The Treasure Of Pneuma

By Kumar Shaurya Singh

Once upon a time, there was a little girl called Frieda; she was a little indecisive about her future, and being insecure, she always allowed others to make decisions for her.

One day, when she returned from school, she found, sitting on her bed, a big wooden box, and on top of it was a letter that was addressed to her, and it was from her uncle.

‘Lovely Princess,’ it said, ‘I have wandered out on many quests, and many adventures have I made. In my adventures, I have discovered many treasures - gold coins, gems, rubies, and many other priceless stones of the world have been found by me. I have kept them with myself, have struggled to keep them secure, and I have carried them with me all of my life. But now, the most incredible quest of my life has come, and I have to go to it. I cannot take this treasure with me. I have carried it with me all of my life, but now it has become useless to me. The real treasure for me exists in my journey now, and I cannot use these gold coins and silver goblets anymore.

‘So, I give them all to you, O beautiful princess. I have put all the riches of the world into this box here, and I give them to you. They are yours, and you can fulfil all your dreams with them, though I’d suggest you use them to purchase the Ship of Moirai and take it out on the Ocean. Then the treasures will prove their worth, for it is only in the Ocean that your greatest adventure will truly begin, and if you move in the correct direction, then you will find the fabled treasure of pneuma. Many sailors have been hunting that treasure for ages, and recently a rumour of its destination has spread among us seekers by an informant. I think that it’s time for you to join the quest as well. My heart tells me that you will discover what others cannot. Thus, take this treasure of mine and begin your adventure. May the light shine in your heart.’

Upon reading the letter, a wave of happiness flowed from her heart, and a light glowed in her thoughts. She was filled with excitement, and the future became a vast dreamy landscape for her. So she folded the letter, put it in her pocket, went to her mother, kissed her on the cheek, saying goodbye, and immediately went to the DreamMarket and purchased the Ship of Moirai from there, intending to take it into the Ocean.

The Shopkeeper was a beautiful and kind man, so when he heard that Frieda was going to go sail on the Ocean, then he called up some nice words from his heart and whispered them to Frieda. He also gave Frieda a compass so that she may sail in the Ocean without any hiccups. Then the legal bond was made as both parties signed on the official sheet of paper, and it was declared that Frieda had now become the official owner of the Ship of Moirai. She was to find it standing at the docks.

But by the time Frieda reached the docks, the words slipped out of her memory. ‘What’s more,’ she realised, ‘even the compass is broken! It doesn’t point in the correct direction at all!’

She felt cheated and betrayed, and already she had given all her treasure to the shopkeeper. A furious rage burned in her soul, and she felt like throwing the compass into the ocean, thinking that all this was stupid and she had made a fool of herself, but some wise forethought prevented her from doing so, and she kept it safely in her pocket, right next to the letter.

Her problems were not over, though, and worrying about the future, she exclaimed: ‘How will I sail into the Ocean now? I have the Ship of Moirai, but I have no maps. I have no directions. I don’t even have a working compass. It seems so confusing to me. How will I ever discover The Treasure of Pneuma?’

There was an old Sea-Captain, who had seen many a difficult day, and who was passing by her when he heard her words of woe. So he stopped in his tracks, pondered for a while, and turned his bearded face towards her and spoke these words:

‘O dear wanderer, why do you despair? Do not worry, and do not be afraid. I am here, O Sailor of the Winds; I am here to help you. There is no need to feel frightened or discouraged. I know all the currents of the ocean and the motions of the waves. The Ocean is my home, and all its creatures are my friends. I shall help you. I shall be The Captain of your ship.’

Upon hearing these words, Frieda found a brilliant light shining in her thoughts, for all her worries vanished with a whizz. Jumping up and down, and in a shrill, excited voice, she said, ‘Will you really do that? O kind and gentle stranger, Will you be the Master of my ship?’

‘Yes I will, my little friend,’ he replied, adding, ‘through rocks and storms shall I make our sail, and together we shall discover the hidden wonders of the Ocean. The mysterious Treasure of Pneuma shall belong to us, and verily will we discover such wonderful gift.’

‘Then my ship is yours to command’, she said, ‘You may take me to where ever I am supposed to be, and if all goes right, then The Treasure will be ours. Let us go immediately and begin our journey in this Ocean of life!’

