Lyubov Talimonova
A Journey Through Time
Translated from the Russian original by David Parfitt
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Web site: www.talimonova-lyubov.com
Everything has a beginning and an end, summer arrives to take the place of winter, the Sun rises and sets. Civilizations and peoples arise and perish. Time… Everything is subject to it. It is present at the dawn of civilizations, but it also swallows them up. Everything slips away into Time. It records in the memory of the Universe every event that occurs on Earth or in the Heavens.
Who is responsible for this universal chronicle and where can it be found? In the boundless sky among the shining stars lies the Land of Time – Watil. The people of this land record the entire history of the Cosmos and the Earth in their great books.
Watil is a beautiful land with hills of different colours, numerous rivers and lakes, bright flowers and singing birds. The people of this land, who are known as the Keepers of Time, are kind, tall and proud. Some of them record in their great books the story of the origins of civilizations, states and various events. Others write the story of the end of peoples and nations.
In the sunny valley of Watil live two Keepers of Time: Luili, the keeper of the beginning, and Ruar, the keeper of the end. They decided to write the history of a certain city-state, Beorgia, which once existed on Earth high up in the mountains and not far from the sea. The city was beautiful and a pleasant place to live. On the hills the people of Beorgia had built the White Pyramids, and their cave temples were known for the beauty of their carvings, paintings and fountains. But that is all that was known about Beorgia.
“Ruar, it is terrible, we know almost nothing about this city. How can we write its history? And I am sure it must be a very interesting history!”
“Let us think, Luili. You remember Uratamorika? Around every planet there exists an invisible world, a Land of Memory. In this world, just like in the cinema, all events that have taken place anywhere on the planet itself are reflected. In the memory of Uratamorika are all the reflections of the ancient cities and states on Earth. There is nothing for it but to go to Uratamorika, the Land of Memory. There we shall see ancient Beogria, its inhabitants and everything that happened to them. And afterwards we shall record everything in a great book.”
“You are right, Ruar. We shall head for Uratamorika first thing tomorrow morning!”
“Yes, it is an invisible white staircase that connects the Land of Time with the Land of Memory. Look below, it seems we have arrived. There is the sea and the mountains, and high up in the mountains is the lost city with the white pyramids. It has to be Beogria!”
“What do you think, Ruar, where should we head for first?”
“Usually an inspection starts from the centre of the city. Let us go higher and see where the main square of Beogria is. We shall start there.” “Good idea.”
“And in the mountains I can see the famous cave temples.”
“Let us start with the first temple on the right, and then go through all the other halls. We shall see how the Beogrians lived.”
“Shall we go down now?”
“Yes.”
“Beautiful and extraordinarily quiet. It seems as if eternity itself has settled in this hall.”
“How wonderful – some guests have arrived to visit me. No-one has been here for a thousand of years and I have not spoken to anyone. Who are you?”
“We are the Keepers of Time from the land of Watil.”
“And I am the Sphinx of Time, Eo.”
“We are very pleased to meet you, Eo, but we did not realise that sphinxes could talk – we thought they were just statues made out of stone.”
“Well it is all to do with the people who built the sphinxes. They loved their work and put part of their energy, the Spirit, into each sphinx. And sphinxes with a Spirit are no longer just stones, but living sphinxes that are able to talk. And not just talk… Anyway, you will see everything for yourselves when you pass through the halls of the cave temples.”
“Eo, could you not tell us what the Beogrians thought about Time and why they made you – the Sphinx of Time?”
“Of course I will tell you all about myself and about Time, but first let me tell you about the inhabitants of Beogria themselves. They were tall, red-haired people with green eyes. They had a detailed knowledge of astronomy and geometry, physics and medicine. They wrote wonderful poems and music. Their thoughts were kind and flew high up into the sky, their senses were heightened, their clear Spirits rose swiftly beyond the clouds. The Beogrians placed harmony in the world above everything else and lived according to the laws of Truth, Kindness and Beauty. They believed in infinity and worshipped Time.
“The people viewed Time as divided into three parts: Past, Present and Future. The Past they accepted as absolute truth and respected it. The Future they considered to be moving forward towards something better. And the Present they saw as just a bridge from the Past to the Future. The Beogrians represented Time as a huge invisible river flowing from the Past, washing over all objects in the Present and carrying them into the Future, and so into Eternity and Infinity.
