Dream Quest One Third
Writing Prize Winner
Summer 2008
is
John A. Vikara
of
Lake Ariel, Pennsylvania - USA
BIRTH
Darkness. Darkness
surrounds me. Darkness comforts me as I float suspended in my labyrinth. I cannot breathe. I need not breathe. I cannot see.
I need not see. I grasp my body and hug for I am alone and the only one I can depend on, so it seems. Yet, there is an emotional
attachment as I feel a presence surrounding and protecting me. There is something more to come, something I can’t comprehend
but can feel within. This will not be my permanent resting place. Yes, there is something more to come.
I grow restless and I find that I can move, only by a fraction or two at first. There are muffled sounds vibrating from
somewhere outside my environment. Each day I find I have learned something, something for survival or significant to my future.
It is an education of heredity, not of instruction. Soon I stretch and push and feel resistance to my struggle. I can’t
comprehend time but I know I have all but outlived these
Birth - Vikara (Page 2)
surroundings.
That something more to come is near.
The walls that hold me begin to tremble. There is a pressure below.
I am being forced upward but I refuse to go. It’s too peaceful here. I want to stay. Everything I need is here. I’m
safe and I’m comfortable. Please. I don’t want to go.
The pressure is
irresistible. I’m not strong enough to continue the struggle. I slowly ascend the path, fighting, kicking as I’m
pushed along. The walls begin to yield. The force is too great and my impedance is quashed.
A great
bright flash blinds me. Now I must see. But I close my eyes, trying desperately to retrieve the comfort of darkness. It’s
not the same. There is no floating sensation. No walls. I become aware of a new function I must perform, one I’ve never
experienced before. There is a compelling force inside of me. I try desperately to relieve the stress and I become frightened.
There is a sharp stinging pain and suddenly the energy bursts from within. It is the first time ever that I hear a clear vibrant
sound. It is loud and alarming. It’s piercing and it’s coming from me. The pressure is gone. There is a new substance
pumping about my body. I continue to wail as I’m engulfed in an atmosphere of sweet air. Now I must breathe. I try to
Birth - Vikara
(Page 3)
open my eyes slightly and find that the brilliant light is still there. In time, the light becomes warm and comforting
and is as satisfying as the darkness had once been. I suddenly know everything there is to know about this new experience.
The light is called the sun. And I am called the Earth. I know now that I and the sun and my brothers and sisters called planets
and stars are the beginning of what will be eternity, born of the union of God and Mother Nature. We will find we must live
in harmony and balance, each attracting and repelling just enough to keep us where we can survive.
Time has become infinite and after some adjustments and refinements the miracle of birth will occur countless billions and
trillions of times upon my surface. The pain, the fear, the epiphany and the joy will triumph. I will be populated at first
with commingled species of animals before hosting an array of human brothers and sisters. I will provide them with the needs
for their existence and they, in turn, must take care of me. But the only way to survival and to have a reason for continued
birth is for those brothers and sisters to also learn to live in harmony and balance for that infinity.
*****
By John A. Vikara
