The Bowl

“Have you ever even gotten in?” Alexander asked.

“No, but I’ve never needed to this badly before, so I am certain the gods will allow me entrance today,” Adonis responded. From where they stood they could see the temple, but at this distance they wouldn’t be able to make out the inscription above the door. The line they stood in snaked on seemingly endlessly behind them, bending around a curve that wrapped a hillside and disappeared.

“How often do you do this? And who are all these people that they can just show up and stand here waiting to speak into some bowl of water?”

“Alex, you didn’t have to come. I am perfectly capable of seeking out guidance and learning the truth of the gods on my own.” Adonis was growing increasingly impatient with the non-stop stream of complaints that were growing increasingly dismissive. They’d gotten into line before the sun had come up, and it was now mid morning. Movement was slow, but they were inching their way closer and closer.

Doing his best to keep his tone respectful Alex replied, “I’m sorry Adonis, I am not trying to cut you down I just don’t get it. How is it even supposed to work? You just look into a bowl of water and what, the truth is revealed?” 

They stood in silence for a while, until finally Alexander made a joke about a member of their village which Adonis couldn’t help but chuckle at. The rest of the day unfolded like this, recounting stories and carrying on like the best friends they were. As the day wore on the liveliness of their conversation seemed to fade, as their shadows lengthened in the late afternoon sun. 

They had been in line for hours when they finally reached the front of the Temple. When the man ahead of them entered into the Temple, Alexander finally asked “What are you planning to ask anyway?” Adonis, not wanting to open up before he had received the knowledge of The Oracle refused to answer, saying “My friend, we’ve come this far, you are just going to have to trust me that it will be worth it.” With that, the man ahead of them exited the Temple. Adonis turned and gave Alexander one last look before he strode confidently into the Temple.

Once inside, Adonis wasn’t sure exactly what to do, but he had been told to remove his sandals so he did. Ahead, lit only by the fading sunlight shining through a skylight he could see a pillow on the floor in front of a bowl of water. Steadying himself, he walked over and sat down on the pillow and waited in silence. Time was beginning to slow down, or at least that is how it felt. Half out of boredom and half out of curiosity, he leaned over and peered into the bowl of water where he saw The Oracle for the first time, though he didn’t realize it.

There in the water was the wisest living creature in all of existence, the one who could speak directly with the gods and deliver their divine message. With giant bulging eyes popping out from it’s head, it floated staring back at Adonis. The movements of its fins keeping it up right and in place were almost imperceptible. Even in the dimly lit room, The Oracle shimmered with a beauty that words cannot describe. The bowl that contained The Oracle was a simple, humble creation carved from stone, nothing ornate or unique about it. Such a plain bowl at once seemed inappropriate and exactly right.

“What an odd pet for the wisest among us, the see-er of all things past and present, keeper of all knowledge. A fish?” Adonis thought to himself as he fidgeted on the pillow trying to get comfortable. The room was now totally dark and he was beginning to wonder if there was some other chamber in the Temple he was supposed to be in. After a few more moments passed he couldn’t take it any more, so he got up and began to explore the room. No doors, no passageways, just a the door through which he had entered. Stumbling around he accidentally kicked something and knocked it over. He dropped to his hands and knees and found it was an oil lamp. Not wanting to continue sitting in darkness, he retreated to the entryway and lit the lamp with a torch and returned to the pillow.

“Thank you,” Adonis heard, his heart skipping a beat. 

“Uh, he-, hello? Is someone there?” He said.

“I can’t stand the dark. Do you not seek the council of The Oracle?” The voice spoke again.

“Yes. Yes! I need The Oracles assistance, it’s a matter of life and death. I need guidance and only the most wise, all knowing, see-er of all can help me.” Adonis nearly shouted, unable to control his voice. “Please, sir, tell me where to find The Oracle. I’ve been in this room for sometime waiting and I just really need to see him.” Adonis fidgeted again on the pillow, anxious for what would come next.

“Peer into the bowl in front of you, what do you see?” The voice asked.

