Zanzibar had reached the ocean...

Picnik Fractal in neon effect by Gemma Wiseman ~ created from the surf at Gunnamatta, Mornington Peninsula
~

Zanzibar had reached the ocean...What a giant...
As far as Zanzibar could remember
There was no rival to its sheer power and strength
Waves cascading on waves
Sheer power and strength

Zanzibar seated himself upon the rock-cliff

His soul was rivetted to the spectacle before him
Rolling and changing waves
Grasping the shore
Trying to drag it out to watery depths
Waves
Pounding the rocks
Looking for clefts of weakness

Seagulls serenading the hunt for fish

Time slipped by

The sun setting
Creating a multi-coloured sheen upon the water

Zanzibar noticed a sudden break in the surface of the water

A dolphin swimming toward him
It's body a glistening grey
It's snout breaking the water
And laughing for any to hear

Upon the dolphin's head
There shone a star
With an unnatural glow

Zanzibar's interest was piqued

The dolphin came close to shore and spoke

Zanzibar had seen many different sights
But this was a bit unsettling
Hail magician
How brook the tides of human nature said the dolphin

Zanzibar could not believe his ears
What a complex question coming from a dolphin
He did not know how to reply
So he sat there dumbstruck...
Does man still tempt the divine wrath of the gods
I was with you
But my heart could no longer restrain the the pains of mankind
I could not bear the pain of love for the soul anymore

The dolphin said this as he circled in the water
Always with one eye upon Zanzibar

Again Zanzibar found himself speechless
Here was a dolphin with a star that shone on its forehead
It spoke and questioned the higher aspirations of man

Zanzibar managed a wry smile and a few clumsy words
It's getting colder with the sun going down
I believe I will have to be going shortly
The dolphin came upright on its tail in the water

I command you to stay
I have not talked to any man for ten years
And I need to know what is happening
Zanzibar kept his wry smile in place
He did not take orders easily
And a fixed smile is better than sour words

But Zanzibar did manage to say politely
If you tell me your story
Then I will stay and listen
So the dolphin started telling Zanzibar
Of how he was once a young wizard
Who endured indescribable anguish
His greatest torment was the fevered mind and twisted soul of man
His greatest quest was to seek the temple of light

In the form of a young wizard he found the temple of light
And then...
Today
He is a beautiful creature of the sea
A dolphin

And that is my story
Now answer my questions

Zanzibar really did smile this time
He would not be commanded
And never said he would answer any questions

Zanzibar of course had been to this temple of light too

From a small black velvet pouch
Zanzibar drew out his treasure
A temple of light crystal
He had learned how to use it in many ways
Especially as a measure of truth

The crystal leapt from Zanzibar's hands
And blended with the light on the dolphin's head

For a moment the dolphin shivered
And then a husky voice
Emerged from the dolphin

The wizard came to us
Misguided
Hurt
And a dragon to all he met
Changing him into a dolphin changed his personality
He is now kind
Gentle
And tries to be understanding
Generally
His only quest is the ocean depths
He even seems to enjoy investigating new worlds
Do not hurt him
He is an innocent
The connecting light dissolved
And once again Zanzibar held the crystal in the palm of his hand

For a few moments
Zanzibar stared out to the blackening ocean waters
He seemed entranced by the sounds of the ocean swell
And perhaps the odd glimpse of white frothy foam

But then
Suddenly
He remembered the dolphin

The dolphin was no longer close to shore
But gambolling its way out to sea

Zanzibar waved
And smiled
And walked away...


Moral #1 ~ In each of us there is good
Sometimes it just needs a little charging
Moral #2 ~ Dolphins don't talk do they?

~ 25th September, 1997