I had a dream.
I was a little boy and lived in a desert. There was a great famine. One by one, my villagers fell, dropping dead from hunger and exhaustion.
After my family wasn't any different, I had no time to mourn. I took my father's spear and sword, packed up whatever little was there and set out. It was a long, desolate walk. The sun was cruel and unrelenting, the glare was blinding, the dunes presented a fearsome sight as they twisted and turned, changing shapes as the wind howled over them.
As afternoon melted into evening, I was sure, I'd die of thirst, hunger and exhaustion. I looked up into the now crimson evening sky, and for a moment, complained to the Sun, "I have heard you are a merciful God! Alas, all that was a lie".
As I turned away from the cruel sun, grieving for myself, I saw a hut. A little light flickered in it. With the last of my strength, I wended my way to the hut.
Inside, there was none. But there was a stove and on it was a casserole full of food and meat. Near it were pots of water - cool, clean and sparkling water. In another corner was a charpoy cot with a couple of pillows and a blanket.
I wanted to eat, but I was afraid of stealing. And then, a voice said "Eat all you want, drink all you want from the pot, and sleep on the cot."
I looked around. I didn't see anyone. The voice repeated "Eat all you want and drink all you want from the pot. Fear not, for no harm shall come upon you".
I did as the voice said. No food that I had ever eaten before was tastier. I slept.
The next morning, I woke up with no roof over my head. When I looked around, and wondered if it was all a dream, I saw a fine chestnut mare near me, with another horse bearing a load of food and water.
The voice said, "Ride the mare, and let her take you". And we rode, hours and hours, stopping at noon for lunch under a lone magnificent tree.
As evening fell, we reached another house. The same voice told me to eat all I wanted and drink all I wanted and sleep on the cot. I did as the voice I had come to trust instructed me to.
The next morning, the same thing happened. I woke up to a bare sky and the mare and the horse waiting. The voice told me to ride the mare again, which I did, with a break for lunch, under another tree.
That evening, I reached a village. The villagers welcomed me and offered me a house and slaughtered a deer in my honour. Tummy full and made comfortable, I began to speak to them.
The voice told me, "These are your people. Live with them. You'll have many wives and many children. Indeed, you shall be a mighty man who helps all people".
Just as this was heard, the village chief, a female, came to see me. She asked me about my land and I told her of my famine and why I came there and how.
I asked her what I could do for her. She told me to stay with them and tell stories of my land. As I was about to bow to her, she stopped me and asked me to marry her along with all the 60 young women in the village. I hesitated as they were a little older than I was and polygamy wasn't something I had seen.
She told me that all their men had died in the battle, not a groom could be found for the maidens and a voice had told her that I will come to be their husband.
I was wondering about the voice. Sure enough, the voice told me "Marry them all, O gentle child, and beget good children. You shall be the king of this land. Fear not, for no harm shall come upon you".
And I did as instructed, my wives loved me much, took good care of me both as their husband and as their little boy that wandered into their homes, and the voice guided my life. As I grew older.. I became curious as to who the voice was....
I asked the voice who he was.
The voice replied "I, O gentle child, am the Sun".
