A Courier With Urgent News

Time has passed like a courier with urgent news.

But that's just our simile.

The character is invented, his haste is make-believe,

his news inhuman.

Extract from 'View with a grain of sand,' by Ms Wislawa Szymborska

Once upon a time more nearly once upon several times because in this land
there wasn't one time (but several at the same time), in a land far, far
away where the sun never set because there were multiple suns, there lived a
kind witch. She was kind to small animals and small children but she hated
big animals and big people. The reason why she hated other big people was
because they were like her, so she had little choice but to hate them. She
dreamed of a time where everybody would be different; so that she could be
the best. She wanted to be the best because then she could have everything
to herself. She could stop the generous time from giving too much of himself
to everyone, she would ensure that there would be fewer suns, less food,
more people and less land.

The witch was colored in red. I don't know how else to say it, because in
this land there was so much red and so much of every color that I can't say
she was a red witch, because there were many many red witches. The witch
made several shadows because she had so much of herself. In this land, when
people grew older the past year's face would slip behind the head. If you
look closely you may see that the past years were not happy ones. In some
years she was sad, but mostly she was angry. She had had many years so her
faces tapered from pale pink to deeper shades. Her foremost face, a bright
red, would start fading as soon as it was allowed by Time. She had a nice
name, which meant 'star of starlight' so we may call her Stars.

Stars wanted more time to herself. This way she was a lot like people in our
Universe. She did not want to share time with anyone else. She really liked
her bright red face and every so often thought of schemes to keep her face.
Even though there was a lot of time in this world and she would have a brand
new red face soon, Stars wanted the face she had rather than the face she
would have (she was a lot like us). Every day she thought of ways to talk to
Time and persuade him that she needed more time.

You see, Time on this land was so generous that people were almost unaware
of numbers like one, two and three. Time laughed a lot and hated numbers
because they made everything look so little. When he gave people time, he
would just lump a few years and put several faces together for a person.

One day (for us), the Witch-colored-in-red was eating lunch from a tree
(that's where our lunch comes from as well but we have to end up eating it
off a plate and processed in animals), when quite suddenly a messenger
stormed into the room.

The messenger was a Turtle-colored-in-yellow. Even though turtles take a
long time to reach anywhere; in this land, people considered them the best
messengers. The Turtle slowly humped towards Stars and with a hoarse whisper
said:

'Time has come, witch Stars.'

Stars almost fell off the topmost branch. But managed in time (there is so
much here) to catch her cap. This was the interview she was waiting for.

Quickly, even though she had plenty of time to lose, she picked up her broom
and swooshed up to find Time. Time was difficult to find, but people who had
to, always did. Stars first checked with the moons of her world. "Do you
have time?." The moons shook. Time was too big to fit on them and they
wondered at the awful cheek of the witch to ask at all.

The witch was upset at the vagaries of Time. He would not stay still. She
had heard only a little while ago that Time had been seen turning the Moons.
A vicious rumor it seemed.

What was that? Faraway she saw a Movement, a slight rippling, a susurration.
Time? Well, only Time could tell, so she asked, "Is that you, Time? "

We don't realize it usually, but Time is quite dumb. Not the stupid kind of
dumb but dumb-speechless. Time was very startled. He had thought he had been
quite subtle and that nobody could see where he came from. He had not
realized how powerful Stars had become.

Life as we know it would have been different if Time had remained silent.
Stars was quite unsure where she was to go and would have just quietly gone
home and stayed with her red face the way we now stay with Tide or Maxwell
House but instead Stars came close to Time because Time Spoke.

Time only cleared his throat but to Stars it meant everything.  It meant she
had a Future. She said, 'I never want to die, I never want to be old, I wish
to have everything, I want to be always right, I want love and I want to
succeed and I want to win and I want to be I."

Time was sad. He was quiet. It seemed that the Idyll was over. One had come.
And taken away All. Have you ever wondered why 1 looks so much like I? Well,
this is why. Giving Stars a Future meant that Time would have to divide,
form a line, make numbers and eventually we would make roads and cars and
planes, just to save time.

He granted Stars her wishes with a long sad sigh, which the Universe still
feels. There, up-there in the sky is Stars. The Future. Tantalizing you with
her beauty and her charm. A Marilyn pout and a billowing white dress.

People talk about her no matter what they do. They have children because of
the future and not have children because of the future. Buy property, meet
people, make treasury bills, construct roads, analyze risk and keep running
just to find the future. Out there, up there somewhere is tomorrow and
tomorrow will make today okay. All of Time's generosity has been pushed into
tomorrow and today Time is little, threadbare, brown, hungry and crying for
more.