01 The Coming of the Ship

No one had climbed the hill, though once without the walls of Orphalese, now well within it’s urban sprawl. Through the smog, No one beheld a decrepit ship, limping into the harbour. Because he was a seer, son of Almitra, No one at once saw in this, the ancient prophesy confirmed. On the eve of the new millennium, this was indeed the second coming of Almustafa.

Almustafa had grown old and frail in his long absence. He was tired from his arduous journey at sea. The crowd that awaited him now, cheering as he stumbled onto the gangway, was something unexpected. So pleased was he to see so many of the daughters and sons and granddaughters and grandsons of the ones he had left behind so long ago, that he tripped over his own beard, nearly rolling off the plank. And though the crowd was not huge - there were ten people in all - it was a smashing good turnout considering that in all his absence, he had not written once.

The tour itself had been promoted badly and received worse. His agent fell victim to a fatal stoning, in connection with a recent hasty departure from a far off place. Those who once knew Almustafa were long dead. He found himself once again, solitary and alone.

On this cold and wet December day, the shivering group of ten consisted of No one in particular, and the first nine people he had encountered on his run from the top of the hill to the edge of the pier, where Almustafa’s long white beard was finally touching solid ground once more.

Then, for the first time, the great prophet spoke:
“Dear people of Orphalese,” he said to the ten that were listening, “It’s good to be back”. (1)

Here a change seemed to sweep over the old man, a past life remembered, leading him to leap almost nimbly onto a rusty old oil drum, it’s bright orange glow matching perfectly the perforated vessel that had brought him here. No one looked on in awe. The transformation of the old man’s visage was so striking, that suddenly, in those valleys and craters of wisdom, he began to see shadows of his own wiser, kinder self.

No one hailed him, saying:
Please speak to us, and give us of your truth.

And he answered:
People of Orphalese, of what can I speak save of that which is even now moving within your souls?