So the two of them hoisted their flags, set up their sails, and out they went on the Ocean. The Ship of Moirai was sturdy and strong, but it had no map or working compass. The compass that Frieda carried was not working, and thus there was no clear direction for her. But the captain had an excellent idea about the ocean, so he took the ship into the middle of the waters and assured Frieda that all would be right.

Yet all was not right, for sometimes, scaly and wicked sea creatures lashed at them and attacked their ship with slimy tentacles. Their ship lurched dangerously when furious waves tossed it up and down and crashed against its hull. The weather turned black and treacherous, and amidst moonless nights, the two sailors had to navigate their way through the darkness. In such wise, the first month of their adventure was so eventful that both of them were utterly exhausted.

But by the beginning of the next month, the captain brought them to a safer part of the waters. When they reached that place, Frieda became very happy and excited, for she saw that there were many other fantastic ships out there and many other captains and sailors were onboard these mighty vessels.

These captains commandeered their mighty ships, and each vessel had excellent masts and sported strong sails. Some displayed bright yellow colours, while some were shining with the brilliance of white. Some glittered with the radiance of gold, and some had gleaming silver, which was lovely to the sight. Some ships were ornamented with massive artillery, and their supreme weapons dominated the scene. Some were so well equipped with radars, gadgets, machines, and gears that Freida’s own mighty ship seemed small and inconsequential when compared to them. All in all, there were more than 500 ships in that part of the ocean and all of them were heading towards the north-east direction, for a rumour of the treasure had been passed to all of them by a mysterious informer, and all of them had locked on to the same destination.

Frieda was a little sad by seeing that, for she disliked her own ship and wished to possess those other superior ships, but after a while, she became happy again, as she realised how far she had come and that she was finally moving in the correct direction. So she started squealing with delight and began to jump up and down, bobbling like a joyful puppy.

But the Captain said, ‘Silly girl. Stop jumping like a fool! Tis’ not the time to be happy. Don’t you see? The Treasure of Pneuma can only be acquired by the one who reaches it first. All these ships are racing towards it. They are dashing to grasp The Treasure of Pneuma. We can’t compete with them. We won’t be the first! All of these massive ships will find the treasure, and we will be left behind ogling at them like a fool. Our entire journey in this Ocean will become utterly meaningless! So stop being so happy and put in a lot of effort. Let us put speed to our ship.’

The Captain forced Frieda to work day and night. She worked at the engines, fed them fuel, and even pulled the ropes whenever necessary. The captain made her manage the sails, and she worked so hard that her skin became raw, and her elbow and knees were rubbed off because of the hard work. Yet, there was not much progress. All ships were racing ahead. Some had even started to attack one another. Threatening bombs were launched at other ships, and the canons blasted off the wooden decks of their opponents. Blood was spilt, and ships were drowned. Life in the Ocean was not so simple after all, and the Captain and Frieda were both dismayed beyond recovery.

So that night, when Frieda went to sleep, she was very sad. She thought about her mother and her uncle, who had given her the quest. Her thoughts wandered to the Shop Keeper from the DreamMakert who had given her the Ship of Moirai and the Compass, and suddenly, all the words that the gentle shopkeeper had said to her came rushing back to her mind as if The Goddess of Magic had whispered a beautiful spell in her ears.

She remembered that he had said: ‘Though lovely princess, this compass might seem broken at first glance, it actually is not, for this is the Compass of The Heart. It points in the direction that is desired by the Heart and reveals the route that the heart wants to go to. It doesn’t point in any other direction. So, out there in the Ocean, if you are lost and afraid, just consult the tidings of this magic compass, and the true way will be revealed to you.’

Frieda was amazed to remember all of that. She took the compass out and looked at it, and was startled to see that it was pointing towards North-West direction. And they were going North-East! So, she immediately went to the captain and asked him to steer the ship around.

But the captain disagreed.

He said, ‘I am elder to you. I have already made the sails many times in my life. You cannot know more than me. You are a small and little girl. So stop bothering me so much and get to work quickly, or else we will lose the race. Someone will get to the Treasure before us. Quick go and work hard and put more effort. Stop wasting your time, you silly girl.’

