May I Show You the Stars

A Story by Will Riley

Just something I thought about whilst attempting to sleep in one morning.

In the year 2000 an angel descended upon the earth to visit the human race. The first person to receive such a visit was a politician, a man who thought he had it all figured out. He made a six figure salary on top of having influence over the fate of an entire country. Humility was all but a foreign concept to him. That night he went home and had a few drinks before he climbed into bed by himself and started to drift. The angel approached him and asked “May I show you the stars? To take you to the farthest reaches of our universe that all of humanity fantasizes about? To see intelligent life outside of humanity?”

“No”, said the politician. “I don’t have time for childish nonsense, I need to sleep so I can get up in the morning and run a country. I’m a very important man, you know.” The angel saw no means in furthering the conversation and floated on. She went to 8 more people, all just as disappointingly disinterested and condescending. She began to wonder if humanity was ready. As she travelled beyond the concrete walls and billboards of the city the angel began to take notice of the planet’s natural allure. The humans had put a big concrete slab on top of everything that is pure and beautiful, but why?

She drifted through trees and over streams and watched as the water danced around the rocks and continued on lazily towards the bank. The angel travelled deeper into the woods and encountered what seemed to be a small encampment. She found a group of Native Americans sitting in a circle laughing and playing music. She approached the group and asked them, “Is it you that I came to this place to look for with not but a single fire to highlight your presence in these dark woods away from city lights?” They looked in amazement at this figure that had made herself known to them. Speechless, they nodded in agreement. Hoping to indeed be the ones she was looking for. They welcomed her and asked her what she could show them.

That night the tribe sat around the fire and waited with closed eyes for the experience the angel had promised them. They all heard a whooshing sound as if the fire had been blown out. They opened their eyes to see and were amazed at what had manifested itself in front of them. Or rather what hadn’t. They were staring into the vast stretch of stars and nebulae and rocks that composed the known universe. They noticed the Angel was beside them. “Ready to visit my home?” She asked.

They began to descend upon a nearby cluster of solar systems, one of which housed a little blue and green planet not unlike earth. As they got closer they noticed that the half of the planet not reached by the sun emitted thousands of tiny little lights that added up to something that could be seen from space. It was amazing how this foreign planet could look so much like their own, yet so different. They were shown fantastic high rises and buildings built precariously around the lush plant life. Flowers sprouted from sidewalks and vines wrapped around street signs. This was truly a civilization that lived in harmony with the planet, rather than dominating it.

The Angel spoke once more, and said “we too have people on our planet who are ignorant of the truth. There was a time that these people were on top, their greed and scheming led them to have the most power and money. They put themselves on pedestals so that they could make their subjects believe that what they were doing was right and that we should indulge ourselves in the same ignorance.” Her thoughts went back to the cities and government buildings she had encountered back on Earth. “Naturally, there were those who knew better and always strived to make their voices heard. These people were regarded as fools and crackpots. They wanted to undo everything the ignorant had accomplished and weren’t to be tolerated.”

The blue-tinted humanoid creatures of this newfound planet just continued on their way, clearly unable to perceive the Angel and her friends. “It took a very long time for everyone to realize how silly it was to abide by this suppressive system they had created. We still have jails and a military and means of maintaining our way of life, but we made sure to choose our leaders wisely. Those who understand the temptations of greed and knowingly stray from it, those who actively pursue the truth and willingly share it with those around them. These were people like you, I saw your humble lifestyle in comparison to that of an American politician and knew instantly that this is where the problem lie.”

“Do not worry.” She continued, “I have confidence that one day the wise will take their place at the helm of humanity and that you will experience the kind of harmony and prosperity that you see on our planet. It is time for you to return with this knowledge and make it known to your fellow tribes. The time will soon come that the natural order will right itself and it is then that we will make our presence known. But right now the Human race is too destructive of a force for us to approach.”

One of the Native Americans finally spoke up. “But why didn’t you contact us sooner? Why wait until now to present yourself?”

“I have been speaking with your kind for hundreds of thousands of years. I cannot help it that so few are willing to listen.”

Then darkness consumed everything. The fire that had gotten blown out what seemed like so long ago returned to the ring in the middle of the tribe’s little village and shone light on its surroundings. They were back on Earth in one of very few settlements that remained untouched by the all-destroying hands of civilization. It was likely that, given time, this too would be demolished and the surrounding trees would be cut down to make way for an apartment complex or a shopping mall. The stories of an Angel that visited the tribe and showed them the way would be disregarded as the mad ramblings of a disconnected group of people whom ate too many unidentified mushrooms.

But what was said and seen will still ring true, and the time will come that the natural order will right itself.

© 2013 Will Riley

Author's Note

any notes or criticism is welcome

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smilempsn

well I liked the Thought behind this story sooo much, that no criticism from my side at least :)
We all are too busy in living our own life, that we care too less about out mother nature..
In this busy life of ours, many-a-times we our self ignore our inner voice. Which sometime wants us to give a better place, but we tend to be ignorant to ourselves to..

That piece had definitely planted a seed in my mind.. ThankU for writing this piece ^-^..