It has not been easy arranging this get together. If anything it is both improbable and no doubt very risky. In retrospect it may be quite ill considered. But, here we are. Me, in one chair, a small, frisky older man, and across from me a growing tornado hovering above the other chair.
And so we debate:
“What brings you here to cast about in such a destructive and indiscriminate manner? What’s your purpose, other than to show us you can rip things out of their mooring, cause havoc and nightmare, that is what you are allllll about, isn’t it?”
“Look at you… Among the very breed destroying this planet more readily than hundreds of my kind ever could! Don’ cast the first stone human. Your glass house speaks for itself!”
“Clever, tornado, clever, but excuse me, where is your heart?”
“I have an eye, that’s suitable. I have an eye and I have finite time here. Why don’t you just get out of the way? I don’t touch down by choice. I am made from the heavens. I have this time, and you have a path to a much safer ground…”
“Holier than thou, tornado, really? Let me share with you that you are disruptive, hideous, uncaring. You are a killer. You bring nothing good, not even close!”
The tornado rose up, its anger making its fury even more intense. The human just rocked back and laughed, laughed in the face of the tornado.
Then both of them, at the same time, began screaming at each other. Screaming. Even above the thunderous noise and disarray caused by the tornado you could hear each of them.
“I belong here, and I have as much right to be here as you do!”
“Deadly and ugly that’s all you are. You are a behemoth of evil. You have no purpose other than to take what others have worked so hard to have. You are, in a split second, a knife in the heart of the earth. You are death, death, tornado, death!”
They grappled. They got caught up together. Without flinching the human kicked, punched, slapped, protested, gave out as much anger and venom as possible, and bled his soul into the funnel, poisoning it at every turn until the tornado began to falter, began to wither until in agony he shouted to the sky: “Save me, I am only here briefly, save me!”
The tornado met with a decidedly indifferent sky.
The human found himself on the ground, crumpled and worn, but still in one piece. He shook his head, tried to clear his eyes, tears flowing like rain on a very damp afternoon. He saw all the harm the tornado had brought, even in such a very brief period of time. He mourned at the loss he saw, of trees, animals, homes, gardens, cars, store fronts….
Wait… he may have seen a child lying still. Wait, she is sitting up and looking around. Did she say something?
He forced himself to get over to her. “Are you ok? Are you ok?”
She took his hand, blinked several time, and said very softly: “I will never be defeated. I will always rise, from any rubble. I am a child. We will always rise, always. You should know that sir, you should never forget it! The child will also rise.”
