"Thomas! It's time!"
That still voice in the wind spoke again. He was sure, he knew that there was something in the wind, it spoke to him, in a still small but persistent voice. He could hear it, it called out to him, it said his name, in a steady and unclear whisper, he could feel, it's cold, chilly, strange but comforting.
But Thomas could not quite tell what it was. He could not decipher the message in the voice. All he could hear and feel was those little whispers and tug at his heart.
"Follow the wind. It's time" the voice said.
All his life, Thomas had lived in his sleepy little village deep in the countryside, in-between the mountains. A village that lived out its life on a daily routine of waking up to tend to the livestock, then some farming, sleep and repeat.
But now his yearning for the unknown has increased. He wanted to know what it was that called him beyond the mountains. A persistent tugging at his soul. He could swear that there was something whispering to him words that were just out of reach.
"Follow the wind" it kept on calling.
One day Thomas packed his bags and followed that little voice in the wind.
Deep beyond the mountains he journeyed, the sun shining brightly, illuminating a particular path that led deeper and deeper into the woods. Without hesitation, Thomas followed the illuminated path, he felt the sun was guiding him to his quest.
And just as he had guessed , the path led him to a small cabin with flickering lights from its windows, nestled in between the mountains. As he tried to knock he heard a door creak open and sitted beside a crackling fire was an old man with beards that looked like it hasn't seen blades in years and eyes that sparked with wisdom
"At last you're here," the man said, his voice gentle and kind. "Come, take a seat. The wind has finally brought you to your destiny"
Thomas didn't understand what he meant but he was glad to know that he wasn't crazy. He truly heard the wind call and now he had finally found it.
Scared but with care and bravery he walked up to the little stool the old man had motioned him to sit and sat down.
"Who are you? Why is the wind calling me? Am I going crazy? " He asked, very anxious to know what was going on.
The old man smiled. " No need to fear my child , I was just like you years back, with the questions seeking answers as to why I could hear and speak to the wind" he poured Thomas a cup of coffee from a kettle which had been brewing from the fire in the room and continued.
"Let me tell you what makes the wind different from other gifts of nature like the moon, the rain, the earth and the stars. It's simply because it's not something you can always see or touch, but it is always there. Always with you".
All this while all Thomas could do was stare at the coffee with so much interest. He was hungry, but he was scared of sipping the coffee. He feared being hypnotised, of the unknown.
The old man reached towards Thomas and took back the cup of coffee. It was as if he read Thomas' mind.
"Sometimes, we fear the unknown, we fear what happens the next minute. But for people like us the wind tells us messages of the unknown. For people like you, you're destined to interpret the wind to the people. To warn them of the impending dangers of the plans of our enemies which the wind will blow to our path"
Thomas listened, spellbound by the old man's words. But somehow it was becoming clearer. He had heard stories of a man, the Anemoi, that could read the wind but he thought it to be a rumour.
"I don't understand " he paused. "What exactly do you mean by people like us?" He paused again as if he was finding his words.
"Yes, people like us. The Anemoi " the old man said with so much seriousness.
"Wait! Wait!" Thomas yelled " Are you saying that I am the next Anemoi?"
"Yes, the next for your generation"
"And how do I believe you"
"Perhaps the wind could tell you herself. Now, close your eyes and take a deep breath, child " the old man instructed.
Reluctantly, Thomas closed his eyes and did just as the old man had instructed him.
"Now, listen… listen only to the wind child. Concentrate and listen to it as it blows through the trees, listen as it rustles the leaves and stirs its branches. List to it as it speaks to you"
Gradually, the noise around Thomas faded and all he could hear was the sound of the wind. And just as before, it spoke to him. This time he could make out the words in its soft whispers.
Thomas spent the next few years learning about the language of the wind with the old man. From listening to the whispers in the rustling leaves and telling the message in the swaying branches, to interpreting the messages from the rushing wind.
And little by little, he began to tell the future from the wind's gentle caresses. And when the old man joined his ancestors, Thomas took over as the new Anemoi.
Scared he was to fill in such heavy shoes, but ready and brave he became as time went by.
Ps: Anemoi is a Greek word for wind.
