Excerpt from Saving Leilaka
" Searching through the rows, a blue bottle drew my attention and was promptly chosen to be my company for the evening. I could just as well indulge in the human ways, seeing that I was supposed to be one of them at the moment.
The cellar had a small foyer with ancient leather bound lounging chairs, a table and a cabinet with crystal glasses. Very convenient of the ancients to leave their creature comforts at our disposal.
It was not the first time this area had been fortunate enough to receive us as visitors and we made ourselves comfortable before breaking the seal on this bottle.
The contents were dark red-gold in colour, the aroma distinctly fruity. It had kept its punch and was quite potent, the first sip completely taking my breath away.
Habieb grimaced before bursting out in cheerful laughter.
"You should see your face" he told me.
"And you yours" I replied, taking another sip, allowing the heat to infuse the rest of my body from the inside out.
"A good drink to have on a cold night" Habieb agreed at my sigh of contentment.
"You know you should not be drinking" he cautioned as I took another rather large swallow.
"I know" I replied, quiet comfort engulfing my body, numbing my mind and senses, making the world around me look rosy, no matter if it was or not.
"What is joy, Habieb?" I wanted to know from my friend.
"It is the emotion you have when feeling happy" he replied, a frown on his forehead at this silly question from me.
So joy is an emotion leading on from a feeling of happiness I replied to myself, mulling it over, comparing Habieb's statement with what I had learnt in the scrolls from Jamal.
Happiness, joy and contentment.
All emotional rest-stops along the way of life. They were the small rewards for tasks well done and goals achieved. Fleeting, like the blooms of flowers. As fragrant, with emotional experiences and rich in memories to be relived in later years.
Yes, I thought to myself. Joy should be experienced in small doses to make it special and unforgettable.
The rest of the time we experience other feelings, leading to other emotional unrest within our beings. Just maybe, if I could get the hang of this emotional stuff, I might find joy more readily available, or at least contentment in life.
It was a great start to realize that I was still struggling with the same type of emotions that had given me unrest in my previous life. If I should give it more attention in this lifetime, my life here might become easier, as well as other lives I might still live after this one.
Nothing was truly assured, and tomorrow was not guaranteed for anyone, including me.
So today, this very moment, to live life from moment to moment to the fullest, was actually all we had. Yet most humans lived life as if they had forever to live.
Still, concentrating on the here and now did not exempt one from the responsibility of planning for the future, especially not in my regard where I knew today was not my last day and my tomorrows on this planet called Leilaka was secure, at least until I reached the age of fifty years, which was not that far off, considering how time flies when one was busy with insignificant things.
I sighed deeply, overcome with an intense sense of grief so deep that tears welled up in my eyes.
So why exactly was I grieving?
It was because, no matter how much I complained, I loved my life here on Leilaka and would have liked to stay a bit longer than the allotted time given to me.
I had no choice but to let go of loved ones and this wonderful place. I was grieving, for I was going to lose the connection to this world.
This was another thing that weighed heavily on my mind, something that Habieb was aware of, but not giving any attention to at the moment for the end felt such a long way away, while it was actually not.
A hand touched my arm and I looked up at Habieb that was standing in front of me.
"Let me take you home, Han" he told me sympathetically, helping me to stand as I was already unstable from the drink.
"Bringgg zhe bottle" I heard my voice slur, thinking it strange that I was still thinking straight, but that my body did not want to obey my commands.
Finding this hysterically funny, I laughed internally, no sound escaping my lips, my mouth not responding to the internalized humour.
"Oh, heck!" I told Habieb before collapsing in a heap in the passage . . . "
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