Beyond Kingdoms Of Dust

There are innumerable worlds abiding beneath the sands. The sands race across the blanched surface of the desert and conceal each of these worlds. Restless layers of sand bury kingdoms. The servant of the king drifts across the desert and sees a visage on the sand. He observes the visage with wide eyes as he is unable to believe that it could have endured the endless sweep of the sands. He hurries back to his king in order to inform him of his discovery. The king listens to his story with deep interest. "A visage? Out in the desert? How could it have survived? How is it possible that the sands did not erase it?" The king was utterly mystified by the notion of a visage evading erasure in the desert. Then he turned to look at his servant and said, "Go and erase this visage? You and other men will erase it!" The man nodded and went out in the desert with other men. The men saw the face in the sand, and then they began to conjoin their efforts in erasing it. They observe how the sands sweep over the visage, but that it remains as before, pristine and untouched. The men persist in covering the visage with sand. After several moments, the men observe how the visage was now concealed. The men were satisfied that whatever remained of the visage was now hidden beneath the sands. They return to the palace and inform the king that they erased the visage. "We have erased it as you wished." The king looked very pleased. Years later, the king dies. The palace is filled with grief and mourning. His servants bury their king while his loved ones weep. A few days after the burial, one of the servants remembers how he saw a visage in the desert, and how the visage endured the sweep of the sands. The servant drifts through the desert. He wishes to collect his thoughts about the events of previous days when suddenly he sees a visage in the sand. He goes to have a closer look. After a few moments, he realizes that the visage is exactly where it used to be all those years ago. But this time the visage is not the same as before. The servant observes it closely and realizes that it is the face of his king. He watches as layers of sand begin to conceal the visage. The servant sees how the sands move swiftly upon the visage and bury it. Then he scatters the sand in order to see the face of his king again. The servant persists in casting away the layers of sand until he begins to see the outline of the visage. He feels pleased that the visage remained. Then he looks at the face closely and sees that it is the one that he discovered all those years ago. The face of his king has become the face of the unknown man whose sandy eyes peer at him. The visage remains untouched by the sands.