The Unveiled Soul

From the beginning of ancient times, in a world covered by oceans and seas, in a world full of dreams, one person wandered, wandered from the very beginning, wandered in eternal search, in search of something beautiful.

This certain creature was certainly not alone.  This creature had two companions whose personalities we will learn a little later.  And first, let's focus on this very person. And you can't call him person, most likely he is some kind of an idea, a concept, intangible beautiful.

Centuries changed, people changed, thoughts changed, habits remained, hearts collapsed and were born again.  This is a kind of cycle.  Maybe magical, maybe even wonderful, but maybe not.  But it is not for us to judge this.  After all, the only unit that is able to judge, speak and repeat is love itself.

Yes, it is the very love that has been wandering since the beginning of time. It is the only measure of virtue, perhaps even humanity.

Love.  It is a strength that is above all strength.  It is the only reason for which everyone is alive and continues to live.  And so it is.

Love is capable of judging, capable of bestowing everything or taking away everything.  Love is capable of owning, seeing, hearing, laughing, destroying. And people can not be independent, free from love.

Why?

Because people always want to find their home.  And they see the home in the hands of love.

But first, we need to understand love. Make friends with it and maybe then you and I will understand Monsieur Adelard and his great dependence with love.

"Anything else, Monsieur?  Monsieur?  Are you okay?" an elderly man in an impeccable black tuxedo asked.  His snow-white hair resembled freshly fallen snow, and his blue eyes spoke of the fact that, despite his age, this man was as pure as a child.  Holding a small silver tray in his hands, he bent down, his perfectly clean face looking worried and even a little overwhelmed.  Reaching out, he touched the cold forehead.  Making a frightened look, he dared to raise his voice,  "Monsieur, you have a fever."

Gently touching the elder's hand, the man in a green velvet robe shook his head and thick strands of hair fell on his forehead.

“Don't worry Nicholas.  Everything is fine with me.  You can go."

Gently removing his hand from his forehead, the man stood up and walked over to the fireplace.  Flames played their chords furiously.  Looking at the fire, the man touched his chest.  The heart beat its rhythm.  Feeling life behind his sternum, the man turned to Nicholas, his dark green eyes shining brighter than fire.

Without removing his hands from his chest, he suddenly asked, "Nicholas can you answer my question?"

Leaning forward Nicholas replied, "Of course Monsieur, ask about anything."

After reflecting a little on the sonorousness of his question, the man finally asked, "Do you know what love is?"

A little confused, but not showing even a drop of his surprise, the old man said, “Of course I know Monsieur.  Love is the meaning of life. This is what we all live for.  After all, it is the one who loved or loves, still lives."

Sitting back in his leather chair, the man leaned over and sighed softly.  An imperceptible sadness flashed in his eyes.

"Sir Nicholas, so you have loved?" he asked without looking at him.

A faint blush adorned Nicholas's white face.

"Of course, Monsieur."

Without saying anything, the man closed his eyes and thunder filled the town.  A second later, heavy rain covered the graceful roofs of houses in one of the towns of France.

I think you are wondering who this very man is who asked the simplest and most difficult question in the whole wide world.

It was Monsieur Adelard Mars.  A man of about 30. A man who had everything in his hands.  Wealth, beauty, youth of spirit and body, mind, heart and soul of a great poet.

In his possession there were many lands, as well as many houses, and of course, many hearts of beautiful girls.  Although he probably did not achieve the last himself, it was rather a beautiful part of France who decided to give him their hearts.  And of course, with great hope to become his only one someday.

He himself came from a noble family of scholars and the best businessmen throughout the country.

Once, a long time ago, his great-great-grandfather decided to become a traveler.  Despite all the vagaries of life and his wife and children, he still hit the road.  To learn the unknown.  After all, the only thing that remained a secret for him was the world.  And now, crossing the seas and oceans, he looked straight and never back.  And perhaps this quality of his brought him that very happiness that is on earth - wealth.

A few months later, after several years of wandering, when he was standing on an uninhabited land full of all sorts of possibilities and fairy tales, he suddenly saw fruit right in front of him.  They were bananas, coconuts and other fruits that no one had ever seen.

Seeing bananas, he immediately understood what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.  And so, in the family of Monsieur Adelard, the door to wealth opened.

And it didn't stop there.  After all, after the banana business, Adelard's ancestors made many different discoveries.  These were the discoveries of lands, the invention of ingenious devices for everyday life, and even publishing houses that were inundated with work.  Shops, factories for the production of soap, perfumes and accessories for women, all this was done by the distant, close relatives of Adelard.  And there was not a single person in his family who did not do anything useful.  But the truth is, all those whom he called his grandfathers, grandmothers, had a brilliant mind and wisdom of all times.  These were unusual people who were open to the whole new world.

Born in the middle of luxury, young Adelard spent time with his parents from an early age.  Listening to the scientific reports of his mother, who had the smartest mind of all, he loved to ask her questions and she loved to answer them.  After all, young Adelard, from the earliest times, loved to ask questions, and the questions are not childish, but serious ones.

