"Mr. Parry?" A voice called his name and he turned to acknowledge
that he heard.
"Yes?" He answered tersely.
"Mr. Parry, the council needs your assistance on a complicated matter. We are stumped and wanted to seek your wisdom before setting out on any action." The man speaking was an older man part of a council Will appointed in order to fulfill the role of building a Republic of Heaven in his world. Will was now in his thirties. His face was lined with wrinkles and tiredness commonly associated with a man is his fifties. Anyone who could stand to look in his eyes saw pain and sorrow brought down with old memories that seemed to haunt him. When Will closed that window almost twenty years before, forever losing Lyra to another world, he knew it would be hard to carry on and function through the rest of his life. He held his head high for Lyra, all that he did he did for her and because of her. He wanted to prove that he could be brave and strong even in the hardest time in his life. Will had still failed to find a marriage partner to spend his life with in his world. He still loved Lyra. He was going to remain forever faithful to his one and true love, just like his father. And love her all the more passionately as the days passed by. Not one day went by that he didn't think about her warm kiss against his mouth or the way she tucked her hair gently behind her ears.
"I'll help if I can. What is the problem?" He answered with a weary sigh.
"Sir, people are beginning to fear and hate and become quick to anger. The council thinks that Dust may be slowly diminishing. Forestation thousands of years old are getting sick and dying. What can we do?" Will stood there to think. He had tried hard to tell people of the kindness, love, and unselfishness they could show so that the Dust could flourish and the one window out of the world of the dead could stay open. People were slowly turning back to the old ways.
"Sir?" It must have taken Will a long time to answer the council member because the man's voice was full with impatience.
"I don't know. I don't know if there is much more I can do. I've done all I can."
"But, sir.you don't really mean that?" The hope was wiped out of the council member's face. If Mr. Parry saw no hope, how could they? This Republic was surrounded around him, built by him, and maintained by him.
"Go see Dr. Malone. Maybe she can help you. Leave me." Will sat down at his desk and fumble with the papers on it. As the man left, Will pick up his agenda and opened up to the week. The day was Midsummer Day.
"Mommy! Mommy!" Lyra looked down at her daughter pulling and the hem of her dress.
"What is it dear?" Lyra, too, had aged a lot in her short lifetime. Although she had managed to find a man to marry and build a family with, a big piece of her heart was left with Will in his own world. The man she married was very good for her. He helped her greatly in building the Republic of Heaven and was respected and people liked to listen to his opinion. He taught them the goodness of life and how people can explore and live their lives with passion instead of living it mundanely. This had helped Lyra in producing more Dust to compensate for the Dust that was lost in the abyss and the Dust that was escaping slowly from the window out of the world of the dead. Her first child, a girl, was born just about two years ago and she was beautiful and Lyra loved her very, very much. For all the times Mrs. Coulter hadn't shown Lyra love, Lyra showed her daughter love. She was the reason Lyra could live her life, could live it without Will. Lyra had pursued diligently at the task of reading the alethiometer once again. St. Sophia had provided a great deal of help as well as the headmistress, Dame Hannah, in beginning the read the alethiometer again. After schooling, she still had to practice to gain the skill. She could only read the easiest of things. She asked it once where she had put her ring her husband gave her at their marriage, she had accidently misplaced it, and it took days for her to understand it and left her exhausted afterwards. She only asked the alethiometer questions for the sake of practice, because the effort it took to read it took away too much energy and left her extremely weary.
"More juice mommy!" Little Alina held up her cup to her mother so that she could refill it. Lyra took it and absent-mindedly refilled it. Lyra had other thoughts on her mind. Today was Midsummer's Day and she was getting jumpy; it was almost midday. Her husband was due home any moment so that she could leave to the Botanic Garden and have her time alone with Will. She had managed to keep the purpose of their meetings a secret. Her husband was good to ask no questions because he trusted her and he knew that she had had a hard life and needed to get away once in a while.
The door opened almost silently. "Daddy!" Alina ran over to her father and jumped into his open arms. Lyra watched them and smiled to herself. Dirk, her husband, was a very good father. She loved watching Alina and Dirk together. The love they showed each other was almost tangible.
With Alina is his arms, Dirk walked over the Lyra and kissed her gently on the lips as a greeting. "Are you leaving now?" Lyra nodded slightly and grabbed her rucksack. Walking out the door with her emotions almost bursting, she managed to utter a "Thank you" and ran off.
Somewhere a nightingale was singing and a breeze combed through Will's hair. Far off bells could be heard. With his whole soul and everything that made up his mind and body, he began to kind-of imagine or pretend, and he began to travel to where Lyra was right now in the exact same place, in the same garden, on the same bench, in her world.
Lyra sat down on the bench under a great pine. A fountain was nearby making soft sounds of water that helped to sooth her mind. She began to pretend and gather her thoughts in a way that was more than imagining.
And together there they sat. Every year, one day a year, always at midday they gather in the Botanic Garden. Will and Lyra sat on the same bench, worlds apart, yet for this moment brought together again the way it was supposed to be. This time together gave a new hope for Will and greater love and understanding to Lyra. They cherished this time together and neither wanted the time to end.
