The
Constantly Burning Building
There was once a man, and like most men he aspired
to be many things, but above all he simply wished to create and be a part of
something magical. One day, the man, like others before him made a decision. He
decided to build a tower that all could see.
Many people supported, discouraged, and were sometimes indifferent to
his pursuit, but as these people’s feelings changed about his quest to build
this tower, his resolve did not.
One day, on a day like most, but different from
others, this man, this would be architect met someone. Someone so different but
undertaking a similar endeavor as he. “Oh how the GODS favor me”, he exclaimed!
“You wish to create, and be a part of something magical, surely we were placed
on our paths at a time when we would meet at this precise moment”. “We are
meant to create”
“And so we shall” she said, four words said with the
warmth of the sun shining on your face. This man, captured in this moment went
to work, and he constructed a tower. A rather simple tower, but a tower none
the less. He was pleased, while he knew in his heart of hearts that this tower,
a rather simple tower but a creation that he created none the less was not what
he imagined, his resolve did not falter.
He turned to his partner, this celestial being whose words were
physically warm and said, “This tower for now, will suffice, but I assure you,
we will build upon this and it will become more grand than the grandest of all
things”
She smiled, This smile, that was strong enough to
quell the frustrations of monetary inequalities, the smile that assured this
man that he was more than capable, the very same smile that kept him focused
when it seemed as though the universe itself meant to divide his attention.
And with that assurance, he went to sleep.
The next day approached as was expected, like any other
day, and this man woke, like most others. As went to where his tower, the
rather simple structure, stood, he found nothing but ashes. His tower had been burned down. He lay in the
ashes for the entire day, reflecting on where he went wrong, speculating on who
would commit such an affront. Wondering where his muse was. He found his resolve, shocked that what he
thought was days gone by were simply hours.
Acquiesced that the tower’s apparent destruction was
due to his own imprudence and not the desires of others, he began anew. Before
rebuilding the tower, not the rather simple structure that it was, this man
decided to venture out into the world and see the towers that have built around
him. He traveled far, and saw many towers that were constructed during his
travels. He learned from their builders, for they all have had a tower burn.
Some knew that they were the cause of the destruction of their previous towers,
and they somehow continued to make the same mistakes this was evident by the
rock piles surrounding the current edifice.
Others whom had the misfortune of their towers being
burned, struck by lightning, swallowed by earthquakes or an infinite
combinations of calamity’s took the time to learn from their blunders and their
towers were strong, so strong that this man stood in awe. He said to himself,
“Yes! YES!!!, this is what a proper tower looks like” This new tower of mine
will be just as this one, and he set out to return to his homeland with this
new vision. As the time went by he laughed to himself at how proud he was of
the first tower, a rather simple structure, but one that he created none the
less, and he remembered the warmth he felt from the celestial being that was
present at the inception and at moments throughout his endeavor he wondered
where she was.
One day he took a break, while he had yet to break a
sweat, this day like any other day, was just a too beautiful to spend it
working. This day reminded him of her, how her mere presence made everyday feel
just like this exact moment. He looked to the sun and covered his eyes, and
while tearing from looking directly in the sun’s rays, he said to himself, “We
were suppose to create” and as he began to go back to work he heard a voice
behind him say, “And so we shall”.
And there she was, and as elated as he was to see
her return, he was equally vexed by her abrupt exodus and her subsequent
reappearance. He wanted to verbalize his frustrations at the destruction of the
first tower, as well as his travels, and he wanted to know why she took herself
away from him. He was so happy to be angry.
Then she smiled, she smiled that reassuring smile,
and his anger faded away, the way the fog swallows up a person as they walk
deeper into it. She asked, “How did you do this without me? I thought we were
going to create something magical”. The man, stopped and said, every day has
been for you, every day I hoped for you’re returned. With all things in place,
he set a pace and produced a tower even grander than the one he originally
emulated. This tower, much more complex than the previous one was in fact
something to be proud of.
