It was 17 years now since the militians had torn him away from his protected state. At first he hadn't realized what that meant. They told him about guns and tanks and he listened. It was not till much later that it dawned on him with terrible finality that they had doomed him.
Until then, he had not known of these threats. He hadn't even known that he was safe from them as long as he remained ignorant of them. He only found out when the bombs stopped avoiding him. When food stopped finding its way to him. When the simple fact of knowing, and the seed of fear it had planted, toppled his life into a battle for survival he wasn't prepared for.

As Aysaur looked into the black-out night, as reddened by the blasts now as it was in that distant time, he remembered how it had happened.
The militians had caught him while he was playfully chasing a rat among the arid crests of the mountain. They roughly dragged him to a place where they were encamped. A sour-looking man had assailed him with questions. What was he doing there? Where did he come from? Was someone with him? Aysaur had answered in all innocence, without understanding but without fear, as he did not yet know there was such a thing as fear abroad in the world. The man had noted this and stopped his questioning to regard him even more sourly.
"You're one of them, aren't you?"
"'Them?' Who do you mean?" the boy asked honestly. The man's face had grown crimson.
"If you don't know, it means you are!" He had spat the words with surprising hatred.
"Gather round, boys." The men drew close around them. One of them gave Aysaur a sad look and turned away… Then they began talking. By the time they let him go, laughing cruelly in his wake, his head was buzzing with horrors such as he had never imagined.

He found out later that what the men had done to him was forcibly pull him to their side. As he discovered, humanity was divided into two clans: those who knew, and those who didn't. The latter naturally had no idea that such a division existed. Their innocence was a protection that seemed to be destructible only through another's deliberate effort. No danger could harm them; they couldn't even see it. Were the earth to crack under their feet, they would still be spared, both physically and mentally. So they went through life with no fear and indeed, nothing to fear. The other, vulnerable faction looked upon the loss of their own invulnerability with horror, and at the unaware with mixed feelings. Most desperately envied them. Some drove themselves mad to forget what they knew. Some refused to be the only ones in danger and, out of spite, forced the others into awareness. Some on the contrary did all they could to protect them.

Seventeen years… During that time Aysaur, who had managed to survive, had had ample time to have children of his own. He and his dear wife Narna had wishfully named them Medi, "safe", and Arasshin, "shield". Like many parents, they did everything to keep them ignorant. Times were unstable. There were no guarantees. At any time a stray shell could blast their home to pieces. An unsuspected landmine could find itself on the car's way, or a sniper shoot his random bullets at them. In this world where no real shelter existed, the children must be allowed their shield. Nobody knew for sure, but perhaps their enviable state extended a protection to those who kept close to them, as well. This particular point troubled Aysaur greatly. He did not know exactly what to expect. Would danger spare the whole family as long as the children were ignorant? Or would the children simply survive while himself and his wife were killed? If they did, would their shield of ignorance remain intact or would it be shattered by the sudden loss of their parents? What if they suddenly found themselves both parentless and shieldless in the middle of a reality whose hostility they knew nothing about? Many a night Aysaur had tossed and turned in bed debating whether educating his children in that regard would be to increase their chances of survival or to crush a priceless birth gift they could never recover. He desperately needed to know, but there was no one to ask.

The other families in their circle of acquaintances were also keeping their children in the dark. They all shared a pool of excuses to foil their children's curiosity: doubt had been known to awaken minds to reality.
"Mommy, what's all this smoke?" "It's just dust dear, it's a windy day."
"Why are all the windows gone, dad?" "They need to be replaced every now and then, son."
"You see this building, kids? There's a mean old man in it that shoots paintballs at people. Every time we drive in front of it, I want us all to duck out of sight until I say it's all right."
More often than not, their resourcefulness was strained to the limit. Children were too curious. The obvious solution was to distract them from unusual or morbid sights; thus it was that reading in the car was encouraged. Worse things than weariness could happen to young eyes.

