Seeds for Time
Phalgu River, India (the late 6th Century BC)

Raj awakens and discovers that Samantha has already departed. He checks the time. He has a few more hours before his last time trip. He rises and becomes aware of the mild headache that is creating pressure at the back of his head. He enters the bathroom and locates the aspirins. He decides that he will not report the headache to the doctor, as he knows that would mean a canceled trip.

After his shower he pauses in front of the mirror. Samantha had mentioned his weight loss last night. He had laughed it off but looking at his reflection, he takes notice of how thin his body has become. He begins dressing and checking over his traveling equipment.

The entire team is present as Raj enters the time chamber, “What, are we having a party?”

The Director answers, “Since this is the last trip, everyone wanted to be here.”

Samantha holds up a bottle of champagne, “And when you return safely and on time, we will all share a toast.”

The doctor performs his quick exam and clears Raj for his trip. All the others approach Raj to hug, shake hands and wish him well. Raj adjust his traveling cloak and steps on the altar. “Okay team, let’s ride this magic carpet one last time!”

Raj steps through the circle of light. He is in a wooded area near the river. He looks at the sun above. It must be about noon. The weather seems warm, but pleasant. The only sound he hears is the light wind and insects. He has often wondered if in collecting his seeds he has also gathered some insect eggs. He hopes so. Perhaps bugs will be another gift he saves for the future.

This time and place is the ancient land of his people. He is honored to stand here and thinks of his family. There are ancient stories from this place that are told in two major religions. To Raj, the place feels magical.

He spots a Bodhi tree nearby. It is loaded down with figs, which are the main item he wanted to collect on this trip. As he approaches the tree he experiences a sharp pain in his head. He removes two of the larger containers from his cargo pocket. As he is shoving figs into one of the containers his hand begins to tremble. “Oh no!” Raj is becoming dizzy. He quickly puts away the containers as he feels like he may pass out.

He kneels down on the ground beneath the tree. He feels winded, like he can’t catch his breath. His head is throbbing now. He leans back against the tree to support himself. He pulls his legs into a folded position, hoping this will give him balance while he recovers from this episode. He is dizzy and does not notice the blood dripping from his nose. And then the unthinkable occurs, Raj slips into unconsciousness.

Down the path the group travels in silence. They are a newly formed religious order. The few students follow their teacher to the next village. They are all wearing saffron colored robes. Most are males but a few females also travel with the group. All of the students have shaved their heads and have abandoned all material cares to follow their teacher.

The teacher stops on the path and holds up one hand. The students wait, thinking their teacher may say something profound, as he often does. The teacher leaves the path and begins to walk through the brush. The students follow him. He stops in front of a Bodhi tree. The students all now see the man who is sleeping beneath the tree.

A student ask, “Teacher, is he meditating, is he seeking enlightenment, or has he been hurt? Look, his nose is bleeding.”

The teacher studies the sleeping man in silence. He draws forth his alms bowl. The bowl still contains a few grains, nuts and small fruit, items gathered from the last village they had visited. He places the bowl in front of the sleeping man. “He is seeking.”

The teacher turns and heads back to the path. Each student brings forth their own alms bowls and remove some items and place them in the bowl in front of the sleeping seeker. As the students return to the path to follow their teacher, the bowl they leave behind is full to the brim.

In the dream Raj sees a great light traveling down a dirt path moving towards him. The light hovers near him and he is warmed by its glow. He hears voices in a strange language but the dream begins to darken. Consciousness returns and the dream fades. Raj awakens and is confused for a moment. He sees the sun’s place in the sky and immediately remembers where he is at and knows that several hours have passed since he arrived! He is in a panic but manages to stand up slowly.

He’s groggy but feels he can make it back to the entry point. He has to make it back. He checks his pockets. One container of Bodhi figs, which will be all for this last trip, he has to hurry back. He notices the wooden bowl there by the tree.

Someone must have seen him sleeping and left it for him. There are fruits and grains in the bowl. He looks around but sees no others. Raj thinks about what kind of people would leave a bowl of food for a man sleeping underneath a Bodhi tree. Compassionate people would do that. The people he descended from would do that. He picks up the bowl gratefully. He knows it is much too late and activates the time stream before he reaches the point of entry, he steps through immediately.