The ninth vibration and other storiesBeck, L. Adams (Lily Adams)
Science
The ninth vibration and other stories
Beck, L. Adams (Lily Adams)
Fantasy fiction; Paranormal fiction; Short stories
The gate stood ajar--strange! for I had seen the custodian close it that
evening. Now it stood wide and I went in, walking noiselessly over the
dewy grass. I knew and could not tell how, that I must be noiseless.
Passing as if I were guided, down the course of the strong young river,
I came to the pavilion that spanned it--the place where we had stood
that afternoon--and there to my profound amazement, I saw Vanna, leaning
against a slight wooden pillar. As if she had expected me, she laid one
finger on her lip, and stretching out her hand, took mine and drew me
beside her as a mother might a child. And instantly I saw!
On the further bank a young man in a strange diadem or miter of jewels,
bare-breasted and beautiful, stood among the flowering oleanders, one
foot lightly crossed over the other as he stood. He was like an image
of pale radiant gold, and I could have sworn that the light came from
within rather than fell upon him, for the night was very dark. He held
the flute to his lips, and as I looked, I became aware that the noise
of the rushing water was tapering off into a murmur scarcely louder than
that of a summer bee in the heart of a rose. Therefore the music rose
like a fountain of crystal drops, cold, clear, and of an entrancing
sweetness, and the face above it was such that I had no power to turn my
eyes away. How shall I say what it was? All I had ever desired, dreamed,
hoped, prayed, looked at me from the remote beauty of the eyes and with
the most persuasive gentleness entreated me, rather than commanded to
follow fearlessly and win. But these are words, and words shaped in the
rough mould of thought cannot convey the deep desire that would have
hurled me to his feet if Vanna had not held me with a firm restraining
hand. Looking up in adoring love to the dark face was a ring of woodland
creatures. I thought I could distinguish the white clouded robe of a
snow-leopard, the soft clumsiness of a young bear, and many more, but
these shifted and blurred like dream creatures--I could not be sure of
them nor define their numbers. The eyes of the Player looked down upon
their passionate delight with careless kindness.
Dim images passed through my mind. Orpheus--No, this was no Greek.
Pan-yet again, No. Where were the pipes, the goat hoofs? The young
Dionysos--No, there were strange jewels instead of his vines. And then
Vanna’s voice said as if from a great distance;
“Krishna--the Beloved.” And I said aloud, “I see!” And even as I said it
the whole picture blurred together like a dream, and I was alone in the
pavilion and the water was foaming past me. Had I walked in my sleep, I
thought, as I made my way hack? As I gained the garden gate, before me,
like a snowflake, I saw the Ninefold Flower.
When I told her next day, speaking of it as a dream, she said simply;
“They have opened the door to you. You will not need me soon.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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