Of them all Aysaur was the only one to have doubts about their decision. The other parents adamantly believed that they must preserve their children in the blessed state. They dreamt of a world peopled with nothing but unaware people, incapable of causing or receiving harm. That idea both appealed to Aysaur and gave him a little shudder. He wanted an end to suffering, even if he didn't live to see it, but the thought of an infantile-minded human race was a cold shower. He had no idea whether this would mean total bliss or total loss of control. He didn't even know if it could happen. The unaware minority lived in their own artificial bubble of reality, easily popped. And yet, what would happen if they became the majority? Then there would be no reality outside theirs. Then their bubble would be the objective reality. Was that really something desirable?
"Come to bed", came Narna's voice from behind him. "Stop mulling things."
"Just trying to plan for the future", he sighed.
"You don't even know if you'll be alive tomorrow. One day at a time is enough."

"Have a good day my darlings, and take it easy on your mom, all right?"
Aysaur kissed his children and wife, exchanging a meaningful glance with her. Once again he was going to work while they would remain home all day, school being closed. Medi and Arasshin never complained about their days off – until Mom made them do their homework anyway.

It was an uneventful day until thuds in the distance made fingers pause over keyboards and heads turn. Almost at once, the radio programs were interrupted to inform the listeners that a sudden attack had been launched on the Megerbin and Eder sectors, and advise drivers to take the long road around them. Most turned back to work when the music resumed. Aysaur didn't. He looked at the door hesitantly.
"Stay put", said the voice of his colleague Hadig.
"I live in Megerbin", he replied.
"I know, but your children are innocents. They're safe, and you're safe here." He jabbed a finger in the direction of the office boy, a simpleton whom they kept around to protect the staff. Not all those present believed that the shield of ignorance could be shared, but obviously Hadig did.
"I don't like thinking of them alone during a bombing," he said as he grabbed the phone. Phones were usually dead, but you never knew when you might get lucky. Not this time, though. Aysaur dropped the receiver and headed for the door.
"Do you really want to get killed?" was the last thing he heard before it slammed behind him. In a minute Aysaur was on the road driving with his windows open to keep an ear on the sounds of battle. He didn't have to worry about traffic: the closer he got to the hot area, the more deserted the streets were. Only the occasional vehicle speeding through crossed his path as he reached the edge of Eder. The sounds of arriving missiles and detonations were clearly threatening by now, and whisks of smoke trailed overhead. Going further was foolhardy, but he had done this before. He crushed the gas pedal and drove like a madman through the empty streets to beat the odds.
Upon taking a hair-rising turn he saw it – a crater in the bitumen, still steaming. He hit the brakes desperately and managed to stop in time. At that moment a façade burst with a deafening sound right in front of him, burying the road in rubble. He didn't pause to ponder how lucky he had been, but hurled himself out of the car. Now he really had to take cover. In a leap he reached the door of a building, but it had been partially blown in and was stuck. He struggled to push it in. A hand grabbed his arm. "Over here!" said an imperious voice, and Aysaur was quickly pulled into a hallway.
A door shut and they were in semi-darkness, protected from the stark light outside but not from the terrific sounds of destruction. His helper pulled him further inside and Aysaur felt himself being pushed inside a sofa. There was the crack of a match, then a candle threw a dim light on the surroundings and on his host's face. They were in a living room, probably the man's house. The two men sat with their eyes fixed on each other, but unseeingly. Both were intent on the tempest raging outside. They exchanged no word until the sounds of explosions spaced out and faded altogether.
Then Aysaur's nerves gave way and he hid his face in his hands, his whole body shaking.
"You're safe here", said the stranger. "What were you doing, driving straight into the area? Someone to reach?"
"My family… I live in Megerdir."
The man nodded with understanding. "Any children?"
"Two"
"Innocent ones?"
"Yes"
"They're probably all right, then. But they're very lucky to still have their father! You should have stayed wherever you were rather than tried to cross."
"That kind of wisdom never crosses one's mind in this kind of situation. Thanks for helping me. It was a risky thing to do."
The stranger smiled quizzically. "Few people are capable of selfish acts anymore. Perhaps it is because they have nothing left to lose."
Aysaur examined him. He was younger than himself, a fact made even more obvious by the absence of care lines on his face or of premature touches of grey in his hair. There was an air of confidence about him, something only the innocent or the deluded could afford nowadays. Aysaur realized with puzzlement that while they were both waiting for the end of the bombing, while he was intently hoping that this building wouldn't be hit next, the stranger was simply listening, gravely but without concern.
