The battle

The epic battle which takes place in all times, all realms of existence, all people, was about to begin once again. Just like all light is perennially chased by darkness, so is every soul; each of us battles with ourselves, with others; No person or institution has solely been governed by righteousness; just like no darkness has ever been purely governed by insensibility. In a way, the two feed on each other, depend on each other. It is their intense contrast which defines the good from the bad, the right from the wrong. 1

Here stood two children; if one had met them both on the street, he would have treated them equally; good naturedly, with the smile that all adults reserve for young children. But here, they were mortal enemies. They knew the depths of one another, for they had sprung from the same fountain. The same energy had nurtured them, and in each the same drop of life reigned. But they had chosen to use their living spark for different purposes, to serve different needs. One had chosen the path which leads to treacherous seas; the path of somber clouds and storms; the path of unknown fears. And she had grown far from her innocence, for she knew much of the strange twists of desperation. She had delved deep within the journeys of all men, just to eradicate the drop of sorrow which flows from all their tears. She was, in essence, grown far beyond her years, and too wise for any age. That is darkness; not evil in itself, but the concentration of unhappiness, horror, and death which all men see. 2

Now the other was her twin. They had the same light blonde hair, the same contemplative grey eyes. But the light which shone in them had changed, making their familiarity unrecognizable to one another.3

This second girl had chosen a path of light; she had immersed herself in the innocence which all children loose with the gravity of years. She had forsaken humanity to abandon all fears, loss, death. Her path was one of quiet curiosity for all things born; she was eternally floating in the stream of spring. 4

If one looks at them closely, one does not know which has wronged; for light and darkness are, as always, just a breath away from each other’s arms. But the thing we do see is that these two children cannot recognize their common bond anymore. For the first, who has known hate and disgust, a mounting anger surfaces towards her brighter twin; for the second, who has never experienced the darkness of humans, only a perplexing confusion. But both know that they cannot walk away without a confrontation. They are so different, so unknown to one another, that they cannot help but be savagely attracted. It is almost a need for them to destroy one another. Just as structure cannot coexist with chaos, darkness cannot live in accordance with light. 5

Suddenly, the child of darkness throws herself at her twin. No powerful weapons or strange magic may get in the way of this fight. They are powerless to the essential energies of all universes; and they need no tools to cause havoc in each other’s souls. The child of light screams in pain, for her twin is burning her face with her touch. The scorching burns which now scar her face have tainted her. She now knows pain, a feeling which had always been unknown to her. It troubles her soul; it gives her a taste of desperation. She falls back on the ground, shocked and afraid. She raises her arms in defense and strikes her twin. Her burns are deeper than those of darkness; her mark reminds the child of darkness that she once had innocence, but she gave it up to follow the paths of tears and horrors.6

A great grief comes, and a feeling of longing; the regret weakens her, sending her writhing on the ground. The child of light continues in her intent; she feels a peculiar heaviness of heart in hurting the other. She has never had to consider brutality, never had to defend herself. And though she is trying to shield herself from becoming like her twin, with every blow they become closer. Causing pain raises in the small child strange emotions which she had never felt; she is overtaken almost by an urge to keep burning that girl, filling her heart with contradictory thoughts. And the child of darkness, writhing on the ground, feels a pain which she is not in control of; she is turning to a weak, pleading creature. She feels treacherous tears running down her cheeks, and she wishes to vanquish this impossible torture. She no longer wishes to walk in this darkness. 7

And if one were to witness this battle, he would see that something is changing; their shapes are shifting internally, their souls are suffering strange leaps of transformation. And at the end of this struggle, when both children have exhausted all their strengths, physical and emotional, the outcome is one which cannot help but be. As they both lie, troubled, on the ground, one again cannot tell them physically apart. They are both burned, and tired, but their features are as they were before.8

But if one looks closely in their hearts, they will see that both children have gone through a shocking metamorphosis. That which once was darkness is now light, and that which was once light is now darkness. For there can never be a winner in this battle of twins, whose contact awakens new emotions in their souls. The cycle of right and wrong continues, intricately intertwined, and perhaps no one will ever truly know what defines darkness and what defines light. Perhaps, the truth is, there are no parameters for this measurement; perhaps we have no answer because one walks in eternity as the shadow of the other.9