In the Regeneration - the man-made messiah

Chapter July 19, 2012

David Brown put his arm around Max’s shoulder affectionately.

“Don’t worry Maxxy – it’s all under control. There’s a bloke up here who’ll tell you everything.”

You know who that’ll be, don’t you…

“This bloke – he wouldn’t happen to be an old man with long hair and a beard would he?” Max asked, quizzically.

“Mate… don’t worry,” David Brown laughed. “Shard’s performed that little trick on hundreds of us. He got me fifteen years ago. I wanted to adjourn the whole thing as well… but I must say, I didn’t get as far as the booking office.”

 

 

20.2

 

The top of Haji Malang was shaped like a saucer, with a stone courtyard surrounding a small temple at the entrance of the bowl. Max followed David Brown, Pierre, the one rupee man and the sadhu who had taken him there through the crowded courtyard, past the temple, and out into the sparsely wooded forest.

Waiting on the verandah of a small hut built against the trunk of a huge Plane tree, was Shard.

Bingo!

“You did well.” Shard called, patting a space beside him. “In one stroke you have brought the whole world of Islam with you. We couldn’t have wished for more.”

“Islam?” Max said, bemused.  “I know nothing about Islam.”

“You did recognize the flag?” Shard asked, astonished.

Charminar… the castle… the flag?

“I saw a flag but…”

“Aha”, Shard glanced across at Pierre with a sharp smile. “Again we see the unmistakable hand of God.”

So that happy flag, was the flag of Islam?

Is that supposed to make some huge difference?

“Brilliant,” Shard said smiling proudly.

The coterie nodded in agreement.

“It’s not as if I planned it that way,” Max laughed.

“Of course not – we all know you had no plan.”