"My name is Dashan", he said as he extended a hand. Aysaur shook it warmly. "Aysaur. It's a pleasure knowing you."
Dashan poured his guest a glass of sweet grenadine to help him get over his shock, then escorted him to his car. Aysaur was lucky again in that it was still in one piece, but the windshield was no more and two tires had been torn by shrapnel.
"Well, time for a walk, I guess."
"I'll drop you off", said Dashan.
"Waste of gas, it's really not worth it."
"Don't worry about it."
Aysaur did not protest further, as he was actually glad to have a companion. Dashan was a comforting person to be around. As they found their way through the neighborhood, now safe but cluttered with debris and people coming out of their shelters, Aysaur opened up and shared some of his concerns. He explained the reason why he had tried to rush home – that he was not entirely sure an innocent child could protect a whole household. He also told Dashan about his dilemma regarding awareness versus protection. Dashan's raised eyebrow betrayed his interest, yet he did not interrupt.
"This is not right," sighed Aysaur. "It makes no sense. There should be a way for people to retain their protection while gaining awareness."
Dashan nodded silently.
"What do you think? Do you believe it's possible?"
"What do I think," he repeated softly. He went silent. He seemed lost in thoughts. Aysaur was looking at him, waiting for him to speak, but suddenly he was distracted:
"Here's where I live! Thank goodness, there is no damage!"
He barely waited for the car to stop before getting out. He insisted that Dashan should park, as he wanted to invite him in. They climbed to the third floor, not even bothering to try the elevator, and Aysaur opened the door onto two red-cheeked, excited children.
"Daddy! Daddy! We won! They couldn't find us!"
Following them was a pale yet smiling Narna, who embraced her husband with relief.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"I had them play hide-n-seek. I told them that every boom meant that 'they' couldn't find their hiding-place and that they could try a new one. They've been running around the house for hours while I was curled up under the bathroom sink."
"They're going to end up looking forward to the shellings," he chuckled.
She smiled wryly. Aysaur introduced Dashan to her and told her about the way they had met. He ignored her furious gaze at his imprudence and ushered everyone into the living room. There as they enjoyed some liqueur, with the children sprawled on the floor reading comics, they pleasantly chatted the afternoon away, losing themselves in light subjects as if their lives were just what they wanted them to be.
"Now, if you'll excuse me," said Narna at last, "I have to oversee these two monsters' homework".
"But Mom!"
Oblivious to their pleas, she spirited them away. The men moved to the balcony, from which the dark mass of the sea could be guessed. The sun was quite low already and setting fast. In the distance trails of green and red lights rushed towards each other just above the rooftops: fightings were still going on even though the cannons had called it a day. There was not a spot on the planet where war wasn't raging; neither was there a way to stop it. Those who did not fight did their best to live on.
"Ah, Dashan… Do you ever wonder what kind of future we're heading towards?"
"All the time," said the young man. There was a pause.
"You asked me a question back in the car…"
"I did? Oh yes, about the shield."
"There is a way."
Aysaur had been barely listening and he didn't react at once. When Dashan's words sank in, he blinked and turned towards him sharply.
"What are you saying?"
"There is a way to have both the awareness and the shield."
Dashan's level gaze made it clear he knew what he was talking about.
"Tell me," Aysaur begged in a whisper. "I've been looking for it all my life. It's too late for me, but my children…"
"That's why no solution dawned on you, my friend. You were looking in the wrong direction."
The two men settled in balcony chairs, bent forward, their heads closely together in the dusky light to talk.
"As I said, there is a way. But it is not a matter of retaining the protection: it is a matter of getting it back. Nobody can become aware and keep the shield, because nobody can become aware without tasting fear. Yet this is the natural order of things. This is the second stage in human development. What is not normal is for one to remain at that stage. You, like everybody else, always believed that this was a final state. In a way, you are right: You cannot go back. Not ever, not unless you lose your mind. You are supposed to go forward. This is just a necessary transition."
"What lies forward?"
"A state where you know everything, but you are not afraid."
"And this brings the shield back?"
"Yes. Fear is what destroys the shield. The method to get it back is the following: drop the fear and KNOW you are protected."
Aysaur stared before articulating: "It sounds so simple it's hard to believe."
"That's what makes it so difficult."
"How do you know all this?"
Dashan gave his quizzical smile again.
"Some other time. I should get going. I need to start up the power generator for my building, and you need to take in all this."

