Once upon a fable in a kingdom far far away called Intergallactica lived four brothers – Time, Present, Past, and Future. Time being the oldest was the most disciplined and the most serious; he kept a rigid watch on the others, scolding them for their trespasses, disciplining them for their wrongs, and always pushing them to live a clean, healthy, and productive life all the while urging them to stay united as a family for in their tandem was their survival, as per their noble father King Life’s philosophy.
The Time
Time had inherited his father Life’s wisdom, patience, magical wonders, and healing prowess and Life knew that even after he would be gone for long, it was his son Time who would take over the throne and live on forever in the hearts and minds of people leaving his mark on all and sundry that he encountered. It was no wonder then that Time had already started earning a reputation for himself as a great healer, as a teacher, as someone who ought to be respected and regarded for his nobility. Present, on the other hand, was a handsome young boy who was as pretty as he was jestful.
The Present
The present was full of energy, he was always fun to be around, and one never felt morose in his company. He was a friend of friends and had the talent to unite people together in happy times and sad, always ensuring that they were leaving enough memories for the Future. The future was a greedy boy, and he was the most unpredictable. Happy one second, sad the next, peaceful one moment, aggressive the next; he was a handful. At times, he was scary, mysterious, and clandestine. It was this unpredictability of his that made him such a miss with people, nobody fancied him. There was some that thought they could find a shortcut to pleasing him, but Future being a stubborn lad was as adamant as ever. He was always obstinate with a frown on his brow. But, Future as the other two, really loved his oldest brother Time, and he was kind only to those who were sincere and honest with Time.
The Future
The future really cared for Time and thought the world of him after his father the beloved Life. Anyone that was a friend of Time’s was a friend of the Futures. In this regard, the Future was a bit selective in who he was good too and that was his most relentless quality. The past was the ugliest. The least attractive of the four brothers, Past was always walking around with his head hung low, at times shying away from socializing with people altogether, at times quietly keeping to himself in a reticent way, staring down hard at people, and steering straight into people’s hearts on occasion making them feel guilty over nothing at all. He too, like the other two, only showed a liking for those that were in the consideration of the oldest brother Time. But, the funny thing is King Life had four other children, and even though they were all reared by the same father, their mothers were different, and they had spent all their lives oblivious of each other’s existence.
The Life
From his second wife, Life had four daughters Conscience, Soul, Sincerity, and Honesty. Conscience was quite like her brother’s Time; she was always compelling people to hold themselves accountable for their actions. Soul inspired people into keeping their spirit alive in the face of all adversity. Sincerity was always kind to those who were kind to others but also kind to themselves. Whereas the youngest sister Honesty was the hardest to please of all. Because she was the prettiest, Honesty was always easy prey to arbitrary pleasure seekers. So, although in his reign, King Life had not acquired mush else nor conquered much else except for leaving behind his eight offspring. Intergallactica has been great under the rule of these four brothers.
The pair of four brothers and sisters who would always keep the inhabitants of Intergallactica in line. Never allow people to fully acquire mastery in decoding the sacred covenant. Always keep people guessing, struggling, planning, conniving, striving, and on the run; at times in pursuit of the obvious, at times in lure of the obscure. The scent of what lies ahead, the mirage of what was left behind. Past, Present, and Future lead by the dictate of Time. Sincerity, Soul, and Honesty navigated by the voice of Conscience. Siblings that keep us all tied in the strands of their strings like puppets.
