A LONG NIGHT'S MEDITATION

Seeking forgiveness for yielding unto temptation and making a batch of sugar cookies toward the tail end of an evening, I stumble across an ancient stone given to me by a traveler who once passed through that holiest of lands - that spit of earth called Cornwall.  On his way he came upon this old man sorting odd looking stones which he said came from the sea but had been found deep in a cave known only to the few who ventured into those tidal regions where the endless sea molded that coast into its signature façade.  He told how there were ancient glyphs on those cave walls that have never been completely deciphered, but which many believe were by the hand of Merlin himself.  These stones were laid out in a rough pentagram and covered with the dust and grime of ages.   

When asked what was special about those "rocks" the old man  said that if these stones were touched by the hand of Merlin, that sage advisor to Author, born of mortal woman but sired by an incubus, then they possessed many powers that transcended our physical world.  

As I now hold that stone in my hand, on this longest of nights, I think, surely among those powers would be the gift of forgiveness especially when it came to making a batch of sugar cookies.  It is well known that Merlin had a particular affection for sweetmeats and therefore could possibly find reason to make room for others who like himself find themselves powerless beneath the spell of a well made sugar cookie.  

It came to me that such a construct was not altogether unlike others upon which entire systems of belief are built.  I began to feel the weight of guilt slide from my shoulders.  Perhaps, I'm thinking, there is room for just one more cookie before turning in for the rest of this long night. 

Behold! The Light Cometh!