Even though time and space don’t matter in this world, the Fool ran into the Page of Pentacles somewhere and sometime. He was walking through a city when he heard a man giving a speech under a giant archway. A decorative lute hung at the keystone of the arch.
The man was in robes and held a book tucked under his arm. The book had the word TIMEO written on the spine. The man was talking about the synchronicity of everything.
Even if there isn’t a Cosmic Architect, the man said, everything is connected. Not just in the way of little things causing great consequences, but in the way that we must understand the balance we can bring.
Some people were standing around him listening, while others walked on by, busy with their lives. Some were very attentive and the Fool felt like those were this man’s students. He could see that this man was great.
It’s important to rule with the knowledge that what we rule will affect future generations, the man continued. Does it just help us now, only to cause strife in the future? Or will it help countless future people? These are questions we must ask when we govern.
The man noticed the Fool in the crowd and stepped down the steps towards him. He seemed genuinely happy to see the Fool. He stepped up and grasped the Fool by the cheeks and kissed him on the forehead.
I’ve been waiting for you! the man exclaimed. I’m still not sure if this is your dream or mine!
The Fool had considered this quandary many times, both in this world and the other world, but he always felt that he was the dreamer and these many characters he met were figments of his sub-conscience or psyche – then again, sometimes he wasn’t as confident, and wondered if he was the one forming out of someone else’s dreams.
We could be sharing the dream, the man suggested, and merely using each other to learn some kind of lesson.
The students came down the stairs and surrounded the two of them. They wanted to know this man that caught the attention of their great teacher. None of them had seen the Fool before.
This is our guide, the man said, referring to the Fool, to the road we all must travel. We either follow him down the path no matter how ridiculous and wrong the path seems, or we can ignore him and live in our comforts and ignorance.
This is the shadow on the cave wall that will make us finally turn around and see the true world, the man continued. To ignore his existence is to stay in your perpetual delusion.
The man seemed excited to explain the Fool to his students. The Fool was uncomfortable with the attention. He felt that the man might be wrong about his importance, though his explanation did seem close to what the Fool had understood his purpose to be. He was just embarrassed by the focus of all these strangers – especially since he was still a stranger of himself.
What does TIMEO mean? the Fool asked the man.
Be afraid, the man answered.
The Fool was.