Catharsis, Legend of the Lemurians (3 page)

And so, as the Uglies sang songs and humbly carried
their load, the beautiful Catharsians slowly started rotting from
the inside. For a while it was completely unnoticeable, only
sometimes a very strange and ugly smell could be sensed in the air.
In cases like this Catharsians would usually hold their noses and
say something like, “Smells like an Ugly.”

What they absolutely failed to realize was that they
themselves emanated that smell. The situation deteriorated fast.
First, enormous floods destroyed several of the Catharsian cities.
As the floods arrived, Catharsians started experiencing strange
sensations, unknown to them before. They began perspiring so
profusely that often they’d have to change clothes ten times a day,
because going around in sweaty clothes would be, well, ugly!

Then, droughts came. As the planet became
scorched and wrinkled like an old and ugly shoe, many Catharsians
noticed with great alarm that their flawless faces started
developing premature wrinkles. The wrinkle problem became so
pervasive that beauticians and plastic surgeons were making a
killing. But none of the beauty treatments seemed to help, and even
plastic surgery didn’t bring the desired results.

After that, it got worse. Powerful
earthquakes shook the planet and Catharsians started feeling their
bodies shaking uncontrollably. In order to stop the most severe
instances of shaking, sometimes they would have to tie themselves
to poles.

All chaos broke loose after the long
inactive volcanoes erupted around the entire planet. As soon as
these eruptions started, the formerly beautiful Catharsians’ bodies
erupted in huge boils. Both plastic surgeons and beauticians were
operating well beyond capacity. But no beautician or plastic
surgeon in the world was able to fix this new problem. It was
evident that Catharsians were slowly but surely turning ugly, as
their rotten insides began manifesting outwardly.

As miserable Catharsians pondered what could
have caused their perfect world to fall apart so suddenly, the Camp
Ugly guards started noticing something unusual. As the entire
planet shook with earthquakes, as volcanoes erupted, as droughts
and floods devastated the land, the Uglies went on living as usual.
They seemed completely insulated from the cataclysms, and immune to
diseases.

They still humbly toiled every day, and they
still sang their songs. That month, when the Runners had to go to
Thar for supplies, they marveled at how quiet the city had become,
as Catharsians hid in their beautiful houses, ashamed at how ugly
they looked. The Uglies could not believe that no one tried to
bully them, and for the first time ever, they returned to the camp
without bleeding wounds or even bruises.

What’s more, one night all of their guards
were suddenly gone. Since then, no one was guarding the electric
fence or the gate. For the first time in generations, the Uglies
were free to come and go as they pleased.

When Catharsians realized that the Uglies
were not suffering like they were, an angry mob made its way to
Camp Ugly. It was the first time ever that the beautiful
Catharsians and Uglies met face to face. The mob stared at the
Uglies with utmost hatred, while the Uglies calmly gazed back at
the mob, both separated by the electric fence. As they looked at
each other, a striking realization hit both sides. The Catharsians
were now ugly as sin, what with all the wrinkles and boils all over
their bodies. And the Uglies now looked truly beautiful, as their
inner beauty shone through, changing their outward appearance.
Somehow this pacified the mob, like nothing else did.

Meanwhile, the Uglies realized that
Catharsians needed their help and opened the gates to allow them
in. Many felt it beneath their dignity to step inside Camp Ugly,
and went back home. But some stayed, as the Uglies brought out of
their homes some of their home remedies known to treat severe
wounds often inflicted on their men at the hands of these same
Catharsians.

However, the Uglies never mentioned that, as
their kind hearts forgave their tormentors. Their only desire was
to help those in need. The whole night the Uglies treated
Catharsians. When the sun came back up, their patients looked and
felt much better. The news of the Uglies’ success spread like fire.
More and more Catharsians showed up at the camp to receive their
dose of treatment.

The Uglies worked day and night to help
their former tormentors. Meanwhile, the situation on the planet was
rapidly worsening. More floods, earthquakes and volcano eruptions
occurred every day; more and more Catharsians needed treatment.
Some lost an arm or a leg in an earthquake or another disaster;
some were burned by fires as volcanoes erupted. No one was afraid
any more of catching the ugly disease. To the contrary, Camp Ugly
was the only place unaffected by global disaster, and therefore,
the place everyone wanted to be.

