himself in two places at the same time. He was still on the stage, in the hall, surrounded by the dazzling Invisibles, his mind in darkness. And yet, simultaneously, he was at the threshold of the great hall, beneath the arches, flooded in an ineffable light. The light was so universal that he couldnât see.
He stood in the utter darkness of light, at the threshold, under the arch, in deep silence, when he heard again the question he hadnât answered three times before. But this time the question had changed and the voice asking it was angelic.
âWHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF INVISIBILITY?â
Again silence weighed down his mind. But as he stood there, trembling in his inability, he felt the presence of his third guide and, without thinking, replied:
âPERFECTION.â
The lights became brighter, dissolving him in their deeper darkness. And the voice, more urgent, more seraphic, said:
âWHAT IS THE DREAM OF THE INVISIBLES?â
The silence that swelled in his mind made him soar into the edges of the light, flailing in the air. He was helpless and stricken with terror. But before he started to scream, the spirit of his second guide came to him and, with his heart beating faster under the mystery of his own clarity, he cried:
âTO CREATE THE FIRST UNIVERSAL CIVILISATION OF JUSTICE AND LOVE.â
After a brief silence, he heard strains of music. Then he saw, briefly, a faun playing on a flute. It played notes of such heartbreaking beauty that he started to weep. Then the music ceased, and the vision disappeared. The light and the darkness were now one.
And the voice, quieter now, almost inaudible, as if a deity was speaking with the register of the wind in the tall grass, said:
âWHAT IS THE MYSTERY OF THE BRIDGE?â
Lost in the perfect equality of darkness and light, of silence and sound, he wandered in the cool spaces of the question. Not afraid anymore, but brimming with joy, he felt the presence of his first guide. And, with a smiling voice, he replied:
âCREATIVITY, AND GRACE.â
At that moment he was overcome with light, flooded with a supernal intelligence. He could feel the appreciation of the Invisibles. He could feel the warm brilliance of their smiles. It was like a faint golden mist in the hall, a fragrance of sunlight. He became as a child.
2
A moment before he saw the congregation of the Invisibles as a host of luminous beings in vaporous white, he saw her mighty wings. He caught his breath. As if in a sublime dream, momentary as a vision of heaven, he saw her again, hovering above everything, conferring her benediction on all who are under her protection. He saw again â the liminal archangel of invisibility.
And as he stood there on the platform, dimly aware of the curious nature of his destiny, the most wonderful thing happened. He noticed something stirring within the mirror. And out of the mirror came a unicorn with a diamond horn. Before he could breathe, the unicorn trotted towards him silently. Then it stopped, and turned its mesmeric eyes upon him. Its horn was pointed heavenward.
Lost in the hypnotic eyes of the unicorn, he heard a sweet and primeval voice in the air say:
âBecause your heart is pure you have found without seeking, overcome without knowing that you overcame, and arrived here when all who have tried have failed. You were born invisible. For anyone to get here they must, one way or another, come through your condition. There is no other way.â
When the voice ceased he felt, quite suddenly, as if he were in a shining place of silver, where all the known laws were different.
Then the unicorn, shimmering in an emerald light, trotted away from him gracefully and went out through the other mirror, leaving the air tinged with its mysterious philosophies.
Ben Okri on the Reissues
It is for me a conjunction no less than magical that these five books are coming out together. The four reissues were first published in the nineties
He stood in the utter darkness of light, at the threshold, under the arch, in deep silence, when he heard again the question he hadnât answered three times before. But this time the question had changed and the voice asking it was angelic.
âWHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF INVISIBILITY?â
Again silence weighed down his mind. But as he stood there, trembling in his inability, he felt the presence of his third guide and, without thinking, replied:
âPERFECTION.â
The lights became brighter, dissolving him in their deeper darkness. And the voice, more urgent, more seraphic, said:
âWHAT IS THE DREAM OF THE INVISIBLES?â
The silence that swelled in his mind made him soar into the edges of the light, flailing in the air. He was helpless and stricken with terror. But before he started to scream, the spirit of his second guide came to him and, with his heart beating faster under the mystery of his own clarity, he cried:
âTO CREATE THE FIRST UNIVERSAL CIVILISATION OF JUSTICE AND LOVE.â
After a brief silence, he heard strains of music. Then he saw, briefly, a faun playing on a flute. It played notes of such heartbreaking beauty that he started to weep. Then the music ceased, and the vision disappeared. The light and the darkness were now one.
And the voice, quieter now, almost inaudible, as if a deity was speaking with the register of the wind in the tall grass, said:
âWHAT IS THE MYSTERY OF THE BRIDGE?â
Lost in the perfect equality of darkness and light, of silence and sound, he wandered in the cool spaces of the question. Not afraid anymore, but brimming with joy, he felt the presence of his first guide. And, with a smiling voice, he replied:
âCREATIVITY, AND GRACE.â
At that moment he was overcome with light, flooded with a supernal intelligence. He could feel the appreciation of the Invisibles. He could feel the warm brilliance of their smiles. It was like a faint golden mist in the hall, a fragrance of sunlight. He became as a child.
2
A moment before he saw the congregation of the Invisibles as a host of luminous beings in vaporous white, he saw her mighty wings. He caught his breath. As if in a sublime dream, momentary as a vision of heaven, he saw her again, hovering above everything, conferring her benediction on all who are under her protection. He saw again â the liminal archangel of invisibility.
And as he stood there on the platform, dimly aware of the curious nature of his destiny, the most wonderful thing happened. He noticed something stirring within the mirror. And out of the mirror came a unicorn with a diamond horn. Before he could breathe, the unicorn trotted towards him silently. Then it stopped, and turned its mesmeric eyes upon him. Its horn was pointed heavenward.
Lost in the hypnotic eyes of the unicorn, he heard a sweet and primeval voice in the air say:
âBecause your heart is pure you have found without seeking, overcome without knowing that you overcame, and arrived here when all who have tried have failed. You were born invisible. For anyone to get here they must, one way or another, come through your condition. There is no other way.â
When the voice ceased he felt, quite suddenly, as if he were in a shining place of silver, where all the known laws were different.
Then the unicorn, shimmering in an emerald light, trotted away from him gracefully and went out through the other mirror, leaving the air tinged with its mysterious philosophies.
Ben Okri on the Reissues
It is for me a conjunction no less than magical that these five books are coming out together. The four reissues were first published in the nineties
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