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“Yes, I did,” he smiled grinningly.
“My job was to know the unknown. I knew too much and saw too much. I read, studied, tasted and heard too much. I analyzed, pondered, and turned it all into a form of instruction. I am many years old, and Isa, the third Supreme in my lifetime,” Giuseppe said.
“What have you been doing, anyway?” the tulip was confused.
“I taught, I explained, I instilled, I was an outsider’s opinion, if I may say so.”
“Opinion?” The young man was surprised.
“Yes, I was the advisor and tutor to the Supreme Ones,” Giuseppe answered.
“The Supreme Ones? Why didn’t you tell me about it before?” Joshua asked excitedly.
“Hee-hee-hee! It would have spoiled our friendship then,” replied the old man.
“Not at all! But why were you appointed to look after the garden? Why did your business become archaic, since it is very important,” the young tulip pestered the old man with questions.
“Isa decided that he would educate his successor himself. It was his right. He felt that the Supreme One should not seek answers on the side,” Giuseppe replied, stroking the kitty that continued to lie on his lap.
“Isa asks God for advice, isn’t that the highest knowledge?” Joshua asked.
“You’re right… You’re right, son,” the old mentor said with regret as he looked at his young friend, “I should get some rest. It’s been a long day, and I think I’ll head home.”
“But I haven’t asked you about the final exam yet,” the young man was surprised by Giuseppe’s reaction.
“We’ll reschedule it for the next day. Now I have to go. Have a good day, Joshua, have a good day…
“Today’s lesson topic is medical emergencies,” the mentor began, calling for everyone’s attention. “You are old enough to learn how to help each other in an emergency. This applies not only to friends and family, but also to anyone who needs your help. Let’s start with our island’s biggest and most serious problem, sunstroke. As I hope you know, our daytime sunshine brings down on us a merciless radiation capable of killing anyone, so sunstroke is a very dangerous thing! But we have learned how to deal with it as well as with its consequences. First of all, we made a law requiring our citizens to wear wide brimmed hats and lightweight suits made of special thermo fabric, which protect against the sun’s rays. And secondly, we have remedies to help quickly restore the functions of the body. But what should we do if a stroke does happen? For a better example, let’s play out a scene that’s closer to the real thing. Joshua, Hugo, please come to me”.
The named students stood up and approached their mentor.
“Let’s assume that I am the sunbeam that struck the careless Hugo, who for some reason wasn’t wearing his headdress, right out of the sky. Bang!” showed the mentor, conventionally depicting a sunbeam with a hammer. Hugo falls down and has an unpleasant sensation. “Come on, fall! Clearly this boy needs help. What will his friend do?”
The mentor stared at Joshua questioningly. When he saw that Joshua wasn’t doing anything, he continued with a look of reproach, “Oh, Joshua, you must put the man in the shade, free him from tight clothing like belts, suspenders, etc., give him water, and cool him down either directly or indirectly by wetting his clothes or any other cloth.”
Joshua unbuttoned his pants and pulled out Hugo’s belt, and he resisted vigorously. There was an uproar, and the whole class watched with interest to see how it would end. The mentor tapped the table with his pointer, and continued, “Quiet, quiet! That’s enough, we get it… But most importantly, you need to contact the healers immediately. Trust in God, but make no mistake, remember this. The Almighty will help us in everything else, but it is the responsibility of each of us to help our neighbor. Let us thank our actors, who played their parts very naturally. A visual example is always better remembered,” grinned the mentor.
The mentor’s name was Richard. He was not only a practicing physician but also a professor at the academy. In addition to his medical studies, he taught children the basics and explained to them about certain diseases, so that from a young age he could instill in the tulips the rule, in a healthy body, a healthy spirit. In addition to theory, Tulips took more difficult practical classes. On them the young people learned how to provide first aid for fractures, wounds, fainting, animal bites, insect bites and much more. Richard was one of the most respected people on the island, and he enjoyed the unquestioned authority of parents and children alike, who always listened attentively to his lectures.
…“Love can never be without sadness… I loved you; love can still be… If it weren’t for you…” Hugo looked at the ceiling, agonizingly searching for the original lines for his poem.
“Leave your poems at the threshold of the dining room,” said Alba sternly.
“I am a free citizen, I can do as I please,” he said.
