. Surely it must be feasible.
I continued, accumulating months of this daily ritual, still with no result.
On a fresh Spring day, with bouts of rain showers, I noticed new growth of buds on the trees, and began to prepare myself for my daily thought experiment. I focused my mind on my state of loneliness and cast out my mental appeal.
An immediate new feeling took hold of me, as if what I had imparted in my cast, returned in like fashion back to me, doubled and resonating within me. Call it an internal gong.
I fell to the floor, feeling a surge in my chest, then radiating up and down my spine, and soon filling me with electric delight tingling throughout every pathway of my body. A cosmic ecstasy, an infinite time, though in reality, lasting only a few moments, before subsiding.
My mind and body felt entirely cleaned and pure. I could not speak, and only with much effort did I finally get up off the floor, and proceeded outside. To my surprise it was nightfall and the heavens were filled with stars and thin veils of the Milky Way. A twinkling attracted my attention, close to the tip of one of Taurus’s horns. I could not take my eyes from that spot.
Then I knew that my ritual was no longer a child’s foolish game. I had reached across the Universe and found a kindred spirit. No longer would I feel alone.
I fell to the floor, feeling a surge in my chest, then radiating up and down my spine, and soon filling me with electric delight tingling throughout every pathway of my body. A cosmic ecstasy, an infinite time, though in reality, lasting only a few moments, before subsiding.
My mind and body felt entirely cleaned and pure. I could not speak, and only with much effort did I finally get up off the floor, and proceeded outside. To my surprise it was nightfall and the heavens were filled with stars and thin veils of the Milky Way. A twinkling attracted my attention, close to the tip of one of Taurus’s horns. I could not take my eyes from that spot.
Then I knew that my ritual was no longer a child’s foolish game. I had reached across the Universe and found a kindred spirit. No longer would I feel alone.
