Alone Together

Nimbin lived in the Kingdom of Meaning.

Here, kids went to school, played games, and watched the sun come up every morning. The grass was soft under his feet. Birds sang. After it rained, the flowers smelled amazing.

But something felt off.

School was hard. Friends said things that confused him. The weather changed without warning. His shoelaces never stayed tied the way his dad showed him.

One afternoon, while walking through the woods behind the playground, Nimbin found a bright yellow door. It was built into the trunk of an old oak tree.

He opened it and stepped inside.

Everything turned blue, like magic.

Rocks pulsed with energy.

Water flowed underground in glowing streams, feeding roots.

Critters walked along trails that shimmered like stars.

“Hello, Nimbin.”

He turned. An old man in a colorful coat stood nearby.

“Who are you?”

“I’m the Abstractionist. Welcome to the Kingdom of Happening.”

“Another world?”

“Most people think the Kingdom of Meaning is all there is,” the man said. “Yet here we are.”

A rabbit hopped along a forest trail. “This place feels different…”

“Up there, you only see the surface,” said the Abstractionist. “Down here, you join what’s underneath.”

Rainbows appeared in the falling rain.

Light moved through bodies like tiny fireworks.

He spoke of how people can stay stuck in their own Kingdom of Meaning all their lives without realizing it.

“Is that why I’m lonely?” Nimbin asked.

“Feeling alone isn’t the same as being separate,” the Abstractionist said.

Nimbin explored the Blue Space all day.

Walking home, Nimbin passed familiar houses and trees.

The outside hadn’t changed a bit.

The End.

PS. Nimbin’s adventures continue in Train to Kalambaka.