| “There are many reasons why babies cry when they
are born, and one of them is the sudden separation from the world of pure
dreams, where all things are made of enchantment, and where there is no
suffering. The happier we were, the closer was our birth. As we approached
another incarnation we made pacts that we would return to the spirit world
at the first opportunity. We made vows in fields of intense flowers and in
the sweet-tasting moonlight of that world. Those of use who made such vows
were known among the Living as abiku, spirit-children. Not all people
recognised us. We were the ones who kept coming and going, unwilling to
come to terms with life. We had the ability to will our deaths. Our pacts
were binding. Those who broke their pacts were assailed by hallucinations
and haunted by their companions. They would only find consolation when
they returned to the world of the Unborn, the place of fountains, where
their loved ones would be waiting for them silently. Those of use who
lingered in the world, seduced by the annunciation of wonderful events,
went through life with beautiful and fated eyes, carrying within us the
music of a lovely and tragic mythology. Our mouths utter obscure
prophecies. Our minds are invaded by images of the future. We are the
strange ones, with half our beings always in the spirit world” – Ben
Okri |