“The ancient people built me, the Sphinx of Time, as a symbol of the Past, Present and Future, as a symbol of Eternity. That is my whole history. But I completely forgot to mention that in Beogria the dark blue sapphire was considered the stone of Eternity. Here, at the bottom of this stream, lie sapphire spheres; take one for yourselves as a souvenir.”
“Thank you, kind Sphinx, for the story and the gift.”
“Soon it will be evening. I advise you to go down to the Fire Temple and watch the setting of the Sun from there. When the Sun bows down to the horizon, the last rays fall directly on the Fire Temple and colour its walls with a red and golden light. It is beautiful. The ancient inhabitants of Beogria would gather in the Fire Temple every evening and watch the sunset.
“There you will see many figures and spheres made from jasper. The Beogrians believed that with the coming of night the forces of darkness were awakened, and these would frighten people by sending them bad dreams. The jasper stored up all the sunlight it had gathered during the day, and so at night it kept away the darkness and protected the inhabitants of Beogria from bad dreams.
“Take something made of jasper for yourselves as a present. I know that the Beogrians always gave their guests many presents.”
“Thank you, Eo. We will head to the Fire Temple right away. The Sun is already setting and we would not want to miss such a beautiful sight.”
“Have a good journey!”
“And it is wonderful here at night too. From the Temple one can see how the Moon rises and how its light is reflected in the sea. And what a view of the sky, Luili! What a beautiful Milky Way! It seems as if the stars are hanging so close that you could reach out and touch the brightest of them.”
“Ruar, I would like to see another temple in the first rays of the rising Sun. The next temple may be even more beautiful than the Fire Temple.”
“Then let us go and see. Quickly, Luili, or the Sun will already have risen above the sea.”
“Yes, I can. Beautiful music.”
“Where is it coming from?”
“Look out the window, Luili. The Morning Wind is flying over the mountains and playing his horn. And by the window I can see some kind of instrument, which looks rather like a harp. The wind is moving the strings and producing soft music.”
“I would be interested to know where we are. What is the name of this temple? Is it the Temple of the Morning Wind?”
“Either the Temple of the Morning Wind or the Temple of Music. Since the ancient Beogrians left a musical instrument in this hall, they must have loved and valued music very much.”
“Do you think they knew about the music of the Spirit”
“Yes, Luili, of course they knew. They built the temple in its honour. This music is born in the boundless Universe among the bright stars, it passes through time and space, and reaches people through their Spirit. Joy settles in their hearts, they want to sing and enjoy themselves. The Beogrians understood that such music is the best medicine for broken hearts and a restless Spirit. The Beogrians understood and loved music.”
“Perhaps in the mornings people would gather in this temple, sit by the window and listen to the music of the Spirit. Sometimes they would play on the great harp. The Morning Wind would accompany them on his horn. And from the window would pour the sounds of beautiful music, like iridescent pearls in the first rays of dawn.”
“Luili, you know how to play the harp, and real music has not been heard in the Temple of Music for a thousand years. Play the ‘Melody of Peace and Stillness’ and the temple will be brought back to life.”
“With pleasure. The Morning Wind will accompany me on his horn, and everything will be as it was in the days of old.”
“Good idea. I will wait for you here, play a little on the harp and listen to the music of the Wind.”
“I will not be long.”
“Good morning, Luili! My name is Imaral. I am the Sphinx of the Moon, Light and Medicine.”
“All of these things? How is it possible to combine Light, the Moon and Medicine?”
“Oh, the ancient people combined these ideas very easily. If you like I can tell you about it.”
“I would like that very much.”
“So, I will start with Light. With the setting of the Sun comes night. At this time, evil and darkness would like to leave the remote valleys where they dwell, steal into people’s houses and send them bad dreams. But in the sky the Moon appears, and its soft light spreads over the mountains and valleys, and the evil and darkness decide to stay hidden.
Web site: www.talimonova-lyubov.com
Everything has a beginning and an end, summer arrives to take the place of winter, the Sun rises and sets. Civilizations and peoples arise and perish. Time… Everything is subject to it. It is present at the dawn of civilizations, but it also swallows them up. Everything slips away into Time. It records in the memory of the Universe every event that occurs on Earth or in the Heavens.
