I am the silent witness
I am the silent witness. The witness to that murder. But then this is not something that’s new to me. I have been condemned to bear witness. A witness, though of not much use, as I wont be testifying before any courts. In fact even when they testify, I will just bear witness. You will ask me if I disturbed proceedings, if I intervened, when the testimonials were all false or all framed. Well I don’t. It’s something I can’t do. Don’t I feel stupid to merely bear witness and do nothing? Don’t I feel miserable to see someone convicted of some crime he never committed? Well frankly, that question never even crops up in my mind. Something in my nature, I don’t quite think that way. You see I am older that all your histories put together. That reminds me of historians. I don’t carry a very favorable opinion of them. They do a lot of omissions and a lot of additions. But what else can they do. They can’t be like me at many places at the same time and yes of course even the best of them have their little prejudices. I am Time, the silent witness to that murder.
Well yes I am Time. But before I go further, I know most of you have a complaint against me. Let me address that first. I too want to have a favorable opinion like you have of your earth, the sun, the moon, the stars and everything else that your rever. That complaint is that either I go too fast or that I go to slow, and I am tired of hearing it every moment. So let me settle this issue now, now as I speak to you. I don’t know when it would next occur to me to speak again, this busy schedule that I have.
It’s not that I have also never wished to go slow or to pace ahead. You know it too, no one likes to be one paced. Yes, I have often wished I could go slow in those minutes, those hours, those days (I stop here at days as it’s not with you folks to be happy for more than a few days. You become bored of happiness for too long and I know you agree with me, your witness since god knows when) when you were harmony in some music, some art or in just a gesture. Those moments I too treasure, a spiritual experience to bear witness. And, I have also often wished I could go pace ahead those days, nights and years when you were in the misery of sicknesses, wars, and death. I too abhor being witness to your panet as a hospital, although I can do nothing about it. Well you see the problem is more practical, even amusing it would appear to some. It’s just that I would be in such a fix to decide who amongst you to listen and whom amongst you not to, and that would create much bitterness and I don’t want that. So I prefer to be fair, and don’t heed any of you and silently plod on at the same even pace through the seasons.
Well, I hope that suffices you, the answer to your complaint. If not spare a thought for me too, me who has been journeying forever without the sight of my end. Well I know you would laugh at me and ask me how if it wasn’t in my nature, to be disturbed by the wrongs I am witness too, how then could I be disturbed of not knowing my end. “Aren’t you distanced enough, if not how could you be that silent witness”, that’s the question you would slap me with, isn’t it? Well you are right in some way. I am indeed supposed to be distanced from even questioning my own existence. I was made to be that way. But you see being a journeyman since I don’t know when, and being witness to the death of infinite galaxies, stars, planets and earthlings alike I myself have wondered (even fleetingly) when would this journeying end for me? I know it’s an infection I should not be carrying but everyone gets infected once in a lifetime and mine has been quite long. I hope you understand what I mean and can I expect your empathy like you have for one of your fellowmen Sisyphus forever condemned to roll a boulder up the hill. Well, what am I doing? Asking for your empathy, for a human empathy? I have been taught to do better than that. After all I am not supposed to have feelings for you and neither you for me. That’s why you have never ask how I am, although you have your libraries stacked with philosophies on me. I think that’s what our protocol has been and will forever be. So let me get back to the subject at hand and ill keep it short like all succinct philosophies.
Well I know you want me to get back to the issue at hand, to tell you who had murdered him and for what precise reason? Well, of course I know but I won’t tell you. Let it reveal itself to you. You too must put some effort to know what’s true. I told you it wasn’t in my nature to tell you about it. I just came in here to warn you of recounted histories, even if they be from a dead man. I know you would be skeptical if a living man told you things about murder. You would size him first, then investigate and then conclude. But why are you so gullible to a dead man’s tale? Is it something about the respect that comes naturally to the dead? An awe to the place where he speaks from, a place you have always in quieter moments dreaded. Anyways I have done my duty forewarning you but then again I am not telling you to dismiss everything that is spoken from that other world. How could I say such a thing? I, who am not supposed to reach conclusions and just be a silent witness. May you find the truth as I see it now.
