The Cosmic Palisade
Beyond the great wall...
Dearest Starling ,
I have been awaiting your arrival, I am glad that you are finally here. It must have been a tiring journey till here , the palisades of this fortress I built only add to the labor of the journey…. Please do sip this cosmic brew 🍵 - a tea that shall relieve you from all distress.
Hope that tea helped, and since you made it all the way into this beautiful tea garden for more than just ‘tea’ , lets catch you up with the matters of the enchanting city beyond this cold citadel.
Many many moons ago 🌙, as I was in the great archives of the citadel - flipping through the endless pages- I saw a familiar stranger heading towards the Palisade gates , making his way from the enchanting city. Naturally , I headed down to see who this stranger at my door was.. and so it happens, I ran into Cupid.
“What an odd place to run into you Cupid”, were my first words as soon I caught a glimpse of him from the towering balcony above the gate. The grin on his face… I still remember that quirky grin.
Of all the realms one could visit, whatever could have brought him to this foreboding abode?
“Still under the pile of endless pages and books are we?..” He laughed… as he made his way through the gates into the courtyard.. “Doesn’t it ever get boring in this Citadel?… grand in its scale and beauty as it is-… Somehow you, Betelgeuse, never get tired of the endless work -away from the seasons of the enchanting city right outside your walls”
The seasons of the enchanting city, I have heard endless tales about those seasons, tales of love and sorrow alike -repeated as endless loops just like the seasons of that city, I wasn’t quite sure why Cupid came all this way - to just invite me to witness the seasons of the city? - for I could witness that right from the windows of my own halls, why even go through the hardships of venturing all the way to the city?
Almost as if he heard the storm of thoughts in my brain - “Once upon a time , this grand citadel never existed Betelgeuse, even you know that long before you ventured all the way here- to build this formidable fortress… even you were part of those endless cyclic seasons of the enchanting city” , those words dispelled the storm inside me- a void lay ahead.. he looked into my eyes as I made my way to him.. “Or has your memory of everything before faded into these rustic walls of the citadel?”
“Dearest Cupid, the Citadel doesn’t concern itself with the seasons of the city, there are other matters to be addressed- the concerns of the Citadel are beyond these cyclic tiresome loops- and as for my memory , it is as good as the cosmic archives—”, I look at him , quite unsure what he might say next… “Someone has to tend to the matters beyond the illusory loops right?, I took that upon me and I shall live by that….”
“You seriously believe that you took up the matters that lay beyond the loops of the city by isolating yourself amidst the fortress and Palisades?” , in an awfully mocking tone, the Citadel Mage- Orion , joined me and Cupid in the cosmic courtyard, “It is not a choice Betelgeuse, it is a narrative of escapism”, he sat next to us at the table , Cupid and him exchanged greetings and Orion looked me dead in the eye— “I for one have been in this cosmic realm for longer than you child , and I pursue the same concerns as you… for have I forsaken the seasons of the city ?”
“No you haven’t Mage , but doesn’t mean one doesn’t get tired of the endless nonsensical loop, it’s a choice to be on the sidelines-” , I sip my tea , as I awkwardly look at both of them.
Cupid sighs, “Getting tired is one thing Betelgeuse, deeming yourself unworthy and then averting away from the seasons is an entirely different issue..”
I agree, both have them have a point , and yes I have been maintaining my distance from the matters of the city- owing to what traversed in the past eons ago. Nonetheless, it’s not like I haven’t made attempts to experience the magic of those seasons everyone talks about , I have- but my experiences tell me, maybe the perfected loops of the city can’t handle a semantic error.
“Ahem”, Orion clears his throat as he observed me getting lost in my thoughts… “Child, to take a standpoint away from the loops of the enchanting city one must experience it to differ from it , you my young raven - have forsaken them long before you could even experience and learn from them - It is I , who invited Cupid, venture into the city - don’t just witness the season, be a part of it”
“Mage, you very well know why I had forsaken it, and I hold no desire to be part of the loop—” as I was speaking Cupid cut me of saying , “That too is a narrative, if you have no desire , why even open the windows of your halls and endlessly stare at the city with longing, don’t even deny it- your ministers and enough of us at the city have seen you”
With a look of defeat , I go stand by the fountain in the courtyard… I feel the warmth of light upon my eyes, then… I close my eyes.
A wish upon a star… can help you take a leap that’s afar… when hope is all you need.. slip a coin into those waters…🎵 ~ Mom
Then, I took a coin out of my pocket and tossed it into the water , there goes the leap of hope… I turn to both of them- “But… but.. what if I end up at the same ending as the last time?”
Orion placed a hand on my shoulder, “Don’t place yourself and others on a pedestal, if you end up at the same ending , this time don’t repeat the loop of your own to escape from it, face it - break your confines- for your goal is to experience the mystic magic of the seasons and learn to grow ahead , and you can do that without being perfect…. dispose of your earlier learnings and musings and live your life afresh child…. and when it actually gets tiring- your Citadel will embrace you…”
“Just be kind, you’re a child again…. And no child deserves suffering”, he held my hand as he said those words to me… “Long have you pretended to be an aged soul to avert away from your destiny”
Cupid looked at me, stretching his hand out, “True wisdom and growth has to be lived Lord Betelgeuse- not witnessed or intellectualized as narratives- shall we head into the city now?- The season awaits us- lets bridge you to ‘you’ for once…”
And that my dearest starling, is how I took a ‘leap of faith’ a long time ago, a lot traversed between then and now… but those are stories for later visits.. Cupid and Orion did play their fair share of cards… I owe them a lot for the push I needed and for what I experienced in the enchanting city.
I am sure you have witnessed something like this and perhaps something more intriguing along your travels as well -haven’t you?… I am all ears.. Please do tell me…
I am delighted to hear your tales, before we depart I have something to give you , here- take this insignia (~🍀~) with you , whenever you are lost and you want to find your way back to this enchanting tea garden, the insignia’s light will guide you back to me…
Until the next magical brew 🍵🌿,
~Betelgeuse✨