The Uglies shared their scarce food and
drink, and even their homes, with Catharsians. They welcomed them
to stay at the empty huts they no longer filled, but at some point
the camp became too small to fit all the newcomers. Catharsians
started fighting with each other for space, and even lashing out at
their rescuers, the Uglies. The Uglies didn’t respond to all that
angry energy, and quietly continued their work. But even the
peaceful Uglies saw that it was a losing battle. As the weather
patterns got out of control with global disasters raging
everywhere, Catharsians seemed to be taking over their camp—the
only place on the entire planet which was at peace. As they did,
earthquakes and other problems started shaking up the camp,
too.

It was becoming increasingly clear to the
Uglies that the planet was dying and that even the Mother Crystal
was unable to change that. That evening, the Uglies gathered around
the sacred fire, singing one of their beautiful songs. Its beauty
mesmerized Catharsians who came to listen, although they couldn’t
understand the words. In fact, the words were those of the ancient
and very powerful Lemurian prayer. The Uglies prayed to Mother Mu
and Father Universe to show them the way to save the future.

Late at night, when both Uglies and
Catharsians were fast asleep, Morf still sat, staring into the
dying embers of the sacred fire, thinking and thinking about the
illusive solution to the planet’s problem. He raised his eyes to
the sky with the orange moon in the East and the purple one in the
West, contemplating the winking stars splashed across the nightly
vastness.

All of a sudden, he noticed one of the stars above
detach from its fixed place in the sky and start growing. The star
grew and grew until it became the size of his palm. Morf blinked
incredulously and rubbed his eyes. It must be fatigue, he thought.
When his eyes opened again, the star was already the size of his
head, and its light was almost blinding. Morf blinked again and
vigorously shook his head.

“This can’t be,” he whispered. “It’s
impossible.”

But even as he was saying that, the star
still kept growing, and at last it landed right next to him like a
small tornado of the divine light. Morf jumped to his feet and
watched the star mesmerized as it turned into a divine creature,
her beautiful face aglow, her shimmering long white hair teased by
the breeze, and her flowing white gowns so transparent and light as
if they were made out of stars.

“Good evening, Morf,” said the divine
creature, gazing at the young Ugly with a gentle smile.

Morf stared back, not knowing how to respond. He
wanted to open his mouth, but his lips were soft and immobile. It
occurred to him that he must have simply fallen asleep by the fire
and this whole thing was just a dream. Relief flooded his mind as
he pinched himself really hard in the arm. In a moment he’d be
awake and the whole world would be the way it had always been.

He felt sharp pain. He looked down at his
arm, as a large bruise started developing where he pinched himself.
Yet, the divine creature was still standing in front of him, just
as before. Perhaps, I didn’t pinch myself hard enough, thought
Morf. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, preparing to pinch
himself as painfully as he could endure, but…

“There is no need to hurt yourself, Morf,”
said the divine apparition. “I am not your dream, I am as real as I
can be. And I came to you for a reason.”

“Who are you?” whispered Morf.

“I am Mu, your Goddess, and I am here to
save the future.”

“But…” started Morf. He was about to say
that this just sounded too fantastic.

Mu interrupted, “You pray to me every night
to show you the way out of this impossible situation and now that I
am here, you don’t believe?”

“No, no, that’s not it.” Morf shook his head
vigorously. “I believe in you with all my heart, and you are even
more beautiful than I imagined you to be. I just can’t understand
why you came to me.”

“Ah, I see,” said Mu. “You feel you are
unworthy.”

“Yes,” said Morf, “that’s it. And generally,
we, the Uglies, always prayed to you and always believed in you,
but you never helped us before. So, why now?”

“I wanted to help,” whispered Mu, a lone
tear of sorrow making its way down her beautiful face. “I’m your
divine mother and I always felt your pain.”

