Dreams Part 12

G.o.d said, "Because all their body gives the light; they dare not cover any part."

And I asked G.o.d what they were doing.

G.o.d said, "s.h.i.+ning on the plants that they may grow."

And I saw that some were working in companies, and some alone, but most were in twos, sometimes two men and sometimes two women; but generally there was one man and one woman; and I asked G.o.d how it was.

G.o.d said, "When one man and one woman s.h.i.+ne together, it makes the most perfect light. Many plants need that for their growing. Nevertheless, there are more kinds of plants in Heaven than one, and they need many kinds of light."

And one from among the people came running towards me; and when he came near it seemed to me that he and I had played together when we were little children, and that we had been born on the same day. And I told G.o.d what I felt; G.o.d said, "All men feel so in Heaven when another comes towards them."

And he who ran towards me held my hand, and led me through the bright lights. And when we came among the trees he sang aloud, and his companion answered, and it was a woman, and he showed me to her. She said, "He must have water"; and she took some in her hands, and fed me (I had been afraid to drink of the water in h.e.l.l), and they gathered fruit for me, and gave it me to eat. They said, "We shone long to make it ripen," and they laughed together as they saw me eat it.

The man said, "He is very weary; he must sleep" (for I had not dared to sleep in h.e.l.l), and he laid my head on his companion's knee and spread her hair out over me. I slept, and all the while in my sleep I thought I heard the birds calling across me. And when I woke it was like early morning, with the dew on everything.

And the man took my hand and led me to a hidden spot among the rocks.

The ground was very hard, but out of it were sprouting tiny plants, and there was a little stream running. He said, "This is a garden we are making, no one else knows of it. We s.h.i.+ne here every day; see, the ground has cracked with our s.h.i.+ning, and this little stream is bursting out. See, the flowers are growing."

And he climbed on the rocks and picked from above two little flowers with dew on them, and gave them to me. And I took one in each hand; my hands shone as I held them. He said, "This garden is for all when it is finished." And he went away to his companion, and I went out into the great pathway.

And as I walked in the light I heard a loud sound of much singing. And when I came nearer I saw one with closed eyes, singing, and his fellows were standing round him; and the light on the closed eyes was brighter than anything I had seen in Heaven. I asked one who it was. And he said, "Hus.h.!.+ Our singing bird."

And I asked why the eyes shone so.

And he said, "They cannot see, and we have kissed them till they shone so."

And the people gathered closer round him.

And when I went a little further I saw a crowd crossing among the trees of light with great laughter. When they came close I saw they carried one without hands or feet. And a light came from the maimed limbs so bright that I could not look at them.

And I said to one, "What is it?"

He answered, "This is our brother who once fell and lost his hands and feet, and since then he cannot help himself; but we have touched the maimed stumps so often that now they s.h.i.+ne brighter than anything in Heaven. We pa.s.s him on that he may s.h.i.+ne on things that need much heat.

No one is allowed to keep him long, he belongs to all;" and they went on among the trees.

I said to G.o.d, "This is a strange land. I had thought blindness and maimedness were great evils. Here men make them to a rejoicing."

G.o.d said, "Didst thou then think that love had need of eyes and hands!"

And I walked down the s.h.i.+ning way with palms on either hand. I said to G.o.d, "Ever since I was a little child and sat alone and cried, I have dreamed of this land, and now I will not go away again. I will stay here and s.h.i.+ne." And I began to take off my garments, that I might s.h.i.+ne as others in that land; but when I looked down I saw my body gave no light.

I said to G.o.d, "How is it?"

G.o.d said, "Is there no dark blood in your heart; is it bitter against none?"

And I said, "Yes--"; and I thought--"Now is the time when I will tell G.o.d, that which I have been, meaning to tell him all along, how badly my fellow-men have treated me. How they have misunderstood me. How I have intended to be magnanimous and generous to them, and they--." And I began to tell G.o.d; but when I looked down all the flowers were withering under my breath, and I was silent.

And G.o.d called me to come up higher, and I gathered my mantle about me and followed him.

And the rocks grew higher and steeper on every side; and we came at last to a place where a great mountain rose, whose top was lost in the clouds. And on its side I saw men working; and they picked at the earth with huge picks; and I saw that they laboured mightily. And some laboured in companies, but most laboured singly. And I saw the drops of sweat fall from their foreheads, and the muscles of their arms stand out with labour. And I said, "I had not thought in heaven to see men labour so!" And I thought of the garden where men sang and loved, and I wondered that any should choose to labour on that bare mountain-side.

And I saw upon the foreheads of the men as they worked a light, and the drops which fell from them as they worked had light.

And I asked G.o.d what they were seeking for.

And G.o.d touched my eyes, and I saw that what they found were small stones, which had been too bright for me to see before; and I saw that the light of the stones and the light on the men's foreheads was the same. And I saw that when one found a stone he pa.s.sed it on to his fellow, and he to another, and he to another. No man kept the stone he found. And at times they gathered in great company about when a large stone was found, and raised a great shout so that the sky rang; then they worked on again.

And I asked G.o.d what they did with the stones they found at last. Then G.o.d touched my eyes again to make them stronger; and I looked, and at my very feet was a mighty crown. The light streamed out from it.

G.o.d said, "Each stone as they find it is set here."

And the crown was wrought according to a marvellous pattern; one pattern ran through all, yet each part was different.

I said to G.o.d, "How does each man know where to set his stone, so that the pattern is worked out?"

G.o.d said, "Because in the light his forehead sheds each man sees faintly outlined that full crown."

And I said, "But how is it that each stone is joined along its edges to its fellows, so that there is no seam anywhere?"

G.o.d said, "The stones are alive; they grow."

And I said, "But what does each man gain by his working?"

G.o.d said, "He sees his outline filled."

I said, "But those stones which are last set cover those which were first; and those will again be covered by those which come later."

G.o.d said, "They are covered, but not hid. The light is the light of all.

Without the first, no last."

And I said to G.o.d, "When will this crown be ended?"

And G.o.d said, "Look up!"

I looked up; and I saw the mountain tower above me, but its summit I could not see; it was lost in the clouds.

G.o.d said no more.

And I looked at the crown: then a longing seized me. Like the pa.s.sion of a mother for the child whom death has taken; like the yearning of a friend for the friend whom life has buried; like the hunger of dying eyes for a life that is slipping; like the thirst of a soul for love at its first spring waking, so, but fiercer was the longing in me.

I cried to G.o.d, "I too will work here; I too will set stones in the wonderful pattern; it shall grow beneath MY hand. And if it be that, labouring here for years, I should not find one stone, at least I will be with the men that labour here. I shall hear their shout of joy when each stone is found; I shall join in their triumph, I shall shout among them; I shall see the crown grow." So great was my longing as I looked at the crown, I thought a faint light fell from my forehead also.

G.o.d said, "Do you not hear the singing in the gardens?"

I said, "No, I hear nothing; I see only the crown." And I was dumb with longing; I forgot all the flowers of the lower Heaven and the singing there. And I ran forward, and threw my mantle on the earth and bent to seize one of the mighty tools which lay there. I could not lift it from the earth.

G.o.d said, "Where hast THOU earned the strength to raise it? Take up thy mantle."

And I took up my mantle and followed where G.o.d called me; but I looked back, and I saw the crown burning, my crown that I had loved.