The Enchanted Cottage

Jan and Zack sat facing the ocean, huddled close, as the cool breeze blew on their back. The dog days of summer were ending. It had been everything that a summer could be. They had purchased their new home and moved in and still had another week to settle in before they would have to go back to work.

Jan whispered in a breath, “ I am so grateful to have received this wonderful gift that the heavens have offered us. Being here, together, is everything I dreamed of. But I am so glad that my family have finally left. Now we can get back to living the dream.”

Zack chuckled and could not help but agree. Jan’s dreams had held them both strong. Jan often grasped some glimpse of thought then altered what was needed to let that dream come to fruition. Between her dedication to lay out a plan, and his ability to do his part, they had found their way out of many levels of hell. Zack admired how well Jan could presage what could become reality.

Zack teased her , half seriously. "I wonder if I have married a witch." More than once, what she stated an omen of what was to come had happened. She had laughed explaining “I am no occultist, but perhaps a theoretical magician.We are co-creators of our story. Thoughts are a form of energy that can become matter, that returns energy.”

In the early days of their friendship, Jan could not hide her area of expertise, physics. Jan knew statistics and could interpret visions and theories, into numbers that could become reality. She explained, “I see life move within a wave. I think of us together, at one point in a moment, where the eternal present exists, and then see where it can go. People's intuitions are often inconsistent with Newtonian mechanics. True understanding often depends on relativity, where the critical angle of viewing varies according from where an object is observed.”

Zack agreed saying, “The critical angle of how things are perceived also occurs in society. Society can so easily get skewed”

Zack worked in social sciences, specifically on the relationship between religion and society. " Society can impose its judgement on limitations , but those who use their own strengths can see how to live the life that is wanted and possible.”

The two were on the same page and their intention was to stay there. Both had accepted their own unique divergent attributes and their mutual interest in similarities between social forces and physical theories.

Jan told Zack, “I feel so lucky to be your partner. I feel protected, anchored and shielded within a manifold of safety that filters out the nasty parts of society.”

Zack said he felt whole with her at his side.

They had found a small cottage that they called their Enchanted Cottage, after a movie made in 1945.

Nature was their friend, the blind musician who could see the beauty of their love for each other in how they spoke and looked at each other and the world. They could adapt with Nature, and Nature responded resplendently. They had already made their own Garden of Eden that reflected the world of happiness between the two, that seemed to spread to all area of their lives.

As they sat, Zack chatted about his recent research interest in Mahayana Buddhism, the Western Pure Land, called the Land of Bliss. "Before globalization, the allure of undiscovered riches in a realm depicted as a land of peace, plenty, spiritual opportunity offered a fresh start from oppression, allowed for rebirth.

“Buddhism only gained popularity after the ruthless, brutal tyrant leader Ashoka had a change of heart. He diverted from popular beliefs of Confucius and the Vedas and embraced the new religion that offered redemption. Ashoka left a legacy of monuments such as the Great Stupa and the Sarnath Pillar, which is the national emblem of India, engraved with the saying, “Truth alone Triumphs."

Jan shared, "It seems reasonable that when chaotic treacherous actions change into benevolent actions, they alter public view and incite societal change. In the quantum world, nonlinearity and asymmetry can be used to create a code that is known to the public, and can be decrypted to hold specific messages within private domains.Figuring out the levels of truth is a mystery."

Zack said, “ Ashoka was not alone in metamorphosing. St. Paul was a self-righteous Pharisee who was said to be a dishonest tax collector and a persecutor of those in the early Jesus movement. He had a rebirth when struck blind by a bright light. When he subsequently gained sight, he converted and wrote Pauline scriptures. They are often thought to be misinterpreted because they ignore the historical and cultural context of the times.”

Jan said, “ I can’t help but think of the redemption story of Scrooge after he was visited by the ghosts of past, present and future, and found his own truth of how he was seen.”

Zack added, “It is like the story of Alfred Nobel. The glitter and glamour of the Nobel Prize had a darker reality. Alfred Nobel read a death notice for his brother, mistakenly written naming him as the deceased. It condemned him as the ‘Merchant of Death’, because of his invention of dynamite. He then redirected his vast fortune to establish the Nobel Prizes, shifting his legacy to a philanthropist who focused on advancements in science, literature, and peace.”

Jan added. “It is a bit like Bill Gates, who made his fortunes by creating an anti-competitive business practice and manoeuvred tricky business tactics. Then, the highly successful albeit sometimes controversial tech mogul became a leading global philanthropist, who focused on addressing major world health and development issues and other global challenges.”

Zack added. “You really can’t judge a book by its cover. People want to leave a positive legacy. "

Jan put her arm around Zack who held it as she said, “ Mankind prefers to see a cleaner version of reality that hides the darker sides of history in a legacy. Gustav Eiffel built the Eiffel Tower in 1889 for the World’s Fair. It was to be a temporary structure, however Eiffel repurposed it to become a site of meteorological and astronomical observations and physics experiments to ensure it could be maintained and his legacy would live on. Gaudi wanted to leave a legacy in Barcelona. His coffin lays in the crypt of the Sagrada Familia Church that surpassed allotted costs and is still under construction. Perhaps it is an act of love. You my love, have helped me no longer see myself in the past.”

They had met in rehabilitation. Jan had been in a car accident, left burned and disfigured. Zack had been disabled while on duty. Both had known their share of suffering and recognized how fragile life is. Others recognized their love, except for Jan’s families.

Zack and Jan agreed that her family looked at them with unease. They were uncomfortable with the aberrations that had taken them off of their previous version of life. They could only see who she had been and Zack’s disability. Furthermore, they diminished the love she shared with Zack insisting that their happiness was an illusion.

Jan could not see to what end. "They were all too eager to tell me I am delusional thinking we love each other, as if it was their duty as family to tell me that they saw us as pathetic and pitiable."

Zack suggested, "Your family has issues dealing with their grief of losing who you once was. Remember, what people see as personal truth often is distorted. If we are delusional, it hurts no one."

Jan resolved her feelings. "We have known enough suffering to know happiness. We have no choice but to let of what is no more. Our old selves are dead and we need dream our future. We are each other's family, dedicated to having a good life together."

Zack held her hand saying, "This is the best moment ever."

The sun was setting. The view was perfect. They walked the trail of trees back to their Enchanted cottage. Those who saw them, recognized the glow of love that embodied beauty, not their physical and emotional wounds and scars.