Arlen and the Crystal: A Journey from Past to Present🔊

Once upon a time, in a remote village nestled amidst the lush green forests of the east, lived a young blacksmith named Arlen.

Arlen was known far and wide for his meticulous work and resilient spirit. He was a master of transforming ordinary lumps of iron into extraordinary pieces of art. However, his heart possessed a gaping void, left vacant by the untimely death of his beloved wife, Elsa. The light of his existence was no more, and all that remained was a flickering resonance, reminiscing his past happiness.

One evening, a monk gifted him a peculiar crystal, claiming its miraculous powers could unearth buried mysteries. The monk was passing through the village and was captivated by Arlen's talent. Intrigued yet skeptical, Arlen accepted the crystal. Little did he know, this crystal was about to transform his journey.

In the solitude of the quiet night, Arlen held the crystal and sincerely wished to revisit the joyous moments he spent with Elsa. To his amazement, the crystal's soft glow suddenly erupted, painting visions of Elsa onto the dark canvas of his house. He couldn't believe his eyes. Elsa was there, enveloped in the soft luminescent glow of the crystal, yet was nothing more than a celestial apparition. Even though he couldn't touch her, he felt her presence around as obvious as the break of day. Each night, he would retreat into this world, soaking himself in the ecstasy of memories that were no longer an ephemeral part of the past.

Despite the nightly rendezvous with Elsa’s apparition, Arlen began feeling a growing hollowness. He realized that since he wrapped himself within the past's comforting shroud, he was gradually distancing himself from reality. His work suffered, and he barely interacted with anyone. He was dwelling within a stinging paradox – a mesmerizing illusion bestowed by the crystal that was isolating him from his real world.

One day, during his night-time encounter with Elsa’s apparition, he noticed her smiling at him with a sadness veiling her eyes. She spoke, her voice was warm but filled with concern, “Arlen, I love you, but you must not live in the past. Our memories were beautiful and they always will be, but you need to make new memories as well, without me.”

That instant, his eyes welled up with tears. Gripping the crystals, he summoned the courage to let go. He asked her not to return, not because he loved her any less, but because he knew he needed to live in the present.

The following morning, the village noticed the sparks flying out of Arlen’s workshop. He was back to the anvil, hammering away the somber past. From that day forth, Arlen not just exist but lived, cherishing the memories of Elsa and making new moments to remember. The crystal was safely tucked away, no longer a mechanism to retreat into the past, but a souvenir reminding him of lessons learned.

The story of Arlen, the blacksmith, is a real-life depiction of how the shadows of the past can sometimes hinder us from appreciating the present. It is about a man who found his way back to life from the maze of past memories. It is about love, loss, despair, hope, and healing. And above all, it is a gentle reminder to all of us that living in the present is not an escape from the past but an embrace of life as it happens.