Age of Heroes (Age of Heroes Chronicles)

Chapter 423: That blue sky (3)

'At that time, Helia was pregnant with Ariadne and it was the eight months of her pregnancy when she had a dream. She never told me what the dream was about, but she was pretty shaken about it. I never asked her about it until one day she said to me when she got the news you proclaimed yourself Emperor.'

'What did she say?' Arial was curios

And Lisa said what she remembers word by wordjosei

"Do you know what it feels like to see the eyes of the one you love and know, know…deep in your heart, that their destiny is so much greater than yours, that you will never ever could compare" That is what she said. 

'And there is fear in her tone….and uncertainty and nervousness.'

'Fear of me?' Arial asked, fearing of the answer…. of Helia opinion of him.

Lisa looks at Arial and said.

'Fear to be left behind, I guess' Lisa said and once again Lisa cast her gaze onto the open skies.

Arial then ponder and look at the open blue sky. And Helia words on her deathbed echoes in his ear, reminding him of that moment

'I once wanted to take flight into that open sky' Arial said suddenly. 

'But I guess, I was in a cage all along.' 

Then there is a brief silence between the two friends. Arial then suddenly broke into a story and Lisa just listens patiently.

'There was once a palace with so much beauty and splendor that even its pillars are covered in gold. Close to it was a humble hut made of straws and wood. 

A farmer lives just beside the palace and worked from dawn to dusk, such hard work, yet the farmer never grumbled nor groaned, he finishes his job smiling every day. At peace in his deed and in himself. 

Once, the King of that large palace, go outside and noticed the farmer smiling, sweating, mud covered the farmer clothes, dust colored the farmer face yet he was happy, in a way the King never had. 

For a year he sees the farmer doing his work and noticed the happy farmer. Everyday his curiosity increased. What made him smile? The King would ask himself.

One of his ministers even advised him to tear down the hut because the King seems obsessed with watching over the farmer.

yet the King refuses and he keeps observing. Until one day his curiosity demands to be satisfied. He asks himself. 

'Where does this man find his happiness? He has very little to call his own, live in a thatched house. The roof is low; the floor is certainly hard and uneven. He dines only on a few breads. Yet he looks happy, like he has no worries. His eyes have a sparkle of contentment.' 

The King wished he could be as happy as him. So one evening he approached the humble hut without his entourage. 

He found the farmer, packing up his hoe and shovel, after finishing the day's work. He was covered with dust and mud. 

He was singing a song, happily singing and whistling without a care in the world. Such scene struck the King with great impact. 

How could this farmer be this happy! The King then approached the farmer. The farmer recognizes the King, stopped his song and bowed in respect to the King.

'Closer' he called the farmer. 

The farmer came in closer to the King. 

'Yes Majesty' the farmer said. 

Then the King said. 

'I envy you farmer. You are always happy. I wish I could be as happy as you. What is the secret to your happiness? Won't you share it with me?'

'Majesty' the farmer said

'Why should I be unhappy when I get two meals and have a place to sleep at night? God has given me the strength to earn my bread by the sweat of my brow. I work from morning till evening every day. I am so hungry now that I can eat anything. Even hard bread. And I am tired too. But because I am tired I can lie down at this moment on the hardest of floors and drop off to sleep instantly. When I wake up, in the morning, I feel fresh and full of energy to work and earn my wages. I take every day as it comes. The present is what matters to me the most.' The farmer replied respectfully.

But then the King ask

'But what if tomorrow you fall sick! Should you not think of the future too?'

'And start worrying? I will lose my appetite, I will not get a good sleep at night, then my health will deteriorate and then I will fall sick. Then I can't earn my daily wages. Not earning my wages, then I will starve and die. No, Majesty, I can't afford to worry about the future. Only this moment counts. Nothing else' the farmer explained.

'Thank you' the King said, his curiosity sated, determine to change his attitude, and to make best use of his present. Now…. a question Lisa. What do you think happen to the King?'

'He lives happy? After all the farmer lives happy.'

Arial smile bitterly.

'Maybe…. for the farmer. Of course he can live happy and not think of the future. It is his privilege. He has no responsibility to govern people. A king must think of the future, if not his nation and his people are doomed. 

'What are you trying to say, Arial?'

'If you wear the crown, Silas once said to me, it is like a sword hanging on a ceiling, just on top of my head, supported only by the thinnest of strings. Danger is ever-present. I always need to be one step ahead, ten steps ahead. I'm saying I might never be truly happy. There is no farm for me to shovel, no…. happy ending. There is not a day go by where I can…just leave it all behind. Where I can work by the sweat of my brow, or not be worried about tomorrow. There are advantages on having the crown on your head, but...it also has its curses. A life of a farmer…is maybe more enviable than of a King.' 

And Arial looks at the open sky once again, closing his eyes for a moment and then opening it back and take a deep breath.

Lisa also looks at the open sky.

'How I yearned for that open sky.' Arial said, looking at the sky with longing.

'That blue sky seems so beautiful today…and so sad' and for a while he smiles a sincere smile.

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