“Hans says that before meals we should concentrate and say a prayer, not some frivolous poetry. I’ll tell him that and he won’t feed you anymore,” Alba said.
“That’s all right, my friend will soon be his apprentice, so I won’t be without food,” said Hugo smugly, and winked at Joshua.
The friends sat at the dinner table during a long break.
“You haven’t said much today, Joshua, what’s wrong?” Alba asked, noticing her friend’s serious mood.
“Me? No, nothing’s wrong. Just thinking,” said the young tulip.
“Tell us what’s worrying you?” Hugo asked.
“It’s the same. I don’t know what I want to do myself,” Joshua answered.
“If you don’t know what you want, Isa will find the right place for you,” Alba said.
“That’s for sure, by the way, have you been to see him yet?” Hugo asked.
“No. When? I was with you the whole time,” Joshua said.
“The weak seek the cause, the strong the opportunity,” said Hugo in the tone of a mentor.
“That’s right. It’s all excuses, that’s all,” Alba added.
“Calmness, friends, only calmness. I said I would settle this matter, and I will. Have I ever broken my word?” Joshua said firmly.
“Hmm! It’s true, what’s not there is not there,” Hugo replied with a shake of his head.
“I’m sure you’re right,” said Alba shortly.
“Actually, you’d better watch yourself, don’t tell me how to live my life,” Joshua said angrily.
“That’s called friendship, you, ungrateful tulip,” scolded his friend Hugo.
“After saying that, never come to me for help again,” said Alba resentfully.
“Honey, he did not mean it, it was a bad joke. Now apologize to my woman at once,” ordered Hugo.
“Alba, I was only joking, why? I’m sorry, I didn’t think you’d be offended by what I said,” Joshua said.
“You should think about what you’re saying. Don’t make me your wife, that’s for the Supreme and only him to decide,” said Alba, pointing one by one at her friends.
“Do you understand? Hue-go,” Joshua said, stressing his friend’s name.
“Come on,” said Hugo.
“By the way, my father advised me to look at Alba as a possible option for my life together. He said he would get off my back then, and that was very important. Don’t be so sure, dear friend,” Joshua smirked.
“Ahh, you, too?” exclaimed Alba.
“Well, that’s it, the matter is closed! Soon Isa will settle our disputes, and then we’ll see,” said Hugo.
“I’m going to go and serve in the Temple. Then we’ll see how you sing,” Alba said, teasing the boys.
“What’s the matter with you,” Hugo said.
“You don’t get this kind of girl so easily,” Joshua smiled back.
The tulips ate lunch for a while longer, chuckled and joked, and then, refreshed, went on with their day of study.
After finishing his studies and quickly gathering his books and notebooks, Joshua decided not to go straight home, but rather, on his father’s advice, to talk to Giuseppe about his marriage. The old man was, as usual, sitting on a bench in the garden, and Joshua cautiously sat down with him.
“When I was young, people chose who they would live with, but the change took place before my eyes,” Giuseppe said.
“We weren’t told it used to be like that,” the young tulip replied.
“Phew, there’s a lot of things they don’t tell you about what used to be. If you’ve noticed, I’m the last of my generation, the rest are…”
Giuseppe stopped in mid-sentence.
“In the garden?” Joshua said for the old man.
“That’s right. They’ve all been in the garden for a long time,” replied the wise man with a sigh.
“If it was so good before, why did the Supreme Ones change it?” the young man asked.
“It is impossible to say what is good and what is bad here. Everything, one way or another, changes and becomes suitable for its time. The old generation didn’t understand the young, the young didn’t understand the old, so change has come to erase this contradiction,” Giuseppe answered.
“But you were more comfortable living in the past, weren’t you?” Joshua asked.
“You’re right! In fact, I’m much more comfortable living in the past now than in the present. Life doesn’t bring me much more than that. I’ve seen and experienced a lot, and I know for sure that I will leave this world without regret,” Giuseppe smiled.
“You talk about death that easily?”
“Of course, I do! You’ll live to be my age, and you’ll look at your life the same way, with no regrets about losing it. You’re on the threshold of adulthood, just entering it. I’ve lived it, so I don’t need to worry about anything, to change anything, or to strive for anything,” the old man answered.
“What about the inheritance?” The young man asked perplexedly.
“Inheritance? That’s a very good question, my son,” the old man thought about it.