“So, why didn’t you? You know how much we’d
suffered.”

“I couldn’t.”

“I thought you were the Goddess.”

“I am,” said Mu. “But there is much more to
the story. The Universe has a structure, and part of its structure
is for every soul to learn its lesson. The lesson the Uglies had to
learn was to see the divine beauty in everything despite ugliness,
and the lesson for the Catharsians was to feel compassion to the
less fortunate. Yes, my son, Catharsians and Uglies are not the
same people. You are two different races, although you were born of
the same parentage. What seems ugly to Catharsians may be beautiful
to others. Eventually, the time of Karma comes. It is when each
would reap rewards and consequences, depending on how well each
race learned its lesson. The time of Karma is now.”

Morf listened to these words, frowning. Of
course, he understood the concept of Karma very well. Each Ugly was
taught the law of consequences from an early age. But it seemed to
him Catharsians knew nothing about it.

“And…did we all learn our lessons?” he
asked.

“
You
did,” said Mu with a sad
smile.

Morf let out a big sigh of relief. “Then we
all, both Catharsians and Uglies, can be saved?”

“Yes…
you
will be saved,” echoed Mu
with the same sad smile.

“Great!” Morf jumped to his feet, a relieved smile
flooding his face. “I should wake up the Elders, and we should get
the Council together so all the logistical details can be worked
out. There are so many things to consider, so much to take care of.
We need to tell Catharsians so they can get ready…”

“Catharsians can’t be saved,” said Mu.

“But you said…”

“I said
you
, the Lemurians, would be
saved.”

“But what about…,” started Morf again, struck by the
thought of the woman who gave him medicine and bandages to treat
Dorf’s wounds.

Mu shook her head. “Catharsians chose their
Karma—they cannot be helped. Sit down, my child, and listen!” As Mu
touched his shoulder with her cool, shimmering hand, Morf felt a
tingling sensation of happiness that made his heart pound. He
obediently sat on the nearby rock, Mu next to him.

“I know you are wondering why I appeared to
you, of all people.”

“Yes, the thought has crossed my mind,”
admitted Morf. “There are so many worthier Uglies out there, for
example, the Elders. But then I thought that perhaps it was simply
because I was the only one awake. You noticed me by the sacred fire
and…”

“I didn’t appear to you by accident,
Morf.”

“You didn’t?”

“No. That’s why I need you to listen to me.
There will be a time when your people will need you. Although the
Uglies can be saved, they still need leadership. Whatever happens
next, always remember that!”

Morf and Mu headed to the home of Alton, the
Supreme Elder of the Uglies, located at the Gathering Square.
Alton’s dwelling was bigger than everyone’s because it included a
spacious meeting room where the Elder Council convened for private
discussions.

Alton was both amazed and relieved to see
the Goddess Mu come to them. It meant that their prayers have been
heard after all. He touched his Elder Lemurian crystal, which was
hanging around his neck, and sent a telepathic message to the Elder
Council members.

Each Elder had a similar crystal hanging
around his or her neck. Within minutes, the eight sleepy Council
members joined Alton, Mu and Morf in the meeting room. After the
initial shock of seeing the sacred Goddess Mu in their midst had
passed, the Council members listened with reverence to what she had
to say.

“Dear hearts,” started Mu. “I thank you for living
according to my laws, and for making your lives so beautiful and
pure. The time of reckoning has come. I came to tell you the bad
news and the good news. The bad news is planet Catharsis is quickly
moving toward its destruction; the good news—you can be saved.”

“This is such a relief,” said Alton.
“Blessed Mu, we are most anxious to hear how we can save ourselves,
and how we can help these unfortunate Catharsians!”

“Dear Elder,” responded Mu. “Bless your kind
heart for still wanting to help the Catharsians after what they did
to your people. But unfortunately, they inflicted this situation
upon themselves and therefore, cannot be saved. My offer applies
only to the Lemurians. I will take your people to the new blessed
land with lush meadows and beautiful trees, with flowing rivers and
bountiful harvest. In that land you’ll know no cruelty, and you’ll
be able to raise your young without fear.”