We finished preparing all the things we wanted to take on our trip. Today, I also carried the knife that Kyran had given me, tucked under my waistband. After saying goodbye to Masada, we started off on our journey. This time, we went in the other direction. I noticed that the sky that day was so colourful as if it was filled with rainbows. In the past days, I had observed the forests, the mountains, the trees, and the animals, but I had never consciously noticed the sky before. The landscape in that area was wide open with very few trees, it was almost bare, apart from a few rocks here and there, so we had a wide panoramic view of the sky.

“Hey Kyran, why is the sky painted in the colours of a rainbow?” I asked after a while.

“The sky here always looks like this,” he answered. “Especially on a day like today, when the sky is so clear, you can see its colours distinctly. This is caused by the phenomenon of electromagnetic waves amplifying the sun’s rays. Since the magnetic waves on our planet are very concentrated and elevated, the colours of the sky are extraordinary.”

“It feels like being in a fantasy world or in a dream, and it doesn’t seem real,” I remarked.

I had to accelerate my pace to catch up with the other two. After walking for an hour and a half, we had crossed the plain and entered the forest. That path was different, as it was smaller and narrower than the one that we had taken the day before. But I noticed that both paths had one thing in common; they were very well maintained. After walking through the dense forest for quite a while, we arrived at the main road which was much wider than the path we had walked on before. It was neatly paved with large stones, and a huge crowd of people were traveling on it. Some of them were transporting goods on wagons towed by horses or donkeys. It reminded me of the scenes in some old movies where people still used those ancient modes of transportation.

We spent another hour walking on that road, and I presumed we were getting closer to the city because the road became more crowded. What impressed me most was that everyone greeted me as if I were a celebrity, and most of them seemed very pleased to see me.

“Are you Tim, the one who came from planet Gaia? I’m so excited to meet you. I’ll have to tell my husband that I met you in person when I get home!” a woman, who was walking the same way, remarked excitedly.

“Why are they so thrilled to see me?” I turned to ask Kyran.

“Well, Tim, you are already quite famous here, didn’t you know that?” he answered with a question.

“Yes, that’s what it seems like, but I’m surprised why they’re so happy; it’s as if they had met a superstar,” I replied.

“I think for the people here, there’s nothing more joyous than meeting someone who has been chosen, because that person must have something very special that very few other people have,” Kyran said.

“For us, this is the highest honour in life. Right now, there’s no one in this entire world who doesn’t know you. Therefore, those who have a chance to meet you can’t help but to feel honoured and delighted,” he added.

“But I still feel it’s a bit strange. They shouldn’t worship me that much,” I replied.

The three of us were now approaching the city when I heard some music in the distance. It was the sound of musical instruments which I couldn’t readily identify but it could have been the sound of a harp and a flute being played. It was the most beautiful melody I had ever heard.

“Are we almost there?” I asked with excitement.

“Yes, after crossing the hill in front of us, you will see the city,” said Koharu.

“Where is the music coming from? Is there a festival?” I asked.

“No, the musicians regularly play music to entertain the people in the city. When we arrive, you will see them everywhere. They play music for the governor and the regular folks all day and all night long. So, this city is filled with the sound of music all around the clock. I enjoy sleeping here because the music relaxes me a lot,” explained Koharu.

And it was exactly as she had described: when we got to the top of the hill and looked down, I could see the whole city. It was a big city with houses densely built next to one another, covering a large area of many square kilometers. The city was established on the plain down the hill, flanked by a large river with three bridges that connected the two sides of the city. There were three main roads and hundreds of small alleys that linked one area with another like a sprawling network. The city looked very well-designed as it appeared nice and orderly when seen from this high angle.

At the end of the main road that passed through the middle of the city, there was a towering mountain in the background, with a street leading up to a huge building situated almost at the top of the hill. That building had the shape of a large rectangle with dozens of floors. The top of the building was crowned by numerous spires on the roof which looked like small pagodas. It was a very tall building, probably around fifteen or twenty stories high, and it was covered all over with glittering gold.

“Wow, this is exciting,” I exclaimed when I took in the view of the city in front of me.

“Is that big building a religious place?” I asked, looking at as the structure which reminded me of a Tibetan temple, since they also have this big square shape and are usually located on top of a hill.

