posted on Apr, 12 2005 @ 07:37 PM
The Last Elder of Atlantis sat quietly on his favorite bench in the hills over looking the city. Warm spring air hushed by as if to respect his
solitude, The sun set slowly towards the far horizon. The sadness in his heart was not of regret, but the sadness that inevitably comes with
goodbyes.
He knew that by sunrise the residents of this magnificent city would be well into their journey home. The city itself would be no more and he would
be alone with the true knowledge of this nights events.
“Master?” The voice came from behind, slightly to his right, yet he knew instantly whose voice it was.
Turning to face his old friend Jaron, He motioned to the seat next to himself, a welcome to an old friend and a chance for a final farewell. Jaron
took the seat offered and looked deeply into his old friends eyes.
“Tell me the rumors are not true,” He began, then stopped. He could not go on with the thoughts that were forming in his mind.
“I suppose all rumors are true somewhere, at sometime.” The Elder replied.
“The people are saying you have left Atlantis for the last time. They are saying that you won’t be going with us when we leave this night. This
cannot be true.” Jaron had more to say but the Elder motioned with his arm as if to dismiss his thoughts, so he stopped.
After a moment of pondering the elder began to speak as kindly as he could to his friend.
“I am eleven hundred years old.” He began. “ As an elder I have the right to choose the time and place of my passing to the next level. Surely
you wouldn’t deny me such an honor.”
“I would not.” Jaron replied, “I would just choose a different way. When your people have left for the stars and the city has crumbled into the
earth, you will be alone. With out the power of this place you will fall victim to the balances of this world. You will age, you will grow feeble and
you will slowly die. You must choose another passing.”
“The choice I have made did not come easily.” The Elder replied. “I’ve known this day would come for over two hundred years. My decision is
final.”
“Once the gate has closed and the city fallen, there will be no way for you to change your mind. Even if you did no one would be able to come for
you.” Jaron’s voice was barely a whisper, as if he felt shame in the very conversation itself.
“This I know.” The Elder replied. “It’s one of the very reasons I made the decision.”
Rising to his feet the oldest of the Antlantians appeared to be no more then his mid thirties when compared to human beings. Still strong and agile
in body, only in his mind had existence become a weary burden. He lifted the ragged bag that held the only possessions he would keep in this world and
walked slowly towards the path that would lead him away.
Jaron was quickly at his side. “You realize you can never tell your human friends about Atlantis?” He asked.
“I can never tell them the secrets of Atlantis.” The Elder replied. “But I can let them know that we once were. There is a difference.”
“And to those you leave behind? What do I tell them about this decision you have made? There will be questions when we get home and you are not
among us.”
Motioning towards the sun that now set low on the horizon the master replied. “Tell them I fell in love with the way the sun sets in this
world.”
Jaron could not believe the words he had heard. “You want me to tell them you made this decision on something as trivial as a primitive planets
sunsets, something that is subject to the whims of the weather? How can I say that?”
“I wasn’t talking about the weather,” He replied, “I really wasn’t even talking about the sun.”
With a smile the last elder of Atlantis, Plato, turned away from all he had known and began the journey on the path to his own mortality.
Wupy