“Surely you want to leave something behind? Not just a memory,” continued the young tulip.
“Hee-hee-hee-hee! Well done!” Giuseppe laughed. “I have made many mistakes in my life, and our Founders had as many, and I think that our existence here is meaningless. No one learns from other people’s mistakes, everyone strives to make his own, so that year after year we see the same things. We don’t aspire to anything; we have no goal…”
“Meaningless how?! What are you saying, Giuseppe?”, the young man exclaimed excitedly, stunned by the old man’s words.
“We live in a closed world, we do not dream of the stars, we do not even want to know what is over there, on the other side…”
“But there’s hell over there! Can a righteous man go there?!”
“That’s God’s will, son, and I don’t grumble.” Joshua was completely confused.
He shook his head, and, out of harm’s way, returned to the subject of marriage as a solution to his domestic problems.
“Should I go to God, or should I listen to Isa’s decision?” Joshua asked.
“I think it’s better to think with your head and be a man first of all,” the old man answered, raising his hands to help the young man up from the bench. “Live your life, look around more, study the world, study and analyze everything you see, and then you will understand more than anyone else.”
Giuseppe took Joshua by the shoulders, stroked them, and went home, thanking the tulip for the conversation.
Joshua remained standing in the garden, looking after the wise old man.
“You’ve been reminiscing a lot about the past,” Alba said.
“What else could it be? Giuseppe says that our future is in the past,” Joshua answered.
The friends were sitting by the cliff watching the sunset after all their business.
“We have to ask Anne-Marie that question,” Hugo said.
“What kind of question? Joshua has a lot of them,” Alba asked.
“Well, about the future…”
“To do what? Another lecture on our freethinking? No, thank you,” Alba said.
“Yes, I don’t want to be called a troublemaker,” Joshua said.
“Well, then, let’s enjoy the finer things. And I’m not talking about you right now, Alba, I’m talking about the sunset,” Hugo smiled.
The friends were reflective today. Alba sighed and said, “I’ll give in to the sunset…”
The friends sat down, leaning against a thick fallen tree, and watched in silence the triumph of farewell to the sun, which illuminated the floor of the sky with magical light. The sun reluctantly touched the ocean, scattering thousands of sparks on the waves, and just as reluctantly disappeared. Darkness set in, and only sometime later the stars lit up on the velvet dome of the firmament.
“We’ve seen it, and that’s okay. A little of the good stuff,” Hugo said at last, rising to his feet first.
“I think I’ll stay a little while longer, I’m the closest one to go anyway,” Joshua answered his friend on the outstretched palm of his hand.
“Then don’t stay up too late; you know it’s forbidden to walk after sunset, and it’s dangerous. If you trip in the woods, no one will find you,” Alba said one last time.
“What a grim future you foretold for him. Look for answers in the past, my friend,” Hugo smiled.
Alba and Hugo waved and disappeared into the darkness, leaving Joshua alone.
He was more serious than ever, but he was smiling and happy as he looked up at the stars.
He turned around but his friends were no longer in sight, and the light from the settlement windows was far away. Joshua sat for a while longer, pondering both the past and the future, and the academy, and… himself. But it was time to pack. He stood up, shook himself off, picked up the tuba from the ground, and put it on and began to fasten the strap.
At that moment, unpleasant sounds began to come from the dead earth. That’s what happens when the ocean is quiet; over the water, any sound can be heard for miles. The young tulip did not pay much attention to them, but remembering Giuseppe’s words, he thought about it and decided to listen. He tried to make out the indistinct cries of the martyrs, and suddenly he heard the familiar words, “try to catch it!” and “damned!” What wonders!!! He moved closer to the edge and listened carefully. And again, he understood the cry, “creatures!” Strange, of course, but what else could one hear from hell…
He felt uncomfortable, because he had never heard such screams before, considering them to be nothing more than the noises of hell. He stared at the dead earth, which at that moment glowed with another flash, hoping to spot someone alive, as suddenly the ground moved from under his feet and he plummeted off the cliff. Joshua tried to grab onto the rocks, the grass, and hold on with his hands, but it was as if the shoreline didn’t want to help him, and the grass clipped, the ground crumbled, and he finally fell into darkness.
He flew down, hitting the cliffs, and the heavy tuba only hastened his fall.
