18

In the Garden

These were times of peace within the garden in the mortal realm. Whenever the King and the Bride came to meet Zhì Rén and Yīn-er, they appeared between the two trees in the heart of the garden and emerged from the waters. There would be the sound of little bells that the wind carried like perfume, and the mortals knew it was time to meet their heavenly parents. On their part, knowing these were mortals did not change the perspective of the Makers from seeing them as beloved children.

Even though millions of mortal years had passed, it did not make a difference because every living being within the garden and outside of it had access to the fruit that grew on the right bank of the river. This fruit had the power of light to lengthen life as long as it was eaten on a regular basis. There was no need to eat it daily either. One only had to eat it when needed.

The Makers taught their children everything they needed to know to survive in the mortal realm and thrive in it. Knowing what would transpire, they also taught them skills they would need when the world turned more deadly.

The Bride began, ‘There are four directions that mark your world. These are to the north, the south, the east, and the west. You can travel through all these directions and still return to the point from which you began if you know how to read the skies. That way, you will never be lost.’

Then the King taught them, ‘A day will be measured from sunset to sunset. At this time, the moon will also rise from the east just like the sun. The day will be divided into twenty-four parts. Twelve of these parts will be ruled by the sun, and twelve by the moon.’ This was a trail marker of the twenty-four realms of heaven and their Tŏngzhì zhě who had stayed faithful to the King and the Bride.

He continued, ‘Every seventh day you shall rest for a whole day. Every seventh year you shall rest for a whole year.’ This was tied to a secret of the King’s Fire Sword which had seven blades. These were useful for ploughing, gardening, and harvesting when not used in combat.

The Bride added, ‘A month is the measure of time from new moon to new moon. When there is no moon in the sky, on the thirtieth day look to the eastern sky and you will see a new group of stars called a constellation rise at precisely the same time as their predecessor of the previous month. There are twelve main constellations, and the rise of each at the new moon will signal a new month for you.’

‘The same is true of the new year at the end of three hundred and sixty days. When the twelfth constellation has set and the first is about to rise, a planet like your own will rise along with it on the eastern horizon whether you can see it or not,’ the King told them.

The Bride spoke, ‘An age will pass by when there are five of these planets that you can see, and all of them align. Then five hundred years would have passed and with it a new age would dawn. A great age is when a new star appears in the northern skies as your guiding star.’

All these things the Makers taught Zhì Rén and Yīn-er about time were crucial because time would rule the mortal realm and be the currency of all life. The King and his beloved would also tailor their plans to fit into the dimension of mortal time and the passing of its ages.

The days were beautiful and endless. Often, the Makers walked with their children through the garden. They showed them various plants that could be used to heal sicknesses and wounds. They explained to them what illness and injury meant as these had also not yet entered the world. They also warned them of the plants that would turn toxic when consumed at a time in the distant future.

In those days, Zhì Rén and Yīn-er learnt how to help all the water, air and land creatures so that they could thrive. They spent their days diving into the bodies of water, playing with the creatures that dwelt in them. They chased the land animals that loved being chased, and petted the ones that came close. They climbed trees to reach the birds and wondered aloud, ‘Why did you not give us wings that we may fly into the sky and also into the worlds beyond?’

‘You can fly if you want to if you learn to build your own wings. For now, it is more important you know the world you live in. Perhaps a day will come when you will seek to escape this world and be free like the birds. Then you will earnestly seek to build your own wings, but you will still not escape the demise of the mortal realm,’ the Makers told them.

The mortals also learnt to make various tools and how to kindle a fire. They learnt how sounds helped them form new words for new things that they discovered.

The Tiānshǐ were allowed to enter the mortal realm, but they kept themselves invisible so that Zhì Rén and Yīn-er could not see them.

‘Let me go and see what the Jiāngshī are up to,’ Jiàn Shēng said to himself. He had roamed around the garden, eavesdropping on their conversations many times.

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That night Zhì Rén and Yīn-er were gazing at the stars as they lay on the dew-wet grass.

‘Our mother is so beautiful and wise. I do not think I will ever be like her even though they said that we are like them,’ Yīn-er told Zhì Rén.

‘That is true of me as well. How could I ever compare with our father?’ he replied pensively.

‘Maybe we should just be happy as we are,’ Yīn-er said with a sudden smile. ‘Why must we fret over those things that are not possible?’

‘Your mother? Do you truly know who she is?’ Jiàn Shēng said as he came forward from behind the foliage that was hiding him. Wěi Hóng was with him in his smaller form as a serpent. They were now shining as they usually do in the heavens.

The mortals jumped up in shock asking, ‘Who are you?’

