SOFTLY IN THE QUIET PLACES (c) Robert Nelson 1978

Ages ago beyond dim mortal recollection, a small, fragile creature blinked once and was born. He was perfectly normal, seemingly like his fellow creatures, except for the inordinate size of his heart. So big was it in fact, that it would not fit safely inside his ribs.

The world then was a great bright-dark swirl of air and water filled with still places and dangerous currents. The God in charge of this world looked at it and at the little creature and whispered, "You have three choices little one. You may let go of your imperfect physical home and return with me to wait for one which is normal. You may give back this unusual heart and go forward into physical life free of pain and feeling. Or you may choose to keep your strange heart and learn to carry it with you."

The fragile creature closed his eyes. Like all tiny ones he carried pale 'memories of a time gone by when he had walked this same earth. His soul was very old and he knew much of life. So he sighed, opened his eyes and embraced his heart. The God nodded, fashioned a fine silver chain, and fastened the lovely heart to the little being's ankle. Then the God touched it and the chain and the heart became invisible to all but the tiny creature. The God said, "Now you look like all the rest. It will not be easy." The creature nodded and fell asleep.

In time, the currents of the earth swept the creature into earth events and he was duly named Caphir, after a star in the constellation of Virgo.

Caphir grew and played about in the streams and eddies of earth life where all small creatures learned to negotiate

before stepping full into the tumult of living. But he was not exactly "right." Many times his mother would trip over his invisible silver chain and turn on him for being so clumsy. Other little creatures ran into his heart which bumped along

after him, and bouncing off onto the ground, they would deride him for his strangeness. Caphir was alone most of the time.

Because his heart was so large, when it was light it would go up and up like a bright balloon pulling Caphir along. It would soar so high that Caphir could see all the earth and could look down at the swirly patterns, dark and light, and understand why people were so confused. And he would shout down, "I love you all anyway. " But no one could hear him because he was so far above them.

Too, when his heart was heavy it would sink to the bottan of one of the dark still places and Caphir would be dragged down and down into the cold. There the heart would sit like an anchor with poor Caphir drifting helplessly around it. He would pull and tug at his chain trying to dislodge his heart from the bottom and look up and shout, "I love you. Please help me." But no one could hear him because he was so far below them.

Most of the time, however, his heart just tumbled along behind him. It got scrapes and nicks and bumps and once or twice a little crack. To Caphir it looked as though it would never last a lifetime. He was sure that one more good bump and it would crumble into a million pieces.

Once when he was a young man, Caphir walked all night thinking about his situation. Finally he decided that he no longer wanted to be bothered with dragging his burdensome feelings around outside himself for all the world to batter. He was determined to be like all the rest. So he set to work with a hammer and chisel to break the silver chain. He stayed alone for days, working feverishly, pounding and grinding and filing. Finally, weak and exhausted, he sat back and cried, for he had not put one dent in the smooth silver.

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