THE DARKNESS

I will write this part in allegory: I think it's meaning will be clear to my loved ones, others will have to guess! But it's an important part of my journey.

In olden times, a knight left his castle, his family and his land in search of the fountain of youth. He travelled for years over many leagues and many lands, and saw many wondrous things, but never did he find what he was searching for.

One day in a distant land, he came to a splendid castle. He was hungry and weary, and so he decided to stop and seek shelter for himself and his horse. When he went inside the castle he entered a magnificent hall in which he saw a large group of beautiful people around an enormous table on which was laid a sumptuous feast. They dined amid jaded opulence with marvellous tapestries and lanterns. The knight humbly asked if he could have shelter for the night, for he was tired, weary and thirsty.

“Please join us!” the people replied. “Eat and drink with us, for you are welcome!”

The knight ate and drank and shared many wonderful stories. He remained in the castle for many days, and rested well in a comfortable bed, while his horse was well-fed and stabled. One day he walked into a hall laid out for a wonderful feast, but there was no-one there. At one end of the table was a magnificent golden chalice set with marvellous jewels, filled with rich wine. Looking at the goblet the knight remembered his quest, for he had forgotten it whilst in the castle. “I wonder if this is what I have been looking for all these years?” he said to himself.

He raised the goblet and looked into it. The wine was rich and aromatic, and the flavour of it stimulated his nostrils with anticipation. The knight drank from the cup, but when it touched his lips, to his horror and amazement he found that the cup was empty and the wine was gone! He lowered the cup in disbelief and when he did so it was full again to the brim with rich red wine.

“What kind of magic is this?” the knight asked himself. He raised the cup a second time and again as it touched his lips the wine disappeared. Worse still, as he put down the cup again, he saw that the food on the table was putrid and rotten, and the meat crawled with maggots.

In terror the knight fled and mounting his horse, rode away from the castle as swiftly as he could, for he knew it was accursed. Years passed and as the knight travelled endlessly, fighting in many battles on his way, he gave up his quest in despair. He had become older, emaciated, because often he could find no food other than berries and no drink except from a stream. Desperately weary from so much travel, he rode across war-ravaged lands to his own kingdom which had sunk into a state of poverty and misery because of wars and disease. Finally he came to his own castle, and found it was dark, cold and deserted. His family had gone. The knight found an old man by the roadside who had with him a dog, a gourd of water and some bread. These were all the possessions he had in the world.

“Old man,” the knight said, “What has become of the people in this castle?” The old man replied, “I don't know, sir. Perhaps they went away. The master of the castle disappeared a long time ago, so he is probably dead.” The knight felt desperately sad about this. “I am thirsty,” he said. “May I have some water?”

“Certainly,” the old man said and poured some water from his gourd into a wooden cup. The knight drank. Suddenly, he felt his youth and vigour return, and all his weariness vanished like melting snow. Astonished he said: “This what I have been looking for all my life and travelled to the ends of the earth to find! Wherever did you find it?”

“Truly master, this is only water from the well in the castle, which I took for I was thirsty and the castle has been empty all these years.”

“But it has restored my spirit! Someone must have worked some magic on it!”

“Nay, master, it is only water, and I was glad to give it to you because you were thirsty.”

At once a voice hailed from behind the knight. He looked around and saw his wife and children just as he had left them so many years before. The knight wept and held them in his arms for a long time.

And so the knight remained happily in the castle for the rest of his days. And the old man was always welcome there.