That night in bed, Aysaur told Narna everything. Like him she found it hard to believe. They had never heard of such a thing. For her part though, she was more than willing to try. Sleep finally overcame them both, and an unusual dream filled Aysaur's night.

He was sitting in an empty place, just waiting. For a long while nothing happened, until suddenly his mind woke up. "Wait a minute… This is a dream!" He had hardly made that realization that the environment came to life. Usually he was the victim of his dreams, an unconscious toy for whatever power pulled the strings of his sleeping mind. This time, he was a critical spectator watching himself go with the flow of his nightly adventures.
It was a confused patchwork of people and voices – his friends' belief that ignorance was their future versus Dashan's assertion that it was their past, Narna hiding underground while the children played unconcernedly in the midst of falling shells, himself standing with them all and none of them at the same time… Things became clearer and there they all were in the plain where he'd been standing alone. They paid no attention to him, nor did they to the whistling sound that was building up in the distance. Aysaur alone noticed it. In panic he looked at the bright trail coming towards them in slow motion. He yelled a warning but nobody seemed able to hear it. For an agonizing second he thought this was finally it, they were all going to die – and then he remembered: "This is a dream. We can't be hurt!" He looked up again with astonishment. "I know this is a dream. I KNOW we are safe." He was scared and uncertain but he kept repeating these words to stop himself from bolting. The shell was still slowly describing its arc towards them. "Go away!" he told the projectile with all the strength of his will. It simply vanished.

Aysaur opened his eyes in the darkness. In his dream he hadn't felt his heart's mad pounding. He felt really shocked, albeit excited. Never had he imagined that he could take control over his dreams like that. Armed with the knowledge that this wasn't reality, he had stood his ground despite his terror and changed the ending. A breakthrough! For this to happen right after his talk with the mysterious Dashan could be no coincidence.
Deeply struck, he didn't catch another wink that night.