"Yes?" He answered tersely.
"Mr. Parry, the council needs your assistance on a complicated matter. We are stumped and wanted to seek your wisdom before setting out on any action." The man speaking was an older man part of a council Will appointed in order to fulfill the role of building a Republic of Heaven in his world. Will was now in his thirties. His face was lined with wrinkles and tiredness commonly associated with a man is his fifties. Anyone who could stand to look in his eyes saw pain and sorrow brought down with old memories that seemed to haunt him. When Will closed that window almost twenty years before, forever losing Lyra to another world, he knew it would be hard to carry on and function through the rest of his life. He held his head high for Lyra, all that he did he did for her and because of her. He wanted to prove that he could be brave and strong even in the hardest time in his life. Will had still failed to find a marriage partner to spend his life with in his world. He still loved Lyra. He was going to remain forever faithful to his one and true love, just like his father. And love her all the more passionately as the days passed by. Not one day went by that he didn't think about her warm kiss against his mouth or the way she tucked her hair gently behind her ears.
"I'll help if I can. What is the problem?" He answered with a weary sigh.
"Sir, people are beginning to fear and hate and become quick to anger. The council thinks that Dust may be slowly diminishing. Forestation thousands of years old are getting sick and dying. What can we do?" Will stood there to think. He had tried hard to tell people of the kindness, love, and unselfishness they could show so that the Dust could flourish and the one window out of the world of the dead could stay open. People were slowly turning back to the old ways.
"Sir?" It must have taken Will a long time to answer the council member because the man's voice was full with impatience.
"I don't know. I don't know if there is much more I can do. I've done all I can."
"But, sir.you don't really mean that?" The hope was wiped out of the council member's face. If Mr. Parry saw no hope, how could they? This Republic was surrounded around him, built by him, and maintained by him.
"Go see Dr. Malone. Maybe she can help you. Leave me." Will sat down at his desk and fumble with the papers on it. As the man left, Will pick up his agenda and opened up to the week. The day was Midsummer Day.
"Mommy! Mommy!" Lyra looked down at her daughter pulling and the hem of her dress.
"What is it dear?" Lyra, too, had aged a lot in her short lifetime. Although she had managed to find a man to marry and build a family with, a big piece of her heart was left with Will in his own world. The man she married was very good for her. He helped her greatly in building the Republic of Heaven and was respected and people liked to listen to his opinion. He taught them the goodness of life and how people can explore and live their lives with passion instead of living it mundanely. This had helped Lyra in producing more Dust to compensate for the Dust that was lost in the abyss and the Dust that was escaping slowly from the window out of the world of the dead. Her first child, a girl, was born just about two years ago and she was beautiful and Lyra loved her very, very much. For all the times Mrs. Coulter hadn't shown Lyra love, Lyra showed her daughter love. She was the reason Lyra could live her life, could live it without Will. Lyra had pursued diligently at the task of reading the alethiometer once again. St. Sophia had provided a great deal of help as well as the headmistress, Dame Hannah, in beginning the read the alethiometer again. After schooling, she still had to practice to gain the skill. She could only read the easiest of things. She asked it once where she had put her ring her husband gave her at their marriage, she had accidently misplaced it, and it took days for her to understand it and left her exhausted afterwards. She only asked the alethiometer questions for the sake of practice, because the effort it took to read it took away too much energy and left her extremely weary.
"More juice mommy!" Little Alina held up her cup to her mother so that she could refill it. Lyra took it and absent-mindedly refilled it. Lyra had other thoughts on her mind. Today was Midsummer's Day and she was getting jumpy; it was almost midday. Her husband was due home any moment so that she could leave to the Botanic Garden and have her time alone with Will. She had managed to keep the purpose of their meetings a secret. Her husband was good to ask no questions because he trusted her and he knew that she had had a hard life and needed to get away once in a while.
The door opened almost silently. "Daddy!" Alina ran over to her father and jumped into his open arms. Lyra watched them and smiled to herself. Dirk, her husband, was a very good father. She loved watching Alina and Dirk together. The love they showed each other was almost tangible.
With Alina is his arms, Dirk walked over the Lyra and kissed her gently on the lips as a greeting. "Are you leaving now?" Lyra nodded slightly and grabbed her rucksack. Walking out the door with her emotions almost bursting, she managed to utter a "Thank you" and ran off.
Somewhere a nightingale was singing and a breeze combed through Will's hair. Far off bells could be heard. With his whole soul and everything that made up his mind and body, he began to kind-of imagine or pretend, and he began to travel to where Lyra was right now in the exact same place, in the same garden, on the same bench, in her world.
Lyra sat down on the bench under a great pine. A fountain was nearby making soft sounds of water that helped to sooth her mind. She began to pretend and gather her thoughts in a way that was more than imagining.
And together there they sat. Every year, one day a year, always at midday they gather in the Botanic Garden. Will and Lyra sat on the same bench, worlds apart, yet for this moment brought together again the way it was supposed to be. This time together gave a new hope for Will and greater love and understanding to Lyra. They cherished this time together and neither wanted the time to end.