And this man was captivated, not so much because of
the tower, he was just as proud of the first tower, he was happy that she was
happy, and it seemed as the world itself was in agreement with him. Every day was just as warm as the day this
celestial muse returned to him, They spent many days in the tower feasting
one’s eyes on the landscape and each other. After a long day, like many others
before, he went to sleep, and slept the sleep of gods. All things in place
where they should, surely he is favored.
And when he arrived the next day, he once again saw
his tower, burned to the ground. This time, there was more of it left than the
complete engulfment of the first tower, that rather simple structure. This one
was much more complex, and he was happy that there were remains for him to
inspect. As he sifted through the remains he found parts that had little
damage, that could be salvaged, and some that could not be saved. The parts of
the tower that could not be saved puzzled him the most, some parts he was
willing to admit he rushed in the procurement of the best materials, but what
he had used was by no means cheap! The parts that he could not use appeared to
have been burning on the outside, where as the more salvageable parts seemed to
have been burning from the inside.
Where was she? Surely she has not left me again,
taken away from me her warmth, her passion, and left me with the cold. The cold
air, the cold ground, this cold heart. With those three things he started a new
journey, in an effort to find a clear path. He wore his heaviest coat, to
protect him from all things. As the wind blew he clutched his coat so that no
part of his flesh would be in contact with the elements, the same ones that he
felt showed him so much favor, now he felt as though they shunned him.
As he traveled this cold, cold, path, he came to a
tower that was as magnificent as it was menacing. The tower reached high into
the night sky and stretched far into the horizon. This man, whom had built two towers, one very
simple, and the other quite complex, was in awe. So he called up to the man, hoping that he
would come down off his tower and converse with him. Oh, how this man wanting
to speak with the creator of this tower. By looking at it, he knew that this
structure was high enough to withstand the most terrible floods, sturdy enough
to endure the most awesome of earthquakes, and strong enough to withstand the vilest
of fires.
No one answered. This man, waited. He waited, and
while the angry wind tried to blow him away, he waited. The coldest of rain
attempted to drown him, he endured. He called several times and while he
thought only a short time had passed as he waited he was quite surprised to
feel the warm sun under his heavy coat. This man, frustrated to no end threw
his coat and said, “The hell with it then”
With that, he made his journey home. This time, with
the heat bearing down upon him, He set out to build another tower, and this
would be the last one. With a passion
that bordered on madness, he excavated the largest amount of earth that one man
could do on his one, and built his foundation of the hardest most durable
materials. This endeavor took him as long as building the first tower, that
rather simple structure, all together. He was happy with that, at this point
that tower, the one that he was so proud of, he held in such disgust. How can
you have a tower without a strong foundation, he cursed himself for not thinking
of this, the first, and second time around.
. The material, the hardest and most durable that he
could find, was also the smoothest. There was no way a fire would dance on this
terra firma. He then built the first floor, which the walls were there to
really hold up the door, which upon viewing it up close or from afar begged the
question, “Is he keeping someone out or in”. The massive lock on it assured him
that it knew its purpose, and would not fail him. From there, he built a
monstrous winding staircase and every three hundred or so stairs there was a
smaller massive door with a smaller massive lock, and they all knew their
purpose.
At the top sat his sanctuary, from there he was able
to see all things in all directions. His tower or more correctly his obelisks
was complete, and this man, like most men, still felt as if he was lacking, but
this man, like others did not let this visibly effect him. Then one day he
grasped the image that had been eluding him for so long. The fence was built in
practically no time.
The fence, which was rather simple in design, but
practical none the less, was bizarre to anyone that looked upon it. What could
this fence do, that the massive door with the huge lock could not already do? Either way, this man was satisfied with what
he has created.
Then she came back, again. What she came back too
was far beyond what she imagined. She stood outside of the fence and looked up
at this obelisk. She shouted for the man, the one that had felt so loved by the
world, but felt so shunned by it. She entered through the fence and stood in
front of the door, but it did not budge. She cried out, but it was as if no one
heard her. She continued to do so for a short time that felt as if it was a
lifetime. As she cried, her tears formed a puddle on the smooth foundation that
was what she was standing on. As she wept, the lock, the lock that knew its
purpose opened.