‘I am a friend and I live in the heavens with the ones you call your parents. I am a ruler there and this is my soul beast,’ Jiàn Shēng responded. He sat down opposite them, and Wěi Hóng made a pretence of approaching the mortals for some pets. This was done to bring down their guard.

The mortals sat down once again.

‘Who I am does not matter. Do you truly know who your mother is?’ he pressed on. ‘She is known by many names in our world. We call her Wisdom, the Guardian of the Realms, the Queen of the Southern Seas and the Evening Star,’ he said with nothing short of marvel and pride in his voice. The mortals were enthralled.

‘Tell us more,’ they pleaded. From then onwards, Jiàn Shēng and Wěi Hóng no longer hid from Zhì Rén and Yīn-er. They did not visit often as they had much trading to attend to in the heavens, but when they did, they told them many stories. Jiàn Shēng shared much of his perspective of the Bride and how she was magnificent and powerful. He told about the times they dueled in the northern realms and the gifts she had given the heavenly beings. He neglected to tell them about the King.

‘If I can use these things against the King, I will…’ he told himself.

The King and Bride were aware of these clandestine visits that he was making and had foreseen what it would lead to. They allowed it because it was essential for the thwarting of his plans in the distant future.

Life in the garden was an imitation of life in the realms. Zhì Rén and Yīn-er learnt how to use stones to make and build things that they could use for themselves and the creatures that lived with them. They took care of the living beings that lived in the water, air and land habitats. Every seventh day, they rested and celebrated the days that had passed and the ones that lay ahead.

The Makers gave them gifts and showed them how to make precious things with shells, stones and fibers of plants. They did not teach them dueling to delay the onset of violence in the mortal realm. They knew that games here would turn deadly unlike in the heavenly realms.

There was another who came to learn of the ways of mortals better than all the other heavenly beings.

The King and the Bride charged Xióng Zhǎn, ‘Stay hidden but dedicate yourself to learn everything about the mortals and all that we teach them, you must also learn.’

This he did faithfully, observing and learning, watching and listening all from the place of hiddenness. Even his brother Jiàn Shēng knew nothing of it.

Xióng Zhǎn remembered what the King and his beloved had told him, ‘You are the guardian of Huǒrè de bǎolěi and all the fiery, living stones are under your protection. These mortals made of the Blood Stone are the most precious of all the living stones. Watch over them.’ Zǐ Xīn accompanied his master in these watches. They had seen Jiàn Shēng and Wěi Hóng during such times.

‘Jiàn Shēng and Wěi Hóng have broken the rule and exposed themselves to the view of the mortals,’ Xióng Zhǎn reported to the King.

‘Yes, we are aware. Let them be for now. Learn all that he tells them and listen carefully to all that he teaches them so that in the future you will know how to help defend these children of ours,’ the King instructed.

There were moments of great love and tenderness between the Makers and their children. Yīn-er knew times when she laid her head in her mother’s lap listening to stories while the Bride braided her hair and placed wild flowers in them for greater beauty.

Both Zhì Rén and Yīn-er learnt to climb rocks and mountains from their father. They also walked with him and made things for play and entertainment that he taught them how to use.

Sometimes they all rested and spoke together. At other times the King and Bride spoke alone with one or both of their children. These were the times when great knowledge and wisdom was passed into the minds of human consciousness by the Makers themselves. Some of the things would be forgotten but remembered much later when the need arose.

Though Zhì Rén and Yīn-er were not children, the Makers were responsible parents who taught them much like how mortal parents hold the hands of their children and teach them to walk, talk, live, and thrive in a dangerous world.

It can truly be said that mortals once knew many things that were forgotten for ages under the ravages of time and are only now being rediscovered. Our wise people are slowly re-learning the vast expanse of wisdom that was planted in our first parents. It is mortal folly to think that our ancient parents were foolish, and we are the wiser ones. That is not the truth.

Zhì Rén and Yīn-er were the wisest beings that walked the earth, their wisdom was pure and innocent, unaccustomed to the wiles of trickery and deception. That would be their undoing that would plunge earth into the dark ages that followed when all reason and wisdom seemed lost in a sea of violence and hate.

They had learnt about the things around them and how they worked, as well as why they were made. They knew how to interact with other created beings so that none would be endangered, and all lives would thrive well under mortal stewardship. They knew the principle of stewardship before authority, responsibility before power.

If they walked among us now, they would know how to cure the diseases that have overtaken us and how to return the earth to its original state of pristine beauty. How far we have come in our own arrogance and pride! How much has been lost since then! It is like a great mountain river. It is purest at its icy source and collects dirt and silt downstream through the ages.

For now, Zhì Rén and Yīn-er loved their life in the garden and their parents above all else.