Who is responsible for this universal chronicle and where can it be found? In the boundless sky among the shining stars lies the Land of Time – Watil. The people of this land record the entire history of the Cosmos and the Earth in their great books.
Watil is a beautiful land with hills of different colours, numerous rivers and lakes, bright flowers and singing birds. The people of this land, who are known as the Keepers of Time, are kind, tall and proud. Some of them record in their great books the story of the origins of civilizations, states and various events. Others write the story of the end of peoples and nations.
In the sunny valley of Watil live two Keepers of Time: Luili, the keeper of the beginning, and Ruar, the keeper of the end. They decided to write the history of a certain city-state, Beorgia, which once existed on Earth high up in the mountains and not far from the sea. The city was beautiful and a pleasant place to live. On the hills the people of Beorgia had built the White Pyramids, and their cave temples were known for the beauty of their carvings, paintings and fountains. But that is all that was known about Beorgia.
“Ruar, it is terrible, we know almost nothing about this city. How can we write its history? And I am sure it must be a very interesting history!”
“Let us think, Luili. You remember Uratamorika? Around every planet there exists an invisible world, a Land of Memory. In this world, just like in the cinema, all events that have taken place anywhere on the planet itself are reflected. In the memory of Uratamorika are all the reflections of the ancient cities and states on Earth. There is nothing for it but to go to Uratamorika, the Land of Memory. There we shall see ancient Beogria, its inhabitants and everything that happened to them. And afterwards we shall record everything in a great book.”
“You are right, Ruar. We shall head for Uratamorika first thing tomorrow morning!”
* * *
“Ruar, it feels so strange to walk on an invisible staircase. We walk on the steps but cannot see them, and it is as if we are walking through the air!”“Yes, it is an invisible white staircase that connects the Land of Time with the Land of Memory. Look below, it seems we have arrived. There is the sea and the mountains, and high up in the mountains is the lost city with the white pyramids. It has to be Beogria!”
“What do you think, Ruar, where should we head for first?”
“Usually an inspection starts from the centre of the city. Let us go higher and see where the main square of Beogria is. We shall start there.” “Good idea.”
* * *
“And here is the main square, Luili. On one side it looks straight out over the sea and on the other it is encircled by mountains.”“And in the mountains I can see the famous cave temples.”
“Let us start with the first temple on the right, and then go through all the other halls. We shall see how the Beogrians lived.”
“Shall we go down now?”
“Yes.”
* * *
“Ruar, how beautiful it is here!”“Beautiful and extraordinarily quiet. It seems as if eternity itself has settled in this hall.”
“How wonderful – some guests have arrived to visit me. No-one has been here for a thousand of years and I have not spoken to anyone. Who are you?”
“We are the Keepers of Time from the land of Watil.”
“And I am the Sphinx of Time, Eo.”
“We are very pleased to meet you, Eo, but we did not realise that sphinxes could talk – we thought they were just statues made out of stone.”
“Well it is all to do with the people who built the sphinxes. They loved their work and put part of their energy, the Spirit, into each sphinx. And sphinxes with a Spirit are no longer just stones, but living sphinxes that are able to talk. And not just talk… Anyway, you will see everything for yourselves when you pass through the halls of the cave temples.”
“Eo, could you not tell us what the Beogrians thought about Time and why they made you – the Sphinx of Time?”
“Of course I will tell you all about myself and about Time, but first let me tell you about the inhabitants of Beogria themselves. They were tall, red-haired people with green eyes. They had a detailed knowledge of astronomy and geometry, physics and medicine. They wrote wonderful poems and music. Their thoughts were kind and flew high up into the sky, their senses were heightened, their clear Spirits rose swiftly beyond the clouds. The Beogrians placed harmony in the world above everything else and lived according to the laws of Truth, Kindness and Beauty. They believed in infinity and worshipped Time.
“The people viewed Time as divided into three parts: Past, Present and Future. The Past they accepted as absolute truth and respected it. The Future they considered to be moving forward towards something better. And the Present they saw as just a bridge from the Past to the Future. The Beogrians represented Time as a huge invisible river flowing from the Past, washing over all objects in the Present and carrying them into the Future, and so into Eternity and Infinity.
