Enlightenment at the End of the World

This is a work of fiction. No real people, places or events were used. Copyright ã 2011 Plot Roach.

Enlightenment at the End of the World

By Plot Roach

Soft footsteps on the marble floor, Zach had to walk slowly to keep from slipping and falling on his face. He padded along behind his friends, Joe and Micah, as they sought enlightenment at the End of the World Sanctuary.

It had taken three months, two planes and endless treks on unmarked roads driven by crazy cab drivers to find the place, and Zach still was not sure that they were in the right temple. Nothing was in English, and none of the locals seemed to answer any of their questions with anything more than a nod or a shake of the head. They stepped inside the first temple that they had come to while in the dense forest. The people inside dressed in thin robes, gestured to them that they should shed their shoes at the temple’s entrance and walk in their socks. Micah was in the middle of negotiations with one of the ’priests’, making sure that they were in the right location, when Zach wandered off, taking his notebook out and making a quick sketch of the inside of the building.

There were mosaics along the walls and the floors of the place, the ceiling itself the natural roof of a cave, complete with stalactites. Everyone was hushed as they went about the temple on various errands, and Zach had no doubt that they did not want to break off one of the sharp spikes hanging overhead with harsh vibrations. Though that thought had not seemed to dawn on his two friends.

“Are we here, at the end of the world, or not?” Micah yelled in frustration.

“I think it’s all a hoax.” said Joe.

The priest waved his hands at them and made hushing noises, pointing to the roof. And then quickly backed away from the men.

“What’s with him?” Micah asked.

“He’s afraid the stalactites will fall and kill him with all the noise you’re making.” answered Zach.

“The stalagmites?” asked Joe.

“Stalactites.” corrected Zach.

“What’s the freaking difference?” asked Micah.

“Stalactites are formed from the ceiling down, stalagmites form from the floor up.”

“And you know this how?” Joe asked.

“I obviously learned a thing or two in school. Stalactites have to hold on ‘tight’ or else they will fall to the floor. Stalagmites reach up and ‘might’ reach the ceiling if they try hard enough.” explained Zach.

“You are such a nerd.” Joe said, shaking his head.

“At least I wasn’t the one to talk so loud it threatened to bring the ceiling down on us and chased away the priest in the meantime.”

The three men walked form the main hall to the little rooms that branched off via natural tunnels in the cave. Micah got out his camera and began snapping pictures as fast as his flash would allow. Joe ran a hand along a rock wall that appeared to be the inside of a geode, filled with thick chunks of purple amethyst. Zach held onto his sketchbook, taken aback by the beauty before him.

“I wonder what these pictures will be worth to something like Natural Adventurer or Exciting Times…” Micah mumbled, still snapping photographs.

“Do we really want to sell them?” Zach asked. “I mean, those are great magazines and all. But if Mr. and Mrs. Redneck American find out about a place like this, they’ll only ruin in by wanting to carve away the rock to take home and sell. Or they’ll insist that everyone here speak English all the time to suit their needs. Then, before you know it, all the people here will lose their native beliefs in order to run the busy shift at the local fast food restaurant. And the forest will be cleared away for a parking lot. They’ll ruin everything…”

Joe and Micah looked at one another and laughed, deeply and loudly. They spent the rest of the tour pointing out the ‘beautiful things’ Zach had tried to impress them with and made fun of him in every way possible.

Once back in the main cathedral of the temple, Zach was sure that their teasing would stop, but he could not have been further from the truth. “Oh, look, a ‘stalactite’. Joe said, mimicking Zach’s voice. We better hold on ‘tight’ to it, or else someone will steal it and sell it on the black market.”

“And we should definitely put the McDonald’s over here and the Taco Bell over by the main doorway. Oh, and don’t forget the Starbucks. We need something for the locals to get them up at the crack of dawn to give tours and sweep the parking lot clean for Mr. And Mrs. Redneck’s arrival.”

Zach stalked away and was almost out of the temple itself when he heard the rumble. He turned, a scream caught in his throat as he watched his two friends laugh obnoxiously, sealing their fate. Joe was looking up at the ceiling with his camera when the first stalactite fell from the ceiling, piercing the camera lens and traveling through the body of the device until it planted itself deep inside his friend’s brain. Micah had enough warning to try and make a break for it, for all the good it did for him. Halfway to the door, where Zach was standing, a rain of pointy rocks launched from the ceiling, pinning his friend to the floor and staining the mosaic red with the man’s blood.

Zach watched in horror, knowing that he could do nothing to help them. The priests came from their various posts in the side rooms. Once it was clear that death would no longer fall upon them in the form of mineral fangs, the priests helped Zach pull his friends out of the main cathedral and through the front entrance.

Zach sat in silence, looking at the bodies of his two friends covered in blankets as he waited for what passed for the police and the coroner in a country such as this. Most of the priests had gone back to their prayers and rituals, leaving Zach to his own thoughts. They had treated the incident as if it happened everyday. But while Zach had expected a kind word or even a small show of remorse, he certainly received none. “Some enlightenment.” Zach complained.

“Do not confuse our actions -or inactions- for rudeness, young fellow.” one of the priests said. “What happened today simply reaffirmed our faith. Your friends were meant to die so that you could carry their story to others that need to hear and to learn from it.”

“But..” Zach started to argue. It all seemed so meaningless, to let them die like that and not even offer a prayer for their departure. It was wasteful, inhumane and downright stupid, he thought. Tears welled up in his eyes and he turned away from the priest.

“Often enlightenment is painful, but is necessary to fulfill the life lessons we need to know before we can move on to the next world.”

“Any other bits of wisdom you’d like to pass down to me?” Zach snapped at the old man, wiping away his tears. And with them, his views on third world wisdom and spirituality.

“I can offer you a coupon for thirty percent off anything in our gift shop.” the old man offered, holding out a scrap of paper to Zach.