It had been long since the seeker last found himself getting up from bed on his own accord. He took a glance at the only light source that floated in the black night sky - a soft, imperfectly round moon, haloed by a faint ring of ligh- Wait…a bed? That's impossible. The seeker ran his fingers through the silky, cushioned ground and was immediately overwhelmed by remnant images of a distant past that he could not put into words. He then pressed his hand against it and gave it a little bounce. "There's no way!" The seeker muttered under his breath. But reaching out to make out the stout, frame-like structures that encircled the seeker was all it took to finally convince him that he was indeed in a cot - THE cot - of his own infancy! The seeker's astonishment dissipated as quickly as it came into existence. He was too seasoned to be surprised by odd surroundings, too experienced to be fooled by the illusion of having returned home. While there were no longer any golden trees in sight, the seeker knew, on a profound level, that he had yet to leave this "space" (and it was long before he eventually would). Calmly, the seeker continued to appreciate his surroundings. It was absolutely silent, just as usual. There were no signs of life either, as usual. And the cot he was in was situated in the middle of … an ocean? A stretch of water so vast and endless that you could not make out any landforms in the distance, no matter how hard you squinted! That wasn't usual! Now, you couldn't completely fault the seeker for this late realisation. It wasn't just that the light conditions were poor, but that the water surface lacked even the tiniest of ripples, causing the cot-like boat to remain so still that the seeker had originally mistaken it to be supported by hard ground! The seeker carefully peered over the cot's frames and observed his reflection in the water. Then, slowly growing accustomed to his peculiar environment, he relished its curious stillness and revelled in his solitude. He had always enjoyed lonely nights like these, where it felt as if he were the only being to ever exist. Occasionally, though, he would be visited by a tiny, fleeting desire to be accompanied by another… "HO HO HO! And so here I come!" The barely audible voice sounded deep and kind, just like a whale's grunt from a distance. It took the seeker a long stare in the voice's direction to finally spot a tiny, twinkling light that sat on the horizon. Like a fallen star, the light exuded a sense of fragile resoluteness. The seeker remained silent, patiently waiting for it to gradually increase in size as it moved toward him. It was not known how much time had passed before the seeker was close enough to the light to identify that it was actually a flickering flame burning on what was assumed to be a tiny oil candle - there was no other way the flame could have sustained itself in those palms. And what wrinkled palms they were! The seeker stared at the hunched figure that stood, now adjacent to him, on a cot-boat that looked almost identical to his. It was an elderly male with a back so hunched over that he had to constantly tilt his head sideways for his face to be seen! His drooping cheeks made a cute jiggle at each of his slight movements and would have easily caused him to be mistaken for a bulldog if not for his sharp, robust gaze. "Good mor- I mean, good evening, sir!" The seeker stuttered cautiously. "A marvellous evening to you too, young man!" The elderly male responded vibrantly, his voice now sounding like a gentle, soothing bellow. Vigorous and full of life, it provided a stark contrast to his feeble demeanour. "I would love to be called "Light Bearer" if you don't mind." The Light Bearer paused briefly, gazing at the seeker with a wistful eye. "You look exactly like my younger self! It felt like yesterday that I was wandering around this space as a lost seeker myself…." The seeker gulped. Was he doomed to be stuck here for the rest of eternity? "Don't worry, though!" The Light Bearer chuckled, noticing that the seeker's expressions had stiffened. "I chose to remain here because I found what I was looking for - my life's purpose!" "What's your life's purpose?" The seeker's heart skipped a beat. Purpose! That's what I'm seeking! "Like a lighthouse that guides ships to safety, my purpose is to bring light to the lives of lost seekers like you!" The Light Bearer exclaimed joyfully, cradling the flame in his palms as if it were a precious jewel. "It might not sound like much, but it keeps me fulfilled and happy, and that's what matters." The seeker looked upon the Light Bearer with muted awe. Indubitably proud and confident of his purpose, the Light Bearer's eyes shone as beautifully as the moon overhead. The seeker wished secretly that he, too, could eventually own such an elegant state of mind. "But I know this fails to impress you greatly, seeker, for everything is revealed by your ambitious pair of eyes! My mundane purpose is nothing compared to your grand dreams of shifting enormous mountains, directing great currents, or manipulating natural climates! Your life's purpose must be great - for someone so attracted to greatness!" The Light Bearer exclaimed. The seeker laughed bitterly. The Light Bearer was certainly sincere about his compliment, yet the seeker could not help but perceive it as a mockery of his predicament. As if it were reflecting his stirred emotions, small waves started forming on the previously still water surface, causing both the seeker and the Light Bearer to bob up and down - as if they were sitting at opposite ends of a seesaw. "My dreams are not worth mentioning, for they are as inaccessible as the moon." The seeker lamented, staring into the distance. "How so?" The Light Bearer nudged. "Could a seismologist reverse the inevitability of a tsunami's rampage? Could an astronomer prevent an impending collision course between two celestial bodies? The pursuit of deep knowledge about the world's workings has always been, and will always be, part of my destiny. But what difference could that knowledge make in the presence of forces far beyond my control? I have never been more lost about my purpose." The seeker looked at the Light Bearer with expectant eyes, only to notice that the latter was no longer making eye contact. Then, following the Light Bearer's gaze, the seeker glanced at his palms and realised that he, too, held a flame in his palms! And what a magical little flame it was, for it simply existed by itself (without a candle or any form of fuel to sustain it), for it was neither hot nor cold to the touch, for it emitted a light so alluring, so sophisticatedly pure! The seeker played with the flame, transferring it from one hand to the other. His was slightly fainter but much more mischievous than the Light Bearer's. "Does this make me a Light Bearer?" The seeker asked after a long contemplative pause, his eyes still fixated on the curious flame. The Light Bearer chuckled and shook his head gently. "We each have our different paths, seeker." "I deeply apologise if I have been underwhelming, but your questions are out of my reach." The Light Bearer continued. "And I am in no position to tell you how to live. There's little I can do other than make you aware of this flame you inherently possess." "Only fools would belittle and discard this small flame! For it brings warmth to the cold, strength to the weak, a sense of direction to the lost, and a sense of meaning where meaning is void!" The seeker looked up in deep contemplation, only to realise that the Light Bearer (and his cot-boat) was no longer anywhere to be found.
