a novel by Anosh Irani
EXCERPT
Prologue.
IN THE BEGINNING there was a little boy. He was alone in the universe and everything was dark and quiet.
One day he saw a tree, very far away. Then it vanished and everything was dark again. Being simple and humble by nature, the boy became scared and wished for strength. In his heart, he felt warm; the warmth spread all over his being.
“What did my vision mean?” the boy asked. He waited for an answer, but none came.
“I must make the place of the tree like its many limbs,” he decided. “Let them branch out to become the roads of the world. Let none of them ever be cut off.”
He made out the place and its tree out of the distance, and waited for a long time. He observed this place during his wait, and was not happy with what he saw. So he flew to it.
There, he saw another forked thing that he had created. It was like a walking tree, and he called it Man. Man was bent over, entangled in his own embrace.
“You use your limbs wrongly,” said the boy. “They are meant to embrace others, not yourself.”
The boy freed Man of his own clasp. “Now use your limbs well,” he said.
The boy saw another form and named it Woman. He realized there were many forms gathered there. He named them all: Tiger, Snake, Smoke, Tree, Fire, Soil, Water, and Wind. The boy flew above them all because he could.
“This is the place of the tree with its many limbs,” he told the forms. “You must use them well, and let none of them be cut off.”
All the forms were confused.
“These limbs branch out to become the roads of the world,” the boy explained.
Smoke was still unclear.
“In life, there are three main paths,” the boy explained again. “The first one is crooked. It means that you are simply pretending to come towards me. Only the sly and devious shall take this path.”
Hearing this, Snake slithered away, dragging Soil with it. Tree needed Soil to live, so it followed.
“Next is the straight path. It leads only to me. It is very long and few will complete it. There is nothing to do along the way, except pray.”
In truth, the road that led right to the boy was the most wondrous of all roads. But the boy had no wish to present it as such. This was a test. But none of the forms took that road.
“The third path has the possibility of flying, of tigers, of flying tigers,” said the boy. "It means anything can happen."
It was Woman who first walked on the third path. She needed things to make her happy. So she took Tiger to ride on, Fire to keep warm, Water to wash her hair, and Wind to blow through it. Smoke followed because Fire went.
The boy was upset with these choices. By not taking the straight path, the forms had cut off a limb. Only Man was left, so the boy turned to him.
“Go away,” said Man. He motioned the boy away with a flick of the wrists. And once again Man was entangled in his own embrace.
The boy told him, “I can see what is going to happen here. There will be magic, poverty, thievery, music, pollution, dancing, murder, lust, and very little prayer.”
“Leave me alone,” said Man. “Promise me that you will never come here again.”
“First tell me what this place is called,” said the boy. “So I remember never to visit it, for it is no longer the place of the tree.”
“Bombay,” said Man. “There is no other like it.”
“Thank God,” said the boy.
It was then that the boy realised who he truly was. He kept his promise never to return.