“The ancient people built me, the Sphinx of Time, as a symbol of the Past, Present and Future, as a symbol of Eternity. That is my whole history. But I completely forgot to mention that in Beogria the dark blue sapphire was considered the stone of Eternity. Here, at the bottom of this stream, lie sapphire spheres; take one for yourselves as a souvenir.”
“Thank you, kind Sphinx, for the story and the gift.”
“Soon it will be evening. I advise you to go down to the Fire Temple and watch the setting of the Sun from there. When the Sun bows down to the horizon, the last rays fall directly on the Fire Temple and colour its walls with a red and golden light. It is beautiful. The ancient inhabitants of Beogria would gather in the Fire Temple every evening and watch the sunset.
“There you will see many figures and spheres made from jasper. The Beogrians believed that with the coming of night the forces of darkness were awakened, and these would frighten people by sending them bad dreams. The jasper stored up all the sunlight it had gathered during the day, and so at night it kept away the darkness and protected the inhabitants of Beogria from bad dreams.
“Take something made of jasper for yourselves as a present. I know that the Beogrians always gave their guests many presents.”
“Thank you, Eo. We will head to the Fire Temple right away. The Sun is already setting and we would not want to miss such a beautiful sight.”
“Have a good journey!”
* * *
“The Fire Temple not only looks beautiful in the rays of the setting Sun. At dawn, in the morning haze, it looks just like a fairytale castle.”“And it is wonderful here at night too. From the Temple one can see how the Moon rises and how its light is reflected in the sea. And what a view of the sky, Luili! What a beautiful Milky Way! It seems as if the stars are hanging so close that you could reach out and touch the brightest of them.”
“Ruar, I would like to see another temple in the first rays of the rising Sun. The next temple may be even more beautiful than the Fire Temple.”
“Then let us go and see. Quickly, Luili, or the Sun will already have risen above the sea.”
* * *
“There is no-one here, Ruar, but I hear music. Can you hear it too?”“Yes, I can. Beautiful music.”
“Where is it coming from?”
“Look out the window, Luili. The Morning Wind is flying over the mountains and playing his horn. And by the window I can see some kind of instrument, which looks rather like a harp. The wind is moving the strings and producing soft music.”
“I would be interested to know where we are. What is the name of this temple? Is it the Temple of the Morning Wind?”
“Either the Temple of the Morning Wind or the Temple of Music. Since the ancient Beogrians left a musical instrument in this hall, they must have loved and valued music very much.”
“Do you think they knew about the music of the Spirit”
“Yes, Luili, of course they knew. They built the temple in its honour. This music is born in the boundless Universe among the bright stars, it passes through time and space, and reaches people through their Spirit. Joy settles in their hearts, they want to sing and enjoy themselves. The Beogrians understood that such music is the best medicine for broken hearts and a restless Spirit. The Beogrians understood and loved music.”
“Perhaps in the mornings people would gather in this temple, sit by the window and listen to the music of the Spirit. Sometimes they would play on the great harp. The Morning Wind would accompany them on his horn. And from the window would pour the sounds of beautiful music, like iridescent pearls in the first rays of dawn.”
“Luili, you know how to play the harp, and real music has not been heard in the Temple of Music for a thousand years. Play the ‘Melody of Peace and Stillness’ and the temple will be brought back to life.”
“With pleasure. The Morning Wind will accompany me on his horn, and everything will be as it was in the days of old.”
* * *
“The Sun has risen high over the sea. You know, Ruar, I would like to take one more look at the Temple of Fire, but from the outside this time.”“Good idea. I will wait for you here, play a little on the harp and listen to the music of the Wind.”
“I will not be long.”
* * *
“Oh, a new sphinx! Good morning. My name is Luili, I am a Keeper of Time from the land of Watil.”“Good morning, Luili! My name is Imaral. I am the Sphinx of the Moon, Light and Medicine.”
“All of these things? How is it possible to combine Light, the Moon and Medicine?”
“Oh, the ancient people combined these ideas very easily. If you like I can tell you about it.”
“I would like that very much.”
“So, I will start with Light. With the setting of the Sun comes night. At this time, evil and darkness would like to leave the remote valleys where they dwell, steal into people’s houses and send them bad dreams. But in the sky the Moon appears, and its soft light spreads over the mountains and valleys, and the evil and darkness decide to stay hidden.
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