How Henry Stopped Time — A Very Short Story
“Well, that sounds like a neat idea, but it’s potentially dangerous. Very dangerous.”
“Here comes the humanitarian Henry. I know what you are going to say,” said Charles, “you are going to say the one solution for any problem is: meditation.” He said it knowing his best friend Henry would do anything but agree to it.
To his surprise, Henry nodded: “Indeed. Meditation IS the solution.”
“How so?”
“Meditation stops time. Or to put it closer to the truth, it enables one to live above the scheme of time. I am sure you know what I mean.”
“Pretty much.” Charles paused an instant to find his words, “but, what goes beyond the time grid is the spirit… while the body is still living in the physical domain within the time grid, which means one cannot really escape from aging.”
“It’s true. But remember that the body being slow doesn’t mean it doesn’t react to the transformation happening at the spiritual level. It has to, and it must, obey the commands from the soul.”
“Right. We can waste some time to save time. It’s all relative…” Charles nodded pensively, but the next second he switched on his mischievous smile, “Meditation is probably the safest action any human being can take. But tell me, what did you find so dangerous in the idea of a sexually and emotionally precocious girl? I’m not talking about a twelve year old licking her lollipop for a few extra cents from her horny daddy. I’m talking about an intelligent young woman having the ability to extract nourishment from every past event in life to grow herself and mature at a faster than average speed.”
“A twenty year old with the brain of a forty?”
“Yes, for example.”
“That’s still dangerous.” Henry fumbled out a cigarette from nowhere and stroke a fire. He squinted at his companion who’s chewing his words, and explained, “by ‘dangerous’ I don’t mean getting in jail for child molestation. By dangerous I mean that it’s dangerous for any man who falls into the trap set by such a creature.”
“Let’s assume she’s not malicious.”
“That’s the most dangerous case.”
“Old Henry, you have some repressed desire to deal with here.”
“Well maybe it’s not so repressed any more.” Henry frowned slightly while blowing out the smoke. “Live dangerously, as they say, is actually the safest way to life. But it becomes dangerous again if you realize it too late.”
Charles made an obvious effort to sound light: ”Henry, now I know why you got so busy lately. Have you met someone?”
“A student in my class… but why do we have to put it in that way? ‘Meet someone’. Ain’t I meeting her in class anyway? What’s wrong with sharing something more than the course material after class? No, there’s nothing wrong. I refuse to take any old rubbish like that.”
“Wow, Henry Henry! This is the Henry I’ve never seen! “
At the moment Sandy’s yelling from downstairs: “Dinner’s ready, gentlemen!” Sandy was Henry’s third daughter, mother of five children at her bouncing fifties.
“I’ve got to do more of it. Meditation.” Henry mumbled while both of them turned to find their walking sticks.
(End)