"I tried to tell them", said Aysaur.
"They didn't dare believe you," continued Dashan. "Am I right?" The two men were walking briskly along the shore, their nostrils pleasantly tickled by the smell of iode. Other than the sound of waves whispering their way to the beach, it was quiet – seagulls had deserted the place long ago.
"Yes, that's exactly what happened."
He thought of the concerned looks that his words had caused, the fear and even the anger he had guessed. Characteristic thumps ahead of them made him suddenly slow down, but Dashan took him by the arm and pressed him forward.
"A couple of them even took me aside to tell me that if I was seriously considering doing this, they would remove their children from my entourage."
"For fear of them getting contaminated by yours?"
The thuds were growing louder and splashes began to appear in the sea not far from the shore. Aysaur was recoiling. Dashan quietly assured him that being with him, he was safe, then he repeated his question.
"Yes. They are too afraid to take that step. They don't want to take away their children's one-chance protection, especially that it would also remove theirs."
Aysaur was jumpy despite Dashan's confidence, and he leaped aside, colliding with his friend, when something that exploded not far behind them sprayed them with sand. They were now in the centre of the deadly exchange.
"Aysaur, you have to know that your friends are deluded. It is you who are right in your doubts: The shield of an innocent does not spread to others."
The man jumped in panic and anger.
"What!? Why did you lead me here in the middle of battle, then? Why did you lie to me about being safe? I have a family, Dashan!"
"Wait! Let me finish! The reason for this is that being unaware, they cannot intend to protect others – they don't even know what it means to need protection. One who knows, and wants to, is able to."
"That would mean…"
"It means that once you reach that stage, you can protect your family more adequately while they're learning, like I'm doing now for you."
The young man was now yelling the words in Aysaur's ear for his voice to pierce through the mad whistling above their heads and the loud splashing of the water. Aysaur shook his head and covered his ears with his hands. He fell to his knees and curled up into a tight, terrified ball.
"How do I know that?" he yelled. "How do I know you are really protecting me right now?"
"Look up." Aysaur lifted his head – and found himself in a nightmare. It was exactly what he had seen in his dream, one shell heading straight towards him, and again it seemed to move in slow motion. This time he wasn't even able to scream; by the time the nervous impulse reached his vocal cords, the metallic mass had thrust itself with appalling strength in the sand behind them. The horror nearly made him faint, but nothing happened. It just remained there steaming. Aysaur's body broke into convulsive trembling. Surreally, his mind registered the way the grains of sand were melting and congealing against the red-hot metal. Dashan tapped his shoulder sympathetically and kneeled down beside him.
"It won't blow up," he said gently. "This is your proof. Do you believe me now?"
The shaking man nodded.
"I'm deeply sorry I had to put you through this, but without something powerful enough to drive these doubts from your mind there could have been no progress. And what is at stake is much more than you can imagine Aysaur, much bigger than you or your family."
Aysaur just lay back and cried, then his eyes met the still smoking object and he got up in exasperation. He kicked the sand as he walked away. He was relieved, he was still shocked, and he was angry, although not at Dashan and not at himself. The fear – he hated it and what it did to him. He loathed it like a personal enemy. He wanted it eradicated. He wanted those who used it as a weapon to become no more than a shameful memory to taint the human race.

He turned back towards Dashan suddenly: "If all of of humanity made it to the third stage, evil minds could not to use their own invincibility for their purposes, could they?"
"No, they couldn't. There would be nobody left to threaten, terrorize or harm."
"Good," he whispered.
"Here," said Dashan cheerfully. "Let me treat you to a hot coffee."
"Good idea."
Together they headed towards the city. Aysaur remarked with surprise that the shelling had stopped.
"That was not my doing," Dashan replied good-humouredly.
They both laughed. Aysaur had to ask:
"Weren't you scared, Dashan? That it might not work?"
"Are you ever scared an apple might fall upwards? This is a law of nature, Aysaur."
Their steps were now ringing on comforting hard pavement.
"How do you know? How did you find out? You never told me."
Dashan hesitated a second then nodded:
"All right… I owe you this explanation. But please, keep it to yourself."
He stopped suddenly at the sight of a door.
"Are we there already? Give me a minute. I need to inquire about someone within."
His friend nodded and leaned against the wall to wait while Dashan disappeared inside.

On the second floor, a man opened the door and raised his eyebrows in recognition.
"Come in."
"I don't have time. Someone is waiting for me. I just wanted to tell you: I found him."
"Seriously?"
Dashan nodded. "The man downstairs."
"Will he go for it?"
"I have his trust. Let the others know."
"Don't go too fast or he'll stop believing you."
"I know my stuff."
He winked and sped down the dark staircase.

The door shut softly and Aysaur remained deep in thoughts, a bit frustrated that Dashan had to slip off just when he was about to reveal his secret. Had he done it deliberately? He hoped Dashan wouldn't find ways of changing the subject when he returned.
His eyes fixed on the edge of the unlit sidewalk, Aysaur didn't hear the rustle of footsteps behind him. He only realized he was not alone when something made of cloth fell over him and he was roughly picked off the ground. He had a moment of utter shock before bursting into struggle – but he was quasi paralyzed already. There was a stunning blow to the side of his head and he sank into darkness.

