Crossing the river

EN- Short Story- Crossing the river

Podcast &Video clip at the bottom of the page

Information about this story:

A presentation of the research institute "Andishe Online Germany (AOG)"

Excerpt from the book "The Miracle of Guadalupe

Author: Faramarz Tabesh

Date of completion/publication of the original Persian version: March 26, 2023/March 26, 2024

Publication date of the English version: March 26, 2024

The following text has been translated from German into English by Faramarz Tabesh.

True love never ends and has no relief. (Master Elahi)

Crossing the River

On a fall evening, a young woman rushed towards a bench by the river with indescribable warmth and enthusiasm, alternating between walking and running. This bench witnessed the birth of a deep and genuine love between her and the man she loved more than her own life.

The man was supposed to come by boat from the other side of the river, where the young woman was waiting for him.

It was cold, and the wooden bench was even colder. The girl's heart was pounding, and time passed slowly.

As the weather grew darker, the agony of waiting turned into the poison of fear that her beloved would not come.

Gradually, cold autumn rain began to fall, wetting the girl's hair. The river was not compatible and became more turbulent by the minute.

The girl thought, "He can't come," because she knew that no boat would cross the river in this situation. This terrible thought increased his fear, and she whispered, "O angels, what are you there for?"

A few minutes later, inflamed love and the desperation of not meeting her beloved forced the young woman to make a crazy decision.

Yes, she decided to jump into the water and swim to the other side of the river. She knew she might never reach the other shore, but the will of true love was more significant than the river's waves.

After making this decision, the woman called out loudly into the stormy, wet, dark, and eerie atmosphere: "O angels, what are you doing?" And with the last word of her sentence, she jumped into the dark and raging river.

...........................

The waves' force and the water's power crush the young woman and sweep her away.

The woman, who had only one thought in her head, struggled against the water's pressure and tried to get to the other side of the river, but fate was not on her side.

" O angels, what are your duties?"

In the middle of these thoughts, the water hit her with full force on a boulder sticking out of the river, leaving part of her slender body numb.

With all her strength, increased by the intensity of love, the woman struggled to reach the shore, not caring about the fatal blow she had suffered.

The rain became heavier, and the river's waves played the symphony of death. The woman thought: "Damn!"

In this life-and-death struggle, just as she thought she was falling into a deep sleep, the woman hit a tree trunk that had been uprooted by an autumn storm perhaps an hour earlier and thrown into the river. The impact was painful but also encouraging.

The young woman clung to the tree's far-reaching branches and breathed fresh air for a few minutes, but her body had lost warmth. Her eyes were clouded, and she saw things blurred, so she quickly lost her stamina, but she felt no pain.

In this situation, only one voice kept sounding in her ears, "O angels, what are you doing? What are you doing?"

The raging and unruly stream knew no mercy and created black and terrible waves with great intensity and roar, devouring everything and rushing forward like a dragon.

The night was eerie and dark; however, faint, no light shone through the dark clouds. The cold was raging and, with this menacing music, played its part in the eerie philharmonic performance of this piece.

It was as if the whole world had conspired against the innocent girl, and no angel seemed able to help in this battle. Time was running out.

After many hours, the night finally slowly drew its bed together and hid in the last corner of the west as if the rays of light, albeit weak, would overcome the darkness and drive them to the opposite side. Meanwhile, it seemed as if the crazy river, tired of creating new waves, was calming down a little.

.................................................

The following day, after the previous night's heavy rain, the fall sun began to shine, revealing the previous night's events.

On the bank of the river, the body of a young woman could be seen with a crumpled body, damp black hair, and a contented smile.

The passers-by, who looked at the lifeless body with curiosity and a little horror, could not make out the color of the eyes, as one had disappeared and the other was closed.

"O angels, in what corner are you hiding?"

During this astonishing spectacle, the hand of fate had created another scenario on the opposite bank, where a young woman in love had plunged into the river the night before to meet her lover.

This scenario determined the role and fate of the other actor in this story.

People gathered around the corpse of a man whose hair was covered in clots of blood. The flood had broken the young man's left leg; the bone had split the skin and was sticking out, his body was covered in mud, and the dirty hand of violence had smashed both his eyes.

Some people knew this young man and knew that he lived on the other side of the river, where the body of a young woman now lay.

In the depths of the night's darkness

They gave me the elixir of life

(Hafez)

.....................................

At the same time as the last scene of this scenario was being played, in another place, in a parallel world, in a desired environment that was neither cold nor warm, in a space full of freedom and peace, there was a man and a woman who were neither young nor old.

Pleasant music was playing, but no musician was to be seen. Beautiful, breathtaking light filled the surroundings, but there was no sun. A gentle, uplifting breeze was blowing, not a wind but the movement of an angel bringing hope. It was delicate, kind, gentle, and light.

There was a love between them that was not earthly but angelic.

Bright butterflies hopped mischievously from one branch of wheat to another, and a strange scent spread that was constantly changing.

There was no night, darkness, raging, wild river, and no fear of not seeing him.

The cause of love is different from all other causes

Love is the astrolabe of the mysteries of God

(Rumi)