Blind to the Sky

(Be warned: the image at the very bottom is a tad spooky. Scroll with caution.)

Mama had called for the kids to come home for lunch twice already and it was time to fetch them herself. She wasn't angry. It was no wonder they would want to soak up every moment of this fabulous summer day. The air was warmed by a gleaming sun and gently agitated by a mild breeze. That breeze carried to her ears the squeals and giggles of her three boys rolling and tussling in the field.

As she approached, Mama could hear the voice of her Youngest counting, "One, two, three...!" A very long "three" was cut short by more playful shouting. She found them laying in the grass and covering their eyes.

"What are you doing, little ones?" she asked.

"Having a staring contest," replied the Middle child as the three of them sat up.

"That didn't look like a staring contest."

"Well, the contest is to see who can stare at the sun the longest," explained the Youngest with a grin. "But nobody can make it past 'three'."

Mama bit her tongue to conceal her alarm. She playfully boxed each of them on the head. "Let's not do that, loves. You'll go blind."

"Mama, why does it hurt to look at the sun?" asked the Oldest. They all looked at her expectantly. Mama supposed lunch could wait a little longer. She joined them in the grass.

"Countless ages ago when we first began to be, we knew very little about the world and how to live in it. Our ancestors learned slowly, by trial and error, how to hunt and gather and to distinguish safety from danger. Their life lessons were hard-won, but it would be worth it in the end to pave the way for their children.

"Our lives are short, but theirs were shorter. The first generations to leave this life did so before we had speech or writing with which to pass down knowledge. Some skills could be retained within families, but some things had to be learned again and again. Many years passed and our progress was slow.

"As we struggled to survive in the living world, those who had gone before learned the ways of the dead. One day we looked up at the sky and saw our ancestors looking back at us. Their reappearance inspired fear at first, but fear melted into comfort as we recognized their loving faces. Each day, the ancestors kept their knowledge alive in the world, providing guidance to the living.

"Time marched on, and we progressed. We learned to speak, to write, to make music, and so much more. Our struggles turned to memories, and we found the time to do more than simply survive. Our people lived longer, fuller lives and were able to die without regret. Death comes to all, but we did not fear it, for we knew we would take our place in the sky.

"But as generations rose and fell, the sky became crowded. We would look up and find a sea of faces. It became impossible to find a familiar face among the multitudes. And besides, there was nothing left for our ancestors to remind us. We had become self-sufficient. Looking to the sky no longer served us, and we turned our eyes to our work.

"And time did not stop. Ages passed and the sky became strange. The young are not meant to see the effects of age on such a scale. An accidental glance upward returned sights not only unfamiliar, but eventually, alien. The features of our ancestors' faces no longer mirrored our own. Shapes changed. Features shifted. They had too many eyes, and those eyes did not blink as often as they should. No one alive could match a single name to a single face. There was no reason to look up and risk madness.

"It pained the old ones to see children cower in fear of them. Thousands of millions of those who had loved us now crowded the ether without purpose. They knew that had been forgotten. They could no longer reach out to us in any meaningful way, but not for lack of trying. Eventually they realized the only thing left they could do for us was to disappear. But to where? They had lived and they had died, they had already gone as far as they knew to go."

"So where did they go?" asked the Youngest, growing impatient with the long story that had yet to mention the sun.

"Well, we can't know for sure whether they found a place beyond the beyond. The last we saw the of the ancestors was the moment they conjured the sun. The sun will continue to watch over us, even if the old ones depart. But more importantly, the blinding light of the sun shields our young minds from that which might break us."

The Middle child took another sheepish glance at the sky as Mama stood and directed them toward the house. Perhaps their staring contest wasn't as one-sided as it seemed.

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END.