[ST] - The Bamboo Labyrinth - Part 1: Introduction

Once again it is Friday, the end of yet another week upon us. And this week you are in for a special treat. As already announced during the last week(s), today I will upload the first part of my short story "The Bamboo Labyrinth" onto the site.
Only the first part you ask? Why yes. I won't be uploading all of it at once as it would probably only serve to be somewhat of an overkill (and to be quite honest with you... it's not entirely done yet). But why do I do it like this? Well... let me give you a heads up on what I'm currently planning on doing.
First of all... "The Bamboo Labyrinth" is a short story, not a piece of flash fiction, meaning it is considerably longer - which also gives me more time and more importantly more words to elaborate on certain aspects of the story, unlike to the sometimes crude and unfinished seeming style flash fiction tends to bear.
Or well..., I'm just bad at the whole FLASH! AH-A stuff...
In any way or case for now it will continue like this: Each Friday I will upload a new part of "The Bamboo Labyrinth". The size of these portions of text will most likely vary a bit, but it shouldn't be too excessively - maybe +/- 50 words. For this week said piece of text will also be a bit longer than those to come, hopefully setting up the right mood for the actual story.
Today it's merely one part of the introduction... should be a bit less than 800 words.
But enough with the ramblings... delve right into the text below and I dearly hope you'll enjoy it!


*~*


The Bamboo Labyrinth


Over the course of his life the human being starts to cherish many different things. They vary of course, mostly due to the age and character of a person, using them to form our, his or her individual comfort zone, resulting in a vast diversity of hidden treasures. Amongst them are many simple trinkets, but sometimes even up to the most valuable trumpery. Yet only the least of those are able to withstand the final test of time.
It is only a selected few that wander through the ages and get passed from generation to generation until they are eventually discarded either as they were found meritless by its holder or for the exact opposite: because of their blind value they have attained.
Looking at this cycle, observing how it keeps on turning with each moon that passes and each sun that rises anew, one can only imagine how grim the fate of the world actually lies.
Things are meant to be used, as tools perhaps but nothing more, and people are those meant to be loved. Unfortunately, yet not only because of this dreadful loop in cultural appraisal, it is ever so often confused and to be turned around, creating one of the worst relationships that have been bred so far over the course of our history.
Luckily for us, as we are, I assume you who are listening right now too, hopefully, mostly part of the more sensible part of humanity, we can, not necessarily completely, but find good riddance from these claws that continued to bind us for centuries already. It is, in fact, an easy thing to achieve, far too simple to be taken light headedly as it will also bear the tokens of our success in a rather quick fashion. Sadly these results appear merely for us in our individual progress, thus they seldom will be noticed in a larger community.
The thing I am so constantly referring to is, again, simple treasuring.
Holding dear the important things.
The intelligent man will now ask, and it is full right to do so, what makes up the difference between 'us' and the rest of the world, especially as I have readily devoted so many words into keeping us apart already before.
The wise man on the other hand will already have understood and remain silent, wary on not sharing it with the wrong kind of people.
Both parties have their rights to do so, just as they acted, to follow their instincts, their common senses... but both of them also remain to be wrong nevertheless.
The intelligent man did not stop and think far enough on his own. And the wise man turned out to be reacting too arrogantly to help spread the secret because he feared the tainted hearts buried in the chests of so many.
But please... hear me. Give me the chance. Let me try to do better or to do otherwise at least. For I am neither wise, nor intelligent. I am just a normal man with a passion, an ordinary being of creation by what means whatsoever. And the answer I bear is about as simple as the question itself...
I chose to cherish the things that are not to decay because of time, those could be remade anyhow, but because of essence... because of personality and its development.
The answer to this riddle I hereby posed so light-heartedly lies so simple: Memories.
They are our lifeblood. Defining who we are, what we experienced, what we learned and how we have suffered. And yet they can be eradicated within the sole blink of an eye. Now..., even though we all know of their frail nature, we still keep on pushing them away from us. We sometimes start wishing them away on a mere whim... and only begin to realize how foolish we've been after it is already too late to retrieve the things lost for all eternity. The things that were ultimately forgotten.
So..., but why do we forget in the first place if we still cling to believing we knew any better?
Because we want to? Not always.
Because of too much information trickling slowly into our heads? Probably.
Because of disease? Unfortunately.
Because of time? No..., not really.
It is the human mind and body that crumble as the years go past, not the memory itself. It will always stay pristine at its core. Yet it is the confusion we create ourselves that rips out its once so colourful details one by one and replaces them with other scraps of our already forlorn childish imagination as it acts up, fighting its own demise.
It is the denial we face in every day to come.
[..]

To be continued

*~*

[Continue reading here *click*]
 


There you go, another Friday's worth of diverting entertainment. It has a serious topic standing behind it, yes I know. But it will lighten up as we delve deeper. As we get closer to the actual... Bamboo Labyrinth!

But for right now... I'll enjoy my choco-cappucino with a sip of whisky and a piece of chocolate dissolving in it. That's what you call "living healthy"..., right?

As always thanks for reading - have a great weekend!
Marc, the Not-as-gloomy-as-you-might-have-thought


P.S.: New kitteh going up soon too!
Edt.: Stop screwing with me blogger! Changing fontsizes and the flow of the text as I post it...