When he came to, he was still somewhere dark. Dark and musty-smelling. A basement, one of those that sometimes served as derisory bomb shelters, like the one under his own building. Muffled voices came from the next room: the voices of men, rough as cavemen and just as loud.
The pain throbbing in his temple made him decide against trying to turn his head. He noticed his hands were bound tightly. As the fog left his mind, fear settled in – he was terrified, utterly and hopelessly. Many had been kidnapped before him, and had never been heard of again. He had never imagined he might someday join the list. His mind flew to his beloved family: "What will they do without me? It will only be a matter of days before they're found unprotected, or run out of food, or…" He started to sob. He didn't want to die. He didn't want to leave them alone. "Medi! Arasshin! Narna!" The names rang endlessly in his head, but whether he was saying them out loud as well he couldn't tell.
Presently the door between the two rooms opened and a man stood in the frame, outlined against a dim light, the tip of a cigarette glowing red between his fingers. He scanned Aysaur, snorted and went back. He had a wicked, amused smile.
The man looked vaguely familiar, but Aysaur was drowning in despair and didn't ponder it. He lost consciousness without even noticing.

The next few hours (or were they days?) were an endless, nightmarish succession of blacking out and awakening to be beaten. They weren't asking questions, they just hit till he fainted, taking care not to damage him seriously. "Watch it!" Someone said after a punch to his stomach had him doubled over, "he's wanted alive."
"A little punch won't kill him", replied the man who'd hit.
"A split liver will, and then who'll make up for it? You?"
Obviously they were mistaking him for someone else. This was no comfort: if and when they found out they had the wrong victim, he would surely die.
In his moments of lucidity his mind was almost entirely bent on his family. He thought about them so hard that he was creating fake memories for himself – memories of coming home safe and embracing them, or memories of finding them killed and disfigured, coexisting in a horrible, maddening hallucinatory state. When his beloved wife and children didn't occupy his thoughts, Dashan did – Dashan who had betrayed him, who had reeled him in and sold him to the kidnappers. The pieces were falling in place inside Aysaur's mind now. Dashan had gained his trust, put him through a traumatizing event to get his guard down, then brought him to his friends' hiding place and simply walked in to inform them the fish was in the net. He had been caught like a naïve child, again. Yet anger required more energy than he still possessed, and his despair was too deep for him to think about a revenge he was not likely to find.

He emerged from a comatose state once again to find the man with the cigarette seated in front of him, looking at him closely. This time Aysaur recognized him instantly. He felt as if life itself was liquefying out of him – it was him, the militian, the one who had destroyed his shield so many years ago. All the feelings of fresh fear that had overwhelmed him back then were searing through him again at the reminiscence. The man noticed his prisoner's turmoil, though he didn't seem to see another cause for it than the desperate situation he was reduced to. "We treating you well?" He chuckled horribly. He had the same cruel smile.
In Aysaur's exhausted mind, made almost delirious by torture, the renewed meeting with the warlord was taking on huge proportions. History was repeating itself… An episode of his past was recurring. The first time had marked the most important event of his life: his passage to the second stage of consciousness. Now then it must herald his passage to the third, although he couldn't' see how that could possibly happen…
"Does this mean I shouldn't be scared after all?" he asked himself.
"What is there left to be scared about?" the other half of him answered. "You'll be dead in a few hours."
He was seeing the man through a strangely coloured fog now, as he was on the verge of blacking out again but fighting it.
"I wonder if I can make him disappear like I did that shell the other day."
"You were asleep. It was a dream."
"Was it? I don't remember. It's all a blur. I did stop one."
"That was Dashan."
"Dashan! Dashan deceived me. He's one of them. If we ever meet again…"
"Am I awake now? Or is this a nightmare?"
"Go away… GO AWAY."
Through his semi-consciousness his attention was fixed on the man again, and he was willing him away with all the strength of his confused mind. No fear was left in him, only cold anger and hate.
"Go away!" He said it out loud. The militian looked puzzled, but then seemed to hear something and jumped out of his chair. Sounds were coming from above. He ran into the other room and barked out orders; there was a stampede up what sounded like concrete stairs, with the sounds of agitated voices and rifles clicking. And then… silence.

