S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 5 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 1 9 6 7 Petr Pavlík “Don’t look there, Celestin.” “I can’t stand it. Look, my horse is impatient again.” “Fly then, you’ll see for yourself,” Astera smiled mysteriously. “I am a knight and I serve the lady of my heart faithfully,” Celestin called already from far, “as you say, I will do! To be here, I will be here. To be elsewhere, I will be there.” His way to the next star was much shorter and easier than last time. Celestin no longer had to dampen his own glow so that he would not dazzle himself. The star grew larger at a dizzying pace, and it became striking that her crown was too much like the crown of Astera. “She’s amazing, but it’ll be all the same again!” He stopped the horse in time and made his way to the next star. Again, it was the same likeness, the same rays, maybe a little different colours, but no more adventures. Celestin lost track of how many stars he had visited until one seemed nicer to him, and there he stopped his winged horse: “Tell me, unknown star, what’s your name, but quickly, I’m in a hurry!” “You don’t recognize me, Celestin? Astera, after all!” Celestin looked down and flushed with shame. But Astera was not angry, just waiting for Celestin to recover from his surprise. “Forgive me, my lady, I’m just on my way. I don’t know how the heavenly knight is supposed to behave here,” he said, straightening up. Astera sighed and looked straight in his eyes: “Celestin, as a star I can never be your only lover, we both know that. Yet as the sun, I can be your only lady, if you are still a knight.” “My only lady? I recognize your voice now! Was it you who led me out of the clouds?” “Who else, Celestin, was me, but not as a star.” “But I thought it was the sun at the time.” “You were right, I was your sun, and you were my star then.” “That’s so beautiful,” Celestin told her. “I love you so much.” And then another miracle happened that we are not accustomed to on earth, but that naturally belongs to heaven: Instead being attracted by love, Astera and Celestin began to drift apart, ever faster. Their splendid glow faded until they found themselves at the farthest reaches of the celestial vault as two tiny stars. But despite this distance they were still aware of each other. Gradually, they learned about all other stars in the vast celestial vault, and they were aware of them all. In the end, the only love dwelt among them that united them all, as if there shone a single sun in many stellar forms. Chapter Five And who were the stars? “That’s you” sounded from the Earth, “That’s us” flashed from heaven. Heavenly kisses continued to wander among the stars, passing through space, and proceeding to the new place of the heavenly vault: “We all are stars…” “We all are the only star, always the same sun…” “I sun…” “You star…” “We stars…” “We sun.” The knight’s heavenly night reached thus its fulfilment. But this is far from the end of his adventure, for he is still facing severe trials and great adversities.
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