“A fish. I looked earlier, it’s just a fish.” Adonis responded, a slight snap in his words as his impatience was building.

“And what is it you expected, Adonis?”

Adonis instantly barked back, the anger in his voice no longer an undertone “I expected an audience with The Oracle. I have traveled a long way and stood in line all day for my chance to speak with The Oracle. I am thin on patience as I explained earlier, this is a matter of life and death so forgive my tone but I NEED TO SPEAK TO THE ORACLE NOW.”

The voice let out a soft chuckle.

The rage overtook Adonis, and as he stood he kicked the bowl of water sending the fish flying across the chamber and slapping to the ground where it flipped and flopped about. He began to storm out of the room, defeated and engulfed with anger that he’d spent so much of his time and of Alexanders time for nothing. As he reached the threshold of the chamber he froze, the voices words repeated in his mind “And what is it you expected, Adonis?” 

Adonis? How did the voice know his name. As he stood frozen he heard the soft slap of fins on the ground behind him. Like a bolt of lighting thrown by Zeus, he flew over to the fish and scooped it up, putting it into the empty bowl of water in a panic. Looking around the room there was nothing, not a drop of water to save the fish, The Oracle. Then he remembered that Alexander had brought a skein of water with them on the trip, and he ran out of the Temple in search of his friend. Sitting on a stone around the corner he found Alexander sipping on the water, nearly finishing it. In a craze, Adonis snatched the skein of water from Alexanders hand and ran back into the temple. 

Adonis ran to the bowl and poured the remainder of the water onto the now still fish, praying to every god he could think of to spare the life of The Oracle he had accidentally murdered. As the seconds ticked on the terror of his actions settled on him, he had slighted the gods, and murdered their chosen voice to the people. He had allowed his pride and anger to consume him to the point he committed a horrible atrocity. He hung his head and began to weep into his hands. As his sobs grew to a full blown wail he heard a cough. His head snapped up, fear spiking through his body that one of the guards of the Temple had followed him in when he had run around like a madman. 

The coughing gave way, and he heard the voice say “Hello, thank you, you saved my life.” In confusion Adonis straightened up and wiped his nose. Yes, he had saved The Oracle’s life, but only because he had nearly killed him. Uncertain of what else to say, Adonis said “um, your’e welcome?”

“Did you see him?” The voice asked. “There was this awful man here, at least I think he was awful, I can’t quite remember. Any way, do you seek the council of The Oracle?” 

Adonis was now befuddled. What was happening? He had this conversation just minutes ago. He had almost accidentally killed The Oracle, and now The Oracle was asking him if he was seeking its council. Not knowing what else to say, he simply responded, “Yes.”

“Ok Adonis, how can I help you?”

“How do you know my name?” Adonis inquired, unsure what to make of what was happening.

“The Oracle sees all. The Oracle is the hand of the gods, the voice through which they speak.”

“But I almost killed you.”

The Oracle paused for a moment, seemingly processing what Adonis had just said.

“I am the voice of the gods, the chosen vessel through which they speak. I do not know what you are talking about.”

Frustrated, the anger welled in him so much so that he rose to his feet, standing over the bowl and staring daggers down at the fish, or The Oracle, or whatever it was that was before him. 

“I was awful to you, I allowed my anger to consume me, to dictacte my actions, and it nearly cost you your life. I sent you flying across the room where you flopped about on the floor, gasping for breath, flailing like crazy. I almost didn’t get to you in time, you almost died! Surely you remember this, it was just moments ago!” Adonis collapsed back onto the pillow defeated, as if all the air in his lungs had been sucked out. He dropped his head into his hands and softly said, “How can I seek council from an Oracle who cannot remember the events that unfolded mere minutes ago, how can you be the voice of the gods yet have no recollection of such a recent event?”

The Oracle replied, “How can I not remember? Yes the gods speak through me, I am the vessel of their guidance and wisdom, a window into the vast realm that lies beyond ours. And I’m a goldfish.”