A minute passed. Finally footsteps could be heard coming back down the stairs, much quieter.
"Aysaur!"
It was Dashan, and he looked mortally worried. Behind him came several men, all looking vaguely like him. But it wasn't really a resemblance, only a similar youthful look due to the same absence of worry lines he had noticed in the young man the first time they'd met. The moment Aysaur laid eyes on Dashan again, he knew he was looking at a man whose word could not be doubted. His friend couldn't have sold him. Aysaur's mind gave in all at once and he let himself be untied and laid down in a stretcher they had brought, while Dashan and another tended to his bruises and cuts. They made him drink something sweet and fresh. "Sleep", his friend said. So he did.

He dreamt again. In his dream he was cross-legged on the ground, facing a boy who was seated in a similar position. The boy was himself, before he had been caught by the militians.
"Some people, very few, are born straight into the third stage. They are a particular class of… beings", his younger self was saying. He sounded like a teacher solemnly teaching a lesson.
"That's not the natural way of things, is it?" his older self replied.
"No, but it is the way of necessity. The natural way of things is for people to spontaneously wake up and try to enlighten others in turn. It has happened before, but it has been a very long time. My guess is that the powers that be can no longer afford to let this happen at humanity's leisure. Our world is collapsing upon itself. Either we wait till the last human has disappeared, killed or famished, or…"
"Or?"
"… or we teach people to create a new reality that will survive the selfish fighting out there."
"And that's what we're here for? You and I?"
The boy smiled.
"I am useless to you. I couldn't even protect myself."
His shape seemed to dissolve and split, and Aysaur's children appeared in his place.
He woke up with a start, crying out their names.
"Easy!" A hand pressed gently on his chest, forcing him to lie down again. It was Dashan. "Narna and the children are fine. They know you're ok. I'm just keeping you till you look better – it's better for them."
Aysaur relaxed again, and his mind drifted back over his dream. "I had a strange dream… Is it true? The beings that never go through the first two stages."
Dashan stared at him and nodded. Aysaur didn't feel the need to ask if he was one: he knew.
"How did you find me?"
"You found yourself, in all meanings of the word."
"What?"
"We were looking for you, but without a single clue to help us. Then suddenly we knew where you were – we felt you crossing over. You had reached the third stage, and that made things rearrange themselves in your favour… quite instantaneously."
"What happened when the men went upstairs?"
Dashan leaned forward: "Something very strange. We knew there would be no battle, because all of us were unfearing, but we didn't expect what happened. When they saw us, they simply sank to the floor. Dead."
Aysaur pondered this and said slowly: "Maybe the opposing forces were too strong and there was no other way of solving this situation. When the current is too strong, the weakest wire melts…"
"Perhaps. We've never gathered like this before. Whatever it was, I can't say I feel sorry for them."
"So even you people don't have all the answers."
"If we did, we wouldn't need you so desperately."
Aysaur gave him a curious look: "What do you need me for? To teach others to follow in my footsteps?"
"In a way. Nobody alive now, other than you, has even attempted the passage. Nobody has for quite a long time now. But the world is on fire, and we're running out of time."
"But you taught me; can't you teach others as well?"
"I taught you nothing. You were ready, and I just gave a nudge in the right direction. We were waiting for someone like you. You see, we know nothing about fear. We were born unfearing. How can we possibly help anyone overcome it?"
Aysaur fell quiet, deep in thought. When he spoke again it was to ask: "Where do I start?"
A phone rang, a miracle in itself. Dashan smiled and let Aysaur pick up the receiver.
"Hello?"
"Daddy!" came the answer.

Beirut, August 13, 2003 (begun in April 2002)

Written by Joumana Medlej, all rights reserved