Velvety Darkness

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The blackness of night had fallen over Bangkok by the time the jumbo jet had lifted from the ground of the bustling Asian metropolis.

I surveyed the well-lit city through the oval window to my right. My head was cradled snuggly into the side cushion of the seat I had been assigned. I was mesmerized as I am each time I fly when the land beneath is cloaked in velvety darkness.

The sight of glimmering lanterns, covering the acreage below, captivates me, and energy, not present when I ascend into a sun filled sky, overtakes my senses, and awakens my imagination.

The allure of shimmering lights, snaking their way through all obstacles they encounter, illuminated the expansive Thai city and held my mind captive.

I carefully studied the patterns, created by their glowing presence, and felt exuberant as I watched them dance upon the sunless portion of the planet.

Each light seemed to move in harmony with the heartbeat of the tightly bound core of the sprawling region, while at the same time, singing a song of its own. In my mind I envisioned  people as they hurried about, finishing business, before beginning their journeys home. I sensed the tempo of the melodies being played for people gathering to drink, dance, and laugh, leaving their cares behind, and I felt the spirit of its life force being transmitted into the universe.   

My eyes next followed the paths of lights, as they meandered  from the center of activity, into the outlying areas. I wondered if a small child was being soothed to sleep by a weary parent, or if a couple, deeply in love, was having dinner by the light of carefully placed candles, in homes that appeared dimly lit. I was curious as I watched flickers of red and blue making their presence known in the center of an intersection.

Then it happened. The giant, metal bird, that carried me to my next destination, was high enough to extinguish all glimmers of life from the sparkling globes that had rejuvenated me. I felt the energy they filled me with slowly dim.

I then burrowed into an airline provided pillow, closed my eyes. My thoughts then began to compare how our human lives are so very similar to the colors, and intensities, of the lighted globes I had been watching. Sometimes we sparkle, other times our lives take on different hues and tones, and sometimes we cease to be seen, or even exist.