“No, it isn’t. On Tuengra, we don’t have a dedicated place for religious rites or ceremonies,” Kyran replied.

“Oh, why not? I would have expected that a world full of good-hearted and kind people would have a place of worship to show how much their religion has thrived,” I said, showing my surprise.

“What you think you understand is different from the truth,” he replied.

“People here have never experienced suffering, so why would you think we need a place to heal? Also, we are of good health and we never get sick, so we don’t need any medical facility either,” he explained.

“Don’t tell me that there is no hospital here?” I continued.

“Of course, we don’t even have a doctor nor a priest here,” Kyran replied.

“They are only needed in a civilisation where people have a need to be healed. When you see many highly-developed medical or religious institutes, this means that the bodies and minds of the people there are neglected and maltreated and would require treatments. You do understand the basic principle of the law of demand and supply, don’t you? These institutes wouldn’t exist in the first place if no one is ill,  emotionally and physically,” he asked, giving me an inquisitive look.

“Well, this was my misunderstanding then. I had the notion that in places where religions are thriving,  there must be many good-hearted people,” I admitted.

“In your society, do you think there are more good-hearted or more cold-hearted people who lack love? Try to answer honestly,” Kyran urged me.

“Well, I think the latter,” I replied.

“Then consider how different the proportion is between these two types of people. Compare the number of people who visit places of entertainment at night with the number of those who prefer to visit their temples and study the dharma,” he suggested.

“Oh! If you put it that way, I would estimate the number of those who chose to visit temples to be around 20 percent or less,” I answered.

“This is only an estimate based on external appearances. The people who go to temples could also be categorised on different levels. The number of those who are truly good-hearted and humble, and love others unconditionally, is much lower than we think,” he added.

“So what is that elegant building on the mountain?” I asked.

“It’s the residence of the highly evolved beings,” he answered.

“Is that the place where I have to go?” I asked.

“Yes, but probably not today. We will be notified when it’s time for you to meet them,” Kyran replied.

“You said ‘them’. Does that mean that there are many of them?” I asked.

“There are hundreds of highly evolved beings, but only thirty of them have a significant role on Tuengra and in the universe. However, most of them are not here now,” he said.

“Where are they then?” I asked.

“Perhaps, you can ask them yourself when you meet them?”

While I was walking down the hill, I couldn’t pull my eyes away from the city and the tall buildings. I continued to ask myself what important issue the highly evolved beings could possibly want to discuss with me, and why I was chosen to hear it.

I noticed many musicians along both sides of the road we were on. Some were in groups of two or three, while others were solo artists. They were all performing their music separately. They looked like street performers, but the difference was that they were not busking. They were dressed in luxurious, colourful clothes and wore jewelry made of gold and precious stones.

“Why are they playing their music out here? We’re not even in the city yet,” I asked.

“Usually they only perform in the city. Only on special occasions do they come out to play music along the roadsides in front of the city entrance. On days when an important guest comes to visit the city, they would play to give him a warm welcome,” Kyran answered.

“So, this means that an important guest is expected today?”

“Yes,” he replied.

“I wonder when he will arrive,” I said.

“Actually, he is here right now,” Kyran said and turned to me.

I was speechless.

“He means you, Tim,” Koharu said, turning to me with a warm smile.

“Me?” I raised my eyebrows and pointed a finger at myself.

“Oh! I don’t think so. It’s certainly not me as I don’t deserve that honour. Someone else really special must be traveling here,” I said seriously.

“No, that person is really you. You should show your gratitude because they will be very grateful and honoured if you do so,” Koharu said.

“Really?” I asked, not yet quite grasping the situation.

I turned towards the nearest group of musicians and slightly bowed to show my gratitude. As soon as they saw me doing that, they became more enthusiastic and responded with the same gesture, even though they still had their instruments in their hands.

“Kyran, I can’t believe this! It seems they’re really welcoming me, I can feel it,” I exclaimed joyfully.

“It is, indeed. Now you should greet everyone you see in this same manner, and accept that you are a very important person now. If you go around without acknowledging their devotion, it would appear like you don’t respect them,” explained Kyran.

“Of course, I’m honoured to do so.”