Once upon a time, after a great cataclysm
that almost obliterated life on this planet, a small
group of peasants, who were very old, were the only
survivors of the global disaster. They were struggling
to survive by farming the blighted earth. But the earth
was so damaged that their efforts to cultivate a few
food crops were in vain.
Finally, in desperation, one aged man,
wiser and more courageous than the rest,
proposed to go out into the world in
search of food. The other villagers were
too frightened, dis-couraged, and weakened
by illness and hunger to accompany him,
so he decided to set out alone.
He found a path into the large dark
forest that stood on the edge of the
village fields. As he entered the forest's
shadowy depths, he began to feel uneasy,
and with good cause. No sooner had he
reached a point where he could no longer
see the vil-lage fields behind him, than
a host of strange and fearsome creatures
began to attack him. An upright writhing
serpent crept up behind him, a hairy
crawling beast without a name threatened
his ankles, a sharp-talons flying thing
with great flapping wings descended from
the sky upon him.
Despite his terror and infirmities,
for he was very old, the man fended off
the terrifying apparitions as best he
could, knowing he had to continue on
his quest for food.
Suddenly he heard a sound like none
he had ever heard before -- a haunting
wail of utter misery, the thin and pitiful
cry of an abandoned child. He could not
possibly ignore it. He stepped off the
path and made his way through the trees
and underbrush, following the reedy cry
as if entranced
Pushing aside a leafy branch, he stepped
into a small clearing. He saw before
him the ruins of an ancient temple, its
stone walls covered with moss, its cracked
columns grown round with vines. The cries
seemed to come from within the temple,
so he mounted the worn stone steps and
entered through a low, arched doorway.
Once his eyes had adjusted to the dim
light inside, he saw a small figure huddled
in front of a simple altar. It was moan-ing
softly, rocking back and forth, its head
bent upon its knees and half hidden by
its encircling arms. He crossed the uneven
marble floor and knelt in front of the
strange little being. Reaching out a
weathered hand, he lifted its head so
that he could look at its face.
But what was this? The being had no
face; its head was featureless, a smooth
white oval, without eye or mouth or nose
or ear, as blank and seamless as an egg.
He drew back, horrified, staring at
this human form that looked sightlessly
towards him for a moment and then quickly
covered its terrible blank face with
its hands, as if anguished by the revelation
of its deformity.
The old man remained motionless, battling
his impulse to flee from this travesty
of humankind. Frightened and bewil-dered
as he was, he sensed that the creature
was suffering al-most beyond belief.
Tears came to his eyes and he felt his
heart expand. Instinctively he reached
out to the poor miserable creature and
embraced it. It collapsed against him,
its shoul-ders shaking with sobs.
Steeling himself against the horror
of that blank visage, he cradled its
head gently in his hands and turned it
up to-wards him. Gazing intently at its
eyeless face, as if to will a response
into existence, he caressed the featureless
oval. Its skin was soft and flawless,
like that of a baby.
He felt an odd sensation growing in
his hands. They were warm, so warm that
they tingled. They seemed to move with-out
his willing them to do so. Quickly they
began to mold the little creature's smooth
resilient flesh, making an indentation
for eyes, shaping a nose, a mouth, ears.
His hands moved now more rapidly and
deftly until a fully human face, which
seemed to have been waiting for a touch
such as his to take form, looked back
at him.
For a long moment, he and the newborn
person gazed into each other's eyes.
And then the person, whose fresh
and per-fect features reminded him
of everyone who had ever been dear to
him in the past and who might become
so in the future, smiled. With this benevolent
and grateful smile, which the old
man matched with a joyous smile of his
own, the two joined hands and walked
out together into the waiting world.