I am the silent witness. The witness to that murder. But then this is not something that’s new to me. I have been condemned to bear witness. A witness, though of not much use, as I wont be testifying before any courts. In fact even when they testify, I will just bear witness. You will ask me if I disturbed proceedings, if I intervened, when the testimonials were all false or all framed. Well I don’t. It’s something I can’t do. Don’t I feel stupid to merely bear witness and do nothing? Don’t I feel miserable to see someone convicted of some crime he never committed? Well frankly, that question never even crops up in my mind. Something in my nature, I don’t quite think that way. You see I am older that all your histories put together. That reminds me of historians. I don’t carry a very favorable opinion of them. They do a lot of omissions and a lot of additions. But what else can they do. They can’t be like me at many places at the same time and yes of course even the best of them have their little prejudices. I am Time, the silent witness to that murder.
Well yes I am Time. But before I go further, I know most of you have a complaint against me. Let me address that first. I too want to have a favorable opinion like you have of your earth, the sun, the moon, the stars and everything else that your rever. That complaint is that either I go too fast or that I go to slow, and I am tired of hearing it every moment. So let me settle this issue now, now as I speak to you. I don’t know when it would next occur to me to speak again, this busy schedule that I have.
It’s not that I have also never wished to go slow or to pace ahead. You know it too, no one likes to be one paced. Yes, I have often wished I could go slow in those minutes, those hours, those days (I stop here at days as it’s not with you folks to be happy for more than a few days. You become bored of happiness for too long and I know you agree with me, your witness since god knows when) when you were harmony in some music, some art or in just a gesture. Those moments I too treasure, a spiritual experience to bear witness. And, I have also often wished I could go pace ahead those days, nights and years when you were in the misery of sicknesses, wars, and death. I too abhor being witness to your panet as a hospital, although I can do nothing about it. Well you see the problem is more practical, even amusing it would appear to some. It’s just that I would be in such a fix to decide who amongst you to listen and whom amongst you not to, and that would create much bitterness and I don’t want that. So I prefer to be fair, and don’t heed any of you and silently plod on at the same even pace through the seasons.
Well, I hope that suffices you, the answer to your complaint. If not spare a thought for me too, me who has been journeying forever without the sight of my end. Well I know you would laugh at me and ask me how if it wasn’t in my nature, to be disturbed by the wrongs I am witness too, how then could I be disturbed of not knowing my end. “Aren’t you distanced enough, if not how could you be that silent witness”, that’s the question you would slap me with, isn’t it? Well you are right in some way. I am indeed supposed to be distanced from even questioning my own existence. I was made to be that way. But you see being a journeyman since I don’t know when, and being witness to the death of infinite galaxies, stars, planets and earthlings alike I myself have wondered (even fleetingly) when would this journeying end for me? I know it’s an infection I should not be carrying but everyone gets infected once in a lifetime and mine has been quite long. I hope you understand what I mean and can I expect your empathy like you have for one of your fellowmen Sisyphus forever condemned to roll a boulder up the hill. Well, what am I doing? Asking for your empathy, for a human empathy? I have been taught to do better than that. After all I am not supposed to have feelings for you and neither you for me. That’s why you have never ask how I am, although you have your libraries stacked with philosophies on me. I think that’s what our protocol has been and will forever be. So let me get back to the subject at hand and ill keep it short like all succinct philosophies.
Well I know you want me to get back to the issue at hand, to tell you who had murdered him and for what precise reason? Well, of course I know but I won’t tell you. Let it reveal itself to you. You too must put some effort to know what’s true. I told you it wasn’t in my nature to tell you about it. I just came in here to warn you of recounted histories, even if they be from a dead man. I know you would be skeptical if a living man told you things about murder. You would size him first, then investigate and then conclude. But why are you so gullible to a dead man’s tale? Is it something about the respect that comes naturally to the dead? An awe to the place where he speaks from, a place you have always in quieter moments dreaded. Anyways I have done my duty forewarning you but then again I am not telling you to dismiss everything that is spoken from that other world. How could I say such a thing? I, who am not supposed to reach conclusions and just be a silent witness. May you find the truth as I see it now.
1 comment:
Pl resume the novel..we are awaiting the subsequent chapters :-)
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