“So, what do you think? Is there a happy ending in sight or is it all going end bad? Go on, you can tell old Gibil what you think. He knows how to keep a secret. Gibil never concerns himself with outcomes; gambling, ach who wins but the book makers? No. I like to follow, to observe and work after the furor has died down. Before; it is too hectic for my old bones; my heart cannot take the daily dramas any more. So I sit and watch like a television program; tuning in for the latest updates and tragedies. Tell an old man, what do you think is going to happen?”
“Cough – O my heart and bones are old and creaking and leaking. Gibil needs to be seated on his bony behind heh heh heh. Come with me; there is a bench over by the lamp post, it gives off the most serene shade of light. You can see fairy dust floating on a still night. Heh he- I might be old but I can believe in fairies can I not? Gibil sees your point and will not act the foolish old duffer, but look around you youngster. Look at everything you cannot see and tell an old man that you know and see all. Gibil doesn’t and he is old old old.”
“Don’t be so sure of yourself; what do we know eh? There is only so much time, only so much knowledge you can accumulate. When do we have enough? When do we say to ourselves ‘I now know everything I need to know’? We do not youngster, we do not. Only a fool binds himself to destiny in such a way. To declare ‘I know everything’ is to be the Hanged Man; stuck to only the world you know – a small and stunted place. Gibil knows but does not know. Heh heh heh I like riddles and games. Word games are good for your brain, yes? Keeps you young at head.”
“Stuck in a pre-dic-a-ment. Not a great place to be. And disaster does love company, one leads to the next and so on. I love company and create disaster, no coincidence HEH- cough. Soon all this around us, it will be washed away by the tide. There is always water after fire, calm after storm, like a man following food eh? Soon it will all be cleaned away. Like everything; it is always fleeting, nothing on Earth lasts forever even the world herself. One day she will go “Boom!” and disappear into the long night of space and time.”
“I must apologise for Gibil’s meanderings, I am always like this late at night, beneath the fairy light. Do not look at me like that, I am your senior! There are fairies here, but you have to look close, the dust hides them as they jump from atom to atom. Look closer you will see them. It is good to keep preoccupied, to procrastinate. But, Gibil must leave you now. He must bow out and watch the mess from afar. It is better to watch from above sometimes, see the bigger picture. I see you youngster, I know you. But Gibil is but a humble cleaner and this is not his affair.”
“Yes, after this cigarette I leave you in the capable hands of better and bigger folk than me. Not old men who creak and leak but those who are vital and young – well, for now. Or perhaps having the wisdom of the old but still able to act when Gibil cannot. Or will not. Heh heh heh. There is still drama to unfold and speeches to be spoken. It will be most entertaining I am sure! Let us sit a while in peace, enjoy the night air. Perhaps see if we can catch the fairies, eh? Goodnight for now youngster, may the gods watch your path.”
To Chapter Sixty-Seven – The Mischief Maker and the Three Traders of Ur
The Angry Farmer 