Noticing the same brilliant mind that was passed from generation to generation, his father was completely sure that his only son would reach unprecedented heights that none of his relatives had ever reached.

Immersed in worries, his father often left home, leaving young Adelard alone with his magical world, whose guardian was Sir Nicholas.  Then, of course, he was very young.  His whole life was ahead of his blue eyes.  But perhaps the only purpose of his life was not his life, but the life of young Adelard.

Creating entire worlds, opening up the vastness of the imagination, the two of them could completely forget about their position.  Nicholas forgot that he was just a servant, but Adelard forgot that he might already be sitting on the throne with a golden crown on his thick black hair.

Running past the windows, laughing and holding a kitten in his hands, young Adelard would make Nicholas chase after him.  The happy laughter that filled everything around was a kind of symbol that the great family of scientists and discoverers will always be happy.  Always.

Remembering the days from his childhood, Adelard often recalls that only moment when, lying on the soft and warm grass near his house, he felt the warmth of a cat and heard the gentle voice of his mother who was reading poetry or other books filled with heavy themes of life, but never about love.

Stroking his cat, he used to ask, "Mom, what is happiness?  You always tell me that happiness is in our blood.  But you never explained to me what it was."

To which his mother replied, "You are already quite an adult boy.  You know everything about the laws of nature and space, you know all the works of all the great philosophers by heart.  You know poetry, music, but don't know what happiness is?"

Sometimes, at such moments, she would  hug him tightly.  Her thin and delicate hands gripped the fabric of his shirt.

"You have to find out for yourself what it is.  But know one thing, happiness is an eternal guest in our home."

And so, forever pondering two questions, he reached his thirtieth birthday.

And even now, in his thirty years, he felt like a child in front of whom there was a whole new world and that he had to open it.

And like all people, he used to fall into melancholy and sadness.  And the only feeling that accompanied him everywhere was loneliness.

Being the heir of all those blessings and honors, he did not have to work at all.  All he did was just give orders to his subordinates and be able to control the work of factories.  In particular, he devoted most of his time to the soap and perfume factory.  And perhaps soap was the only thing that interested him the most.

To his regret, he did not look like his great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers. He didn't have the spark that was in them. He had only these two questions and a strong desire to find answers to them.

And even now, recalling those days from distant childhood, he stretched out his hand forward and closed his eyes.  He wanted to feel the warmth of his cat, the softness of the grass.  And of course carelessness.  Indeed, in youth, life always seems fresh and full of miracles.

Plunging into sadness, melancholy, anxiety, he was not at all a lazy person or a spoiled child.  Spending his days in his office, he skillfully managed the affairs of the factories and just as skillfully conducted small talk in the evenings.  He went to the theater, he talked to beautiful women, he was always in the spotlight.  And his snow-white smile made everything around him mischievous.  Like a star in the dark velvet of the universe.

But when he returned home, he took off this mask of a rich heir and a representative of the most noble family and, putting on his green robe, plunged into himself.  And so ladies and gentlemen, I declare to you that Monsieur Adelard, the richest, the most handsome, the cleverest and the kindest, was lost and unhappy.

Looking straight ahead, he slowly drank hot tea.  Taking small sips, he did not notice that the tea was already completely over and that it was already night.

The rain outside the window stopped.  Only the distant sounds of thunder were heard far above the town.

The light from the fire enveloped the large room in a mysterious atmosphere.  And the absence of any things in the room made it even more mysterious.

Two dark green high-backed armchairs, one small wooden table in the middle, and several vases of flowers were the only items in the spacious room.  Well, in the center, there was a soft carpet that had kept the past years.

Noticing that the cup was empty, he put it on the table, looking at the clock, he stretched lazily and just as lazily got up.

Taking one burning candle, he opened the door to his room and not wanting to close it, he walked to a large bed on which lay several thick volumes of books.  Shaking off his slippers and taking off his robe, he could see himself in a small mirror that hung in front of his bed.  Looking at himself, he smiled slightly. 

A slender body with long thin arms and legs stood exactly as if he were in the very center of attention.  The snow-white skin that retained its tenderness just shone in the darkness.  Curly black hair that touched his broad shoulders made him look sophisticated.  And what is most noticeable is his facial expression was the kindness. The expression of a person who has all the best qualities according to philosophers.  The expression of an unhappy person.  His big black eyes that are always full of questions, his straight nose, his scarlet lips that are always curved in a nervous smile, all this was the face of a person who has all the benefits that can be.  Although, not all the benefits.  He still did not have one thing to complete the collection of goods - love.

This small strong thing, alas, was not in his collection. It was a mystery to him as well as the very concept of happiness.

Covering himself with a warm blanket, he looked at his thin long fingers and rubbed his eyes with them.  Several tears covered his fingers.  Closing his eyes, he deeply wished that tomorrow would make his cold, untouched heart beat with notes of this very love, and thus his mind would open another door to the universe.