Such words came from his mouth, and upon hearing those words, Frieda’s temper blared up, for she realised that this was her own Ship of Moirai. She had purchased it from her money, and it was her quest. She had come out in the Ocean to find her own adventure. So she said:

‘Your services are no longer required captain. You can leave the ship... In this vast body of water, you sir, have been fired!’

The Captain was horrified to hear that, but he immediately took up his supplies and went out on the lifeboat to join some other ship. ‘Foolish girl,’ he thought, ‘everyone is going in the same direction. I can get help anytime since everyone is going to the same place. Who will guide her? How will she survive?’

But Frieda needed no more guidance from anyone other than her own heart. She kicked the Captain out and became the Master of her own fate. The compass led her in the right direction, and she sailed the ship with absolute freedom and navigated her way to discover her mysterious goal. It is true that the departure of The Captain shifted all the responsibilities on her shoulders, but she performed them with great excitement and enthusiasm, and the song of the soul was on her lips as she continued to work every day.

The ocean complimented the change, for it knew that someone had finally decided to follow their heart, and it safeguarded the little girl's journey. The waves cuddled the hull gracefully, and strong winds guided the sail with such speed that Frieda made more progress in one single day than what she had made in the past two months. As the ship glided towards its mysterious goal, brilliant sunlight enveloped the vessel in golden rays and hallowed the journey with beautiful light.

After a while, Frieda didn’t even need the compass anymore; for now, she had learned to trust her heart. She kept listening to the wise words that were prompted by it, and thus she became really the captain of her soul and continued to sail towards the direction that her heart revealed.

After about a month, The Captain finally reached the island rumoured to have The Treasure of Pneuma. As the beautiful landscape enchanted his thoughts, he abandoned his shipmates and rushed towards the jungle so as to discover the treasure that he had been dreaming about for a very long time.

Yet he was not alone, and almost 200 other captains had also found the island. They dashed towards their dreams and raced one another, and the lust of treasure swooned in their thoughts as they succumbed to treacherous deeds while participating in that rat race.

Ultimately, they reached the heart of the jungle and there stood, overlooking a serene pond, a White Palace so grand and mighty that the captains knew that it could only be the house of the greatest treasure in the world. Thus, all of them rushed inside and marvelled at the exquisite beauty of the interiors.

But as they were witnessing, the main wooden door was thrown open, and out from it, there emerged a man who was dressed in dark robes and had a cruel grin on his face.

'Behold', he roared, 'I am The Informer: The Spirit of The Phantom Island. I am the one who laced those rumours with my words of deceits and lies. Fools you are, for you put your faith in my words, but now that you are here, say farewell to your life of freedom. Behold, slavers, your new prison!

He waved his massive arms and unleashed the iron bars that locked the palace and transformed it into a house of slavery. The white curtains vanished to be replaced by black drapes, and the beautiful paintings of nymphs were replaced by distorted images of ugly orcs and draconic skeletons. Dirty goblins sprung through the basement doors, and they chained all the gates and windows of the palace with iron padlocks.

Then The Spirit of The Phantom Island took out his whip and lashed every captain on their back, after which he instructed his goblin servants to put steel cuffs on their wrists, and the goblins locked their ankles in iron chains. Thus they suffered there, and nobody heard from these sailors anymore, for The Dark Master locked them in that Phantom Island for the rest of their life, and The Captain too suffered with them, cursing his own fate, and sadly he remembered the happy times that he had spent with the Frieda.

Meanwhile, in about 5 months, and after visiting many exquisite locations, Frieda finished her quest and discovered an island that was unknown to all. It was the Island of Pneuma, a land filled with exquisite plants and very tall trees. Many mysterious beings floated around the place and conversed in languages that were fantastic to hear and pleasing to the ear. Frieda marvelled at the celestial cities that floated high up in the aerial zones, and strong pegasuses carried great Lords and Ladies to various places on the island.

A floating chariot came to her and carried her to the city in the sky, and as she joined the celestial beings, they cheered loudly and celebrated. It seemed to her that they had been awaiting her, and before she knew it, she had been adorned by many flower garlands, and she was crowned with a beautiful laurel circlet that complemented her black hair.

