Chapter 77 The Sealing

The chamber was sealed. Not with a lock. Not with a ward. With the deep itself. The root grew around the chamber, closing it, incorporating it, making it part of the deep's body, and the closing was not a sealing but a joining, not a wall but a skin, and the skin was the deep's skin, and the skin was the deep's way of holding itself together, the deep's way of being whole, the deep's way of being one thing instead of a thousand things. The mold covered the chamber's walls, filling every groove, every line, every symbol, and the filling was the deep's way of completing itself, the deep's way of being finished, the deep's way of being whole, and the wholeness was the deep, and the deep was here. The water filled the basin, the spiral turning, the surface reflecting the amber light, and the water was the deep's blood, and the blood was the deep's life, and the life was the deep, and the deep was here. The symbols were gone, absorbed into the mold, incorporated into the root's skin, and the symbols were the deep's language, and the language was the deep's voice, and the voice was the deep, and the deep was here. The chamber was sealed, and the sealing was the joining, and the joining was the deep's way of being whole, and the wholeness was the deep, and the deep was here. And the deep spoke, and the speaking was the sealing, and the sealing was the joining, and the joining was the deep's way of being itself, and the self was the deep, and the deep was here. The sealing was not a closing. It was a joining. The root grew around the chamber, incorporating it, making it part of the deep's body, and the incorporation was the deep's way of being whole, the deep's way of being complete, the deep's way of being one thing instead of a thousand things. The mold covered the chamber's walls, filling every groove, every line, every symbol, and the filling was the deep's way of completing itself, the deep's way of being finished, the deep's way of being whole, and the wholeness was the deep, and the deep was here. The water filled the basin, the spiral turning, the surface catching the amber light, and the water was the deep's blood, and the blood was the deep's life, and the life was the deep, and the deep was here. The symbols were gone, merged into the mold, part of the root's skin, and the symbols were the deep's language, and the language was the deep's voice, and the voice was the deep, and the deep was here. The chamber was sealed, and the sealing was the joining, and the joining was the deep's way of being whole, and the wholeness was the deep, and the deep was here. The sealing was not a wall. The sealing was a skin. The sealing was the deep's way of holding itself together, the deep's way of being complete, the deep's way of saying: I am finished, I am whole, I am the deep, and the deep is the ground, and the ground is the foundation, and the foundation is my way of supporting the world, and the supporting is my work, and the work is the keeping, and the keeping is the door, and the door is open. And the deep spoke, and the speaking was the sealing, and the sealing was the joining, and the joining was the deep's way of being whole, and the wholeness was the deep, and the deep was here. The sealing was a joining. The root grew around the chamber, incorporating it, making it part of the deep's body, and the incorporation was the deep's way of being whole, the deep's way of being complete, the deep's way of being one thing instead of a thousand things. The mold covered the chamber's walls, filling every groove, every line, every symbol, and the filling was the deep's way of completing itself, the deep's way of being finished, the deep's way of being whole. The water stirred in the basin, the spiral turning, the surface reflecting the chamber's glow, and the water was the deep's blood, and the blood was the deep's life, and the life was the deep, and the deep was here. The symbols were gone, swallowed by the mold, living in the root's skin, and the symbols were the deep's language, and the language was the deep's voice, and the voice was the deep, and the deep was here. The chamber was sealed, and the sealing was the joining, and the joining was the deep's way of being whole, and the wholeness was the deep, and the deep was here. The sealing was a skin. The sealing was the deep's way of holding itself together, the deep's way of being complete, the deep's way of saying: I am finished, I am whole, I am the deep, and the deep is the ground, and the ground is the foundation. The sealing was the deep's way of being permanent. The sealing was the deep's way of saying: I am here, and I will always be here, and the here is the keeping, and the keeping is the door, and the door is open. The sealing was the deep's way of becoming permanent. The deep had risen, had reached, had touched the surface, and the touching was not temporary, not transient, not a visit. The touching was a return. The deep was home, and the home was permanent, and the permanence was the sealing, and the sealing was the deep's way of saying: I am here, and I am staying, and the staying is the keeping, and the keeping is the door, and the door is open. The chamber was sealed, and the sealing was the deep's way of being whole, and the wholeness was the deep, and the deep was here. And the deep spoke, and the speaking was the sealing, and the sealing was the joining, and the joining was the deep's way of being complete, and the completeness was the deep, and the deep was here. ---