Buried Love

The event that changed everything came when one man decided to have the ultimate power and control of the world, deciding “the world must never see the light of love again.” He had four heart-shaped lockets created to trap the universes love in them and then destroyed. His name was Ripstein. On Ripstein’s last travel back home with the final locket, a child approached him and kneeled to him. Ripstein basking in his love for greed and power, reached out with one hand for the child to kiss. The child kissed his hand endlessly, until Ripstein said “ENOUGH!” He patted the child with his other hand and dismissed him. Ripstein didn’t know it, but the child had pickpocketed him, walked right into the crowd and disappeared from sight. Ripstein enraged, caught the child and made an example out of him to civilisation. Although the child was destroyed, he bravely hid the locket hoping for someone else to one day rewrite history…

Soon after, humanity was struck by a decision to continue the ways of an ever growing, ever ruthless capitalist society or an allegiance to a left-wing society. Both destroying what makes them human; connection and feeling. Ripstein knew it was the hardest thing for external powers to control. However, if externally controlled, civilisation wouldn’t be free anymore. Instead, becoming robotic beings, unconscious to their own enslavement. This forced many to secretly hide underground in an attempt to hold onto what connects us all, gives us our compassion, our empathy, our source of happiness and freedom. Love.

PRESENT DAY: UNDERGROUND

It’s another day of digging. I do this every day, we all do. We were born into this just as the generations before us. The more tunnels we have the more room for our community to survive. Today, six long hours have passed digging. I’m sweaty and hot but knowing this is for our survival pushes me. I take a few minutes to quench my thirst and take a seat. I gaze at all of the people around me, digging and determined to create a better life. Yet lately I find myself wondering, what was life like aboveground? Sure, I’ve been up there to get water supplies and some stuff like that. However, what was it like to do normal things up there like eat in open air, go swimming, watch sunsets? A drop of sweat trickles off my chin and onto my hand and I jump out of my daydream. I get up and dust myself off a little, when something shiny catches my eye. I pick it up. It’s a locket, a heart-shaped locket. Could it be? No, it can’t be it was lost forever. I closely open it up, and this incredible white beam just begins to penetrate through me, it gives me a strange sensation from the crown on my head to my heart. I begin to cry from this overwhelming feeling.

ABOVEGROUND

Ripstein is toasting 300 years of his reign, with his closest troops. They take a sip of wine and from the corner of their eyes, they see a strip of white beam outside the window at a distance. Ripstein puts his glass down and drifts towards the window. He stares in complete disbelief, he curls his fingers up tightly, clenches his fists, grits his teeth and yells “BERNIE!” “Ye…Ye…Ye…Yes master?” “Get the dimension of that beam NOW!” Someone seems to have found the last locket it mustn’t get into the wrong hands.” “Yes, master.” Bernie mumbles.

UNDERGROUND

I stand there for what feels like a lifetime but is only a second. I quickly come to and close the locket as fast as possible…I look up, everyone is staring in complete stillness then all bolt towards me. “Could it be.” They begin to whisper. “Let us see it Leon”, they beg me to show them. “No! We must take it to Dara to see what she says.

ABOVEGROUND

Ripstein viciously watches the white beam, as it abruptly disappears. “Crap! Bernie did you get it?” Bernie frantically tracking the bearing dimension via the satellite. “Bernie!” “W…we have an estimated location, but we can’t be sure. Ripstein grabs Bernie by the collar like a rag-doll “how sure is it?” Terrified Bernie replies “approximately ninety three percent.” A malicious grin comes across Ripstein’s face. “I like those odds. Now let’s go!”

UNDERGROUND: DARA’S MAIN CHAMBER

We all storm into Dara’s chamber. The room is filled with tables and maps, underground pipe blueprints and first aid kits. Dara is a very high energy elderly lady some says she’s the last living survivor of the old world. “Dara, we need to talk to you.”

Dara preoccupied, “Sorry guys I have to get this stuff done before we go get more food supplies.” “But we found this!” I take out the locket and show Dara. Dara stops, the workers all stop.

She sits on the table in disbelief and a smile passes her face. “Leon! That’s the locket! This is our chance to change the world again.”

“We know the stories from centuries ago, and each of us standing here today know the importance of emotions.” “Your forefathers and mothers were forced to secretly hide underground in an attempt keep us emotional, feeling beings. We must keep our love for ourselves, our love of each other alive. The universe created us with love as the central cord that binds us together. For the power of love is the only way change is possible.” My eyes begin to swell, and my heart begins to race it’s beating so fast with the overwhelming news that the time might finally be here. I allow everything to sink in, can it be true, can this be the chance we’ve all dreamed of? My tears roll off my cheeks as I try to keep myself together.