Then musicians came to the gathering, and when everyone had settled down, they gave their performance and delighted everyone's heart so much that all started laughing gently and hummed together in unison.

Frieda experienced the bliss of her life, but her greatest gift came to her when she spotted her uncle amidst the magical beings.

'Uncle! You are here too!'

Her uncle smiled broadly, and from his pockets, he retrieved his favourite item and revealed it to her: It was The Compass of the Heart.

Then the two laughed heartily and joined the celebration, which lasted the entire night.

For a year, Frieda stayed there, working with The Celestial Beings and helping them with missions that they deemed essential. During the day, she worked hard and focused her mind on completing all her tasks, but by nightfall, she partied equally hard with all the god-like beings and enjoyed the bliss of their company. In such wise, she grew firm and confident in her character and made a powerful group of friends.

Ultimately, one morning, at sunrise, a Lord came to them, and after waking them up, he said: A strong leader is required, a performer, one who will take a ship out for a quest and bring something in return. Is there anyone out here who'd like to take that responsibility? Do we have a person of action?’

Many of them were still sleepy, and they tried to shake off the grogginess of their eyes, but Frieda was already up and alert, and proudly she stood up and said in a firm voice: 'Yes. I'll lead them all. I’ll captain the ship. We'll finish whatever needs to be done.'

The Lord smiled and gave his blessings to Frieda, who gathered her crew, and sailed out with them even before the sun could touch the zenith.

A crew member called Pinto asked her: 'Wither are you taking us, O Captain?'

Frieda smiled and listened to her heart and said: 'Worry not. Trust me and be patient.'

As the days rolled away and the wheeling stars marked the end of their nights, the ship sailed purposefully towards the destination, and their firm Captain shouted instructions to everyone and led the quest forward. Ultimately, their destination drew close to them, but as the vision of that place became clearer in their eyes, fear crept into their souls, and their bodies shivered. One of them, called Albert, said, 'What is this abhorrent hell-hole? To what abysmal end have you brought us O Captain? Are we at the right place?'

‘Fear not, Frieda addressed them firmly and revealed: ‘An unconquerable challenge this mighty fortress might look to you, but despair not, for this abysmal place is only an illusion. A phantom it is, known by the name of Phantom Island, and I know a precious treasure lies trapped here, for my heart has brought me here, and it can never be wrong. Do not despair, my warriors. Let us wade into the depth of darkness and conquer all the challenges. Let us destroy the fort of these heathens! ATTACK !’

‘Attack!’ roared all the warriors, and together they marched against the mighty palace that stood at the centre of the deserted island.

The fellowship attacked as a single force, and so lethal was their united charge that The Spirit of The Phantom Island didn't stand a single chance and before he knew it, his entire army of goblins had been massacred. Then he fled from the fight, like a dog that runs away with his tail between the legs, and the warriors rescued those who were chained inside the prison bars and shackles.

Frieda helped them too, and her heart tugged her strongly and urged her to go deep into the basement, and there, lurking in the depth of the shadow, bound in iron chains and shackles, was the captain, and tears streamed from her eyes as she saw him in that condition.

The captain saw her as well, and in a weak voice, he whispered: 'You came back?'

Frieda nodded furiously, and suppressing her sobs, she said, ‘In my time of despair, you came to me like a beacon of light and showed me the way when I was lost. How could I ever forget you, my dear Captain! This heart of mine leads to a treasure that it most desires, and today I know that such is indeed the case, for the bond that I have with you is more precious to me than any other treasure of the world, and now that I have found you, I am really the wealthiest being on the planet.

‘Come now, O Captain, come out from your shackles and join me. For a long time, you led the way, and I followed you, and now my turn has come to pay the debt. Come, captain. Join my ship. Together we'll sail everywhere and discover all the treasures of the world. Come, let us follow our heart, O captain. Now, there is no need to be trapped in these phantoms and dreams. Let us be The Master of our own fate, O captain. Come with me.’

Then, she demolished the locks that kept the captain caged in prison and after taking him out, she invited him to her Ship of Moirai. Together they went upon endless adventure and unlocked all the blissful treasures of their hearts. As they nurtured the bond that grew between them, they realised the true meaning of the treasure of pneuma and relished its beautiful flavour.

By Kumar Shaurya Singh