Tell me she said in a panic did you open it?” I was confused, “Uhhh yeah.” Her panic heightens. “Why? What does it mean that I opened it?” She comes up to me, “if Ripstein saw the light aboveground that means he knows we’re here, and that we have the locket. There isn’t any time to waste.” Dara walks over to the red buzzer and urgently sets it off. The sound echoes through all the tunnels in this seemingly never-ending labyrinth of a hidden civilisation.

“Right! Let’s get started.” We all huddle together. “Now, this energy must reach all parts of civilisation as fast as possible which is through the sky. However, the sky is also the most open to attack. Thus, centuries ago, I created this nature wheel. The universe teaches us everything we need to know through its living creations. So, we must share it through all its creations, and this is through nature.” She then hits a button and there it is, a massive flat round stone-like spinning wheel contraption…

ABOVEGROUND

Bernie with his radar gadget over his eye leads Ripstein and his tight troop of men. They reach a tree and instantly stop. “Well, what is it Bernie? Is this the place? It’s nothing but a deserted tree stump and bushes!” “Wait for it master, watch.” Bernie replies. He takes a big gulp before he begins activating his new watch. He types in the time that the beam occurred. 7:46pm. He takes one last deep breath and presses a button, and a hologram appears. He scans the area. There it is the white beam. Ripstein is amazed. “Bernie, do you know what that means?... It’s DRILL TIME!”

UNDERGROUND

Right, this is how it’s going to work if we…” Suddenly the earth begins to shake the walls begin to crack. All I begin to think is oh no not an earthquake! The people begin to panic in fear after all we weren’t in our natural disaster chamber. “Dara!” Shouted one of her troops from a distance. “Earthquake, the people need to go to a safer location.” Dara replies, “Yes take them to chamber 202. They collect themselves and exit.

Dara turns swiftly towards us, and leans in. "Right guys that’s not an Earthquake that’s Ripstein, he knows our location. I have to start on this”. She grabs the locket out of her pocket opens and places it on the contraption with the white beam pointing towards the stone. The timer starts. An aura of white light engulfs the stone, rays of light begin to connect to the roots across the whole earth, bringing life to trees. Above ground, people surround the trees having never seen trees full of colour like this before.

We’re a quarter of the way and suddenly, the sound of the drill intensifies. CRASH! A huge piece of steel falls to the ground. Ripstein descends from the hole and sees the round stone table glowing. “What the…?”

Dara is halfway along, when Ripstein pulls out a strange whistle and blows it. In that moment, the earth trembles. Ripstein’s troops arrive. Dozens of them coming through the hole. “Quick guys we have to block the hole!” I shout. They look around, for something, anything. I pull out my sword determined to take each troop on WACK, SWASH, SLASH, CRASH, BANG. There’s too many of them. Ripstein is steps away from Dara. I turn to try and get to him. The troops surround me, they grab my arms, my legs and drop me to my knees. Ripstein looks over “No! Don’t kill him, I want him to see Dara die. Dara pulls out her sword.

I desperately try escape their grips and try to look away, but they grab my face and force me to watch. Ripstein kill’s Dara and then pulls the locket out of the stone. The beaming light fades and within seconds all our work is undone. Tears fall down my cheeks, I don’t know what to do. I find myself with no leader, no hope and just pain in my heart. WHY? NO! NO! NOOOOOOOOO! GODDDDDD! WHY!!! I express all the pain and anger I had hiding inside my soul. How am I to find this love again. It’s all been taken away from us. My anger begins to dissipate.

I remember again, what it felt like to have that white light connected to me, oh, how I wanted that feeling one last time. It was like that hole we chase our whole lives to fill. Suddenly tears overflows my heart begins to expand… CRASH! I open my eyes a boulder falls on top of the hole Ripstein created. Our troops burst in, left, right and centre… Everyone stops and stares at me. I look down at myself, I’m glowing with love. In that moment I realise no heart locket possesses the universes love. That comes from a desire, a desire for change, a longing for love and connection with the universe.

They shield their eyes from the brightness. Ripstein stumbles backwards “it can’t be?” I yell out to my troops. “Desire love and it will come, allow your heart to overflow with the sensation that you are worthy of happiness, you deserve freedom, joy, and above all you are allowed to receive love.” Everyone closes their eyes, and a little white light begins to flicker from the crown of their head to their heart. Within seconds, the whole room was nothing but white beaming light.

The white light drives out the evil and Ripstein, Bernie and the troops lay there lifeless. The beams from each individual fuses together and creates one giant beam that skyrockets into the sky and engulfs the whole earth with love. After that the world stopped wanting greed, power and status and chasing the so-called American Dream. Instead, they pursued their hearts desire.

The first step to change is desiring love to guide us. Our feelings and desires changed the world into our worst nightmare, and it was our feelings that brought light back